Oxygen – Uses, Prices, and Production

This blog highlights information and data I have found on the Internet related to oxygen uses, prices, and production.  The information and data only pertains to the elemental and molecular forms of oxygen.

Uses.   Major uses of oxygen are based on oxygen’s property that promotes combustion.  Increasing the concentration of oxygen in those processes where combustion is required for completion enhances the processes, saving costs.   About one-half of global oxygen is used to enhance combustion processes in the steel industry.  Another oxygen property accounting for large use amounts is being an oxidizer.  Several industries use lots of oxygen for this purpose.  Oxygen is used as a raw material for producing oxygen-containing compounds.  Large amounts of oxygen are provided to patients requiring respiratory support.  Click here to go to a Universal Industrial Gasses company site with details on oxygen uses and other facts and information about oxygen.

Prices.  Internet data suggests 2018 prices, on average, for delivered oxygen, to be about $100 per metric ton (mt).

Production.   Four prominent methods for producing oxygen are: (from air) cryogenic distillation; adsorption; and membrane filtration; and (from water) electrolysis.  Internet sources indicate that the 2018 global market for delivered oxygen was approximately $22 billion.  Assuming that the average price for oxygen was about $100 per mt, this gives an approximate production amount of delivered oxygen of 220 million mt ($22 billion divided by $100/mt).  About one-half of global oxygen used is produced by on-site, company-owned oxygen generators and are not included in the above data.