What Is Oxygen Used For?

Oxygen is used for steel production, medical treatment, chemical manufacturing, welding, glass making, wastewater treatment, and rocket fuel, among other applications.

Here’s what that actually looks like across industries.

Steel Manufacturers Use Massive Amounts of Oxygen

Steel plants blow pure oxygen through molten iron to create stronger steel faster than traditional methods. This process strips away unwanted materials like carbon and silicon that make iron weak and brittle.

The technique is called basic oxygen steelmaking, and it’s revolutionized how we make steel. 

Workers inject oxygen at high pressure into furnaces filled with molten iron. The oxygen reacts with impurities and generates enough heat to keep the process running at extreme temperatures. The result is cleaner steel in a lot less time compared to older furnace methods.

Most modern steel comes from this oxygen-powered process. A single steel plant can use hundreds of tons of oxygen every day to meet production demands.

Medical Uses of Oxygen

Hospitals use oxygen to help patients with breathing problems, heart conditions, and life-threatening emergencies. People with diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or pneumonia get oxygen through masks, nasal tubes, or ventilators when their lungs can’t get enough on their own.

Emergency medical teams carry portable oxygen units in ambulances and helicopters. This equipment keeps patients stable during transport.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy treats serious conditions like carbon monoxide poisoning and severe infections. Patients breathe pure oxygen inside pressurized chambers that force more oxygen into their bloodstream than normal breathing allows, reaching damaged tissues that might not get enough blood flow otherwise.

Chemical Plants Depend on Oxygen for Production

Chemical manufacturers use oxygen to create plastics, antifreeze, detergents, and convert natural gas into other industrial chemicals. 

They pump oxygen into reactors to make ethylene oxide, which becomes the building blocks for polyester fabrics and cleaning products.

Many plants convert natural gas into synthesis gas by mixing it with oxygen under high heat. This creates a blend of carbon monoxide and hydrogen that gets turned into ammonia for fertilizers and other industrial chemicals.

Without supplemental oxygen, many of these reactions would crawl along too slowly to be commercially viable.

Oxygen Is Used for Welding Applications

Welders combine oxygen with acetylene or other fuel gases to create flames that reach over 3,315.6°C (6,000°F), hot enough to permanently join steel and other metals.

The pure oxygen also creates a cleaner burn that produces less contamination in the weld joint. This results in stronger, more reliable welds compared to other portable welding methods.

Oxy-acetylene welding works without electricity, which is why you’ll find it on construction sites, pipeline repairs, and remote jobs where plugging in isn’t an option.

Glass Manufacturing Uses Oxygen for Higher Quality Production

Glass manufacturers use oxygen instead of regular air in their furnaces to create hotter flames that lead to a higher quality finished product.

The pure oxygen burns fuel more completely, creating more uniform heating throughout the glass melting process. This results in stronger, clearer glass products with fewer defects and bubbles.

Many glass plants have switched to oxy-fuel systems because they use less energy and increase production speed compared to traditional methods.

Paper Mills Use Oxygen to Remove Wood Lignin

Paper mills use oxygen to break down lignin in wood pulp through a process called delignification, which removes the natural glue that holds wood fibers together. This oxygen-based treatment creates whiter, stronger paper while using fewer harsh chemicals than traditional methods.

The oxidation targets lignin without damaging the cellulose fibers that give paper its strength. That selectivity is the key: you remove the brown compounds that make paper look dull or yellow, and keep everything you actually want.

Most modern paper mills have adopted oxygen delignification instead of chlorine bleaching to minimize  harm to the environment. The oxygen method generates cleaner discharge water and reduces total chemical usage. 

Wastewater Treatment Plants Use Oxygen for Sewage Processing

Wastewater treatment plants pump oxygen into sewage to feed aerobic bacteria that consume organic pollutants and break down harmful contaminants.

The oxygen-fed bacteria work much faster than natural decomposition processes. Without adequate oxygen levels, sewage treatment would take much longer and produce water that’s still too contaminated for rivers or lakes.

Most municipal facilities run aeration systems around the clock. The oxygen demand is enormous when you’re processing daily waste from an entire city.

Environmental Cleanup Projects Use Oxygen for Remediation

Environmental cleanup projects use oxygen to restore polluted soil and contaminated groundwater by boosting the growth of beneficial microorganisms that digest toxic chemicals. The extra oxygen helps these bacteria multiply faster and break down contaminants more effectively than natural processes.

Soil remediation projects inject oxygen directly into contaminated areas to speed up bioremediation. This process can clean up oil spills, chemical leaks, and other industrial pollution that would otherwise take decades to decompose naturally.

Lake and pond restoration relies on oxygen injection systems to revive dead zones where fish and plants can’t survive. These aeration systems bring dissolved oxygen levels back to healthy ranges and restore natural ecosystems.

Food Production Uses Oxygen for Packaging and Aquaculture

Food manufacturers use oxygen for packaging fresh products and keeping fish alive in commercial aquaculture operations. The oxygen levels and delivery methods look completely different depending on the job.

Modified atmosphere packaging uses specific oxygen levels to extend shelf life and maintain freshness in products like salad mixes, fresh meat, and prepared foods. This packaging method replaces regular air with gas mixtures that slow down spoilage and preserve color.

Aquaculture operations pump oxygen into fish tanks and ponds to keep seafood alive in crowded conditions. Commercial fish farms need constant oxygen supplementation because high fish density quickly depletes natural oxygen levels that would kill the stock.

Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Requires Oxygen for Drug Production

Pharmaceutical companies use oxygen for chemical reactions that create active drug ingredients and for maintaining sterile production environments.

Drug production often requires multiple oxidation steps to build complex molecules, with each step needing exact oxygen concentrations to work properly. Get the timing, temperature, or oxygen levels wrong, and you compromise the drug’s effectiveness or safety. 

Sterile manufacturing environments use oxygen-based systems to eliminate contaminants and maintain clean production areas. This prevents bacteria and other microorganisms from contaminating medication batches that could harm patients.

Rocket Fuel Systems Depend on Liquid Oxygen

Rockets use liquid oxygen as the primary oxidizer that allows rocket fuel to burn in the vacuum of space where there’s no air for combustion. 

Space missions require enormous amounts of liquid oxygen stored in giant tanks that get loaded into rockets before launch. SpaceX, NASA, and other space organizations consume thousands of gallons of liquid oxygen for each rocket launch. 

With commercial launches ramping up, private space companies are consuming a lot of liquid oxygen.

Further Reading: What Is Industrial Oxygen?

Lawrence Haynes

Currently serving as Marketing Director at WestAir Gases & Equipment in San Diego, CA Lawrence leverages his expertise in industrial gas solutions and equipment marketing. With a proven track record in cross-industry marketing strategy, he brings a specialized experience in content development, marketing automation, and partner relations to the industrial gas sector.