How Oxygen Cylinder Is Different From O2 Tank?

Have you ever wondered how your body functions like a 24x7 machine to breath in Oxygen (O) & breath out Carbon dioxide (CO2)! The nature is unexplainable. But when it comes down to machinery world, it requires a set of equipment & procedures to do so.

Atmospheric air is the natural source of oxygen, containing 20.8% oxygen. This concentration is enough for animal breathing process, fueling, & metal corrosion. But there are numerous applications that require concentrated amount of oxygen to operate & that’s when Oxygen Cylinder comes into the play. 

“Check out list of Oxygen Cylinder manufacturers, suppliers & dealers at Tradeindia.” 

Constructional Material

This lightweight, portable & circular-cylindrical high-pressure container is manufactured by hot forged seamless steel. The standard pressure is 200 (3000 psi) bars. It’s being used in the manufacturing of welding & cutting, steel & monel, medical breathing gas, scuba diving, & emergency backup in aircraft. 

Carbon steel is also a good corrosion resistant material that is being used. Brownmillerite-type materials are also used. Other materials include glass-reinforced plastic, polyethylene & thermoplastic.

Difference Between Oxygen Cylinder & Oxygen Concentrator

You will always find the use of terms oxygen cylinder & oxygen concentrator interchangeably. In contrary to that, they aren’t same. 

Oxygen Concentrator: Using rapid Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) mechanism, the concentrator separates oxygen from the gaseous mixture. It uses zeolite mineral as adsorbent to adsorb nitrogen from the atmospheric air, leaving other components to pass through, leaving oxygen as the only remaining gas component. It supplies oxygen on continuous flow.

Oxygen Cylinder: It is a medical oxygen tank that contains a specific amount of oxygen & can run out after a while. These cylinders can be refilled & reused for multiple times, however, may require periodic maintenance service. 

Types of Oxygen Cylinders

• Compressed gas system: It’s an O2 concentrator that is widely used as a stationary & portable medical oxygen provider at medical facilities & homes. It supplies O2 on continuous flow. 
• Unpressurized oxygen cylinder: It aids in breathing at high altitudes & in emergency situations too. 
• Cryogenic storage tank: It’s a vacuum-insulated flask that contains liquid oxygen. It is used in gas industries, submarine & aerospace. 
• This system delivers O2 to the users via oxygen mask, oxygen tent, nasal cannula, full face diving mask, diving helmet, built in breathing system (BIBS), oxygen rebreather, demand valve, & hyperbaric oxygen chamber.
• It contains about varying purity of compressed oxygen. Its durable in nature, however, require inspection & pressure test to ensure its structural & functional stability. It is supplied in various sizes & pressure capacity, depending on the application. 

Area of Application

An oxygen cylinder is commonly used in medical facilities, homes, aircraft emergency breathing, diving, welding & cutting, metallurgy, aquaculture industry, military or disaster situations, fuel gas cutting, lampworking torches, etc.