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Human physiology, hazards and health risks
Published in Stephen Battersby, Clay's Handbook of Environmental Health, 2023
Revati Phalkey, Naima Bradley, Alec Dobney, Virginia Murray, John O’Hagan, Mutahir Ahmad, Darren Addison, Tracy Gooding, Timothy W Gant, Emma L Marczylo, Caryn L Cox
Respiration or breathing has three main functions: To deliver oxygen to the cellsTo eliminate carbon dioxide andTo regulate the pH of the blood (Figure 10.4) Oxygen is a necessity for cells to live and function. This oxygen is obtained from the outside air which we breathe in (inhalation) through the nose/mouth, windpipe (trachea) and the smaller branching tubes from the trachea – the bronchi, bronchioles to the small air sacs – the alveoli. The alveoli have very thin walls and are surrounded by the smallest of blood vessels, the pulmonary capillaries. These too have very thin walls allowing the diffusion of oxygen and carbon dioxide out of and into the alveoli. Normally the oxygen concentration in the alveoli is higher than that in the blood. After reaching the alveoli in the capillaries during respiration oxygen diffuses easily across to the blood. Similarly, as the concentration of carbon dioxide in the venous blood reaching the alveoli is higher than that in air, carbon dioxide diffuses into the alveoli.
17O
Published in Guillaume Madelin, X-Nuclei Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 2022
Oxygen is used in many industrial applications, of which only a few of them are mentioned below. Millions of tons of dioxygen O2 are produced annually for industrial purpose, where it can be used in gas welding, gas cutting, oxygen scarfing, flame cleaning, hardening, and straightening. Due to its reactivity, oxygen is also used in a wide variety of chemical production and applications, such as steel-making, metal-cutting and in medical treatment. Oxygen is used as a raw material in many oxidation processes for the production of ethylene oxide (used as an intermediate in the production of several industrial chemicals) and propylene oxide (used in the making of polyurethane plastics), for example. Oxygen can also be used to achieve complete combustion and destruction of waste materials in incinerators. The use of pure oxygen instead of air permits to increase the capacity in existing treatment plants for the biological treatment of waste water. Oxygen gas is frequently used in breathing apparatus for underwater work, refinery and chemical plant. Oxygenated water ensures that sufficient oxygen is present in ponds and tanks to allow more fish to be raised in aquaculture. Liquid oxygen is used in liquid-fueled rockets as the oxidizer for fuels such as hydrogen and liquid methane.
Hazmat Team Spotlight
Published in Robert A. Burke, Hazmat Team Spotlight, 2020
On July 30, 2011, a liquid oxygen leak occurred at Air Products, a local industrial facility. Ashland firefighters stood by and monitored the oxygen levels in the area around the plant while the leak was being repaired. Firefighters also sprayed water to keep the cloud from releasing oxygen inside the perimeter of the plant. Oxygen becomes a gas once it hits the atmosphere. The oxygen that was released due to the leak dissipated into the atmosphere, and there was no off-site hazard or environmental impact. Initially, oxygen is literally harvested from the air and placed in tanks through a cryogenic cooling process. The rail lines adjacent to the plant also had been shut down. U.S. 23 had been closed near the facility to minimize the risk of a fire or explosion from the elevated oxygen levels in the atmosphere. The leak that injured one Air Products employee, reported at about 3:15 p.m., was caused by a faulty valve. The employee suffered cryogenic burns on both of his hands and was taken to the Cabell Huntington Hospital burn unit for treatment. He was released the next day. Crews worked through the night to isolate the portion of the plant where the leak occurred so the valve could be replaced.
Design and Implementation of Fuel Cell and Photovoltaic Panel-Supported Ozonation System
Published in Ozone: Science & Engineering, 2019
Ercan Nurcan Yilmaz, Davut Sevim
Required oxygen for ozone production can be obtained from air or oxygen. Generating ozone from air requires a system for drying the air and this system will require ongoing maintenance. Today, most medium-large ozone production systems utilize oxygen. The oxygen is supplied as a compressed gas in cylinders or as a liquid delivered on site. Because oxygen is a strong oxidizing gas, special precautions must be used when handling it. Storage of ozone is not practical as ozone has a half-life, and the ozone concentration in the storage vessel will decrease over time.
Oxygen enrichment effects on CH4-air turbulent flow characteristics in a coaxial swirl burner
Published in Combustion Science and Technology, 2023
S. Chakchak, H. Zaidaoui, A. Hidouri, G. Godard, T. Boushaki
Several studies used oxygen enrichment in order to improve the energetic efficiency of the burners and also to reduce pollutant emissions. Hidouri et al. (2017) conducted a numerical study of turbulent oxy-fuel combustion provided by separated jets and showed that the maximum temperature of the flame reached 2800 K, which can exceed material limitations. They also demonstrated that enrichment with oxygen can be a good solution to stabilize the flame. Boushaki et al. (2007) previously studied experimentally the same burner with separated jets and showed the same results of Hidouri et al. (2016), (2017). Thus, the study of oxygen addition is very important in order to determine the exact quantity that will guarantee low pollutant emissions and a moderate temperature that can be supported by the materials used in industrial plants. Among the industrial applications, oxygen is used in steel industries ranging from air enrichment of blast furnaces to steel production processes that require a pure oxygen scavenging step to convert pig iron to steel (Arasto et al. 2014). It is also used in the glassmaking sector and in cement plants that require high temperatures at various steps in the process (Daood et al. 2012). Oxygen enrichment applications can be found in many sectors such as energy production (especially coal), and incineration, especially for CO2 capture (Lambert, Sorin, Paris 1997; Melo, Lacava, Carvalho 1998). However, the use of oxygen enrichment remains limited; the technical constraints related to oxy-fuel combustion or O2 enrichment are, for example, the choice of combustion chamber materials and oxy-burners adapted to oxidizing conditions and high temperatures, the management of hot spots in the furnace and the limitation of parasitic air (and thus N2) inlets into the combustion system (Kanniche et al. 2010).
Recent advances in micro-sized oxygen carriers inspired by red blood cells
Published in Science and Technology of Advanced Materials, 2023
Qiming Zhang, Natsuko F. Inagaki, Taichi Ito
Oxygen is a necessary substance for aerobic cell survival and proliferation and an important factor in numerous metabolism processes and pathologies in the body [1]. Owing to the limited oxygen solubility in the blood serums, culture media, and scaffold materials in tissue engineering, providing an efficient and precise oxygen supply remains a constant challenge in various biomedical fields [2] such as oxygenation therapy and cancer therapy [3], as well as in blood substitutes for transfusion.