Oxygen Cylinder

Oxygen gas is a powerful oxidizer which will rapidly accelerate combustion of many materials. Oxygen Cylinders are just like liquid oxygen, the concentration of oxygen delivered from cylinder is 100% and enjoys the reputation of the oldest method for delivering oxygen. The concept of oxygen cylinder involves compression of oxygen into a steel cylinder under high pressure, normally a pressure of about 200 atmospheres. Oxygen gas cylinders come in several sizes and are available in various materials, like, aluminum and steel.

Oxygen is incompatible with all flammable materials and should be stored separately. One should take care that :-

• Oxygen Cylinders should not be allowed to come in contact with oil, greases and other readily combustible substances as serious explosions may result from contact between oil and high pressure oxygen.
  
  
• The pressure valves must be checked frequently and the regulator must be removed and placed on a full cylinder, specially, when the cylinders are empty.

Apart from laboratory and medical purposes oxygen cylinders are also used as fuel gas for welding, cutting and allied processes. Oxygen may be stored in large or small cylinders. The small cylinders can last for up to 8 hours and are usually used for portability when an oxygen concentrator is the main source of oxygen.

The risk associated to these cylinder is due to the high pressure of gas that is contained in them. Hence, extreme care must be exercised in handling oxygen cylinders to prevent contact of oxygen with organic lubricants, rubber, or other materials of an organic nature. Transportation or storage of cylinders shall be undertaken with extreme care. These cylinders should be protected against high temperature (above 51.7°C or 125°F), valve damages and other physical and mechanical damages. Oxygen cylinders should be separated from each other by at least 6 m (app 20ft.) and should not be stored with any kind of flammable, combustible or easily ignited materials.