Oxygen tanks are used to store gas for: • medical
breathing (
oxygen therapy) at medical facilities and at home (high pressure cylinder) • breathing at altitude in aviation, either in a
decompression emergency, or constantly (as in unpressurized aircraft), usually in high pressure cylinders • oxygen first aid sets, in small portable high pressure cylinders •
gas blending, for mixing breathing gases such as
nitrox,
trimix and
heliox • open-circuit
scuba sets - mainly used for accelerated
decompression in
technical diving, in high pressure cylinders • some types of diving
rebreather: oxygen rebreathers and fully closed circuit rebreathers, usually in high pressure cylinders • use in climbing, "
Bottled oxygen" refers to oxygen in lightweight high pressure cylinders for mountaineering • industrial processes, including the manufacture of
steel and
monel •
oxyacetylene welding equipment, glass lampworking torches, and some gas
cutting torches, usually in high pressure cylinders • use as
liquid rocket propellants for
rocket engines, usually as liquid oxygen at ambient pressure • athletes, specifically on
American football sidelines, to expedite recovery after exertion, in high-pressure cylinders. Breathing oxygen is delivered from the storage tank to users by use of the following methods:
oxygen mask,
nasal cannula,
full face diving mask,
diving helmet,
demand valve, oxygen
rebreather,
built in breathing system (BIBS),
oxygen tent, and
hyperbaric oxygen chamber. Contrary to popular belief most
scuba divers do not carry oxygen tanks. The vast majority of divers breathe air or
nitrox stored in a
diving cylinder. A small minority breathe
trimix,
heliox or other
exotic gases. Some may carry pure oxygen for accelerated decompression or as supply gas to a rebreather. Some shallow divers, particularly naval combat divers, use oxygen rebreathers, and they use a small oxygen cylinder to provide the gas. Oxygen is rarely held at pressures higher than , due to the risks of fire triggered by high temperatures caused by
adiabatic heating when the gas changes pressure when moving from one vessel to another. Medical use liquid oxygen
airgas tanks are typically . All equipment coming into contact with high pressure oxygen must be "oxygen clean" and "oxygen compatible", to reduce the risk of
fire. "Oxygen clean" means the removal of any substance that could act as a source of
ignition. "Oxygen compatible" means that internal components must not burn readily or degrade easily in a high pressure oxygen environment. In some countries there are legal and insurance requirements and restrictions on the use, storage and transport of pure oxygen. Oxygen tanks are normally stored in well-ventilated locations, far from potential sources of fire and concentrations of people. ==See also==