What is the Difference Between Industrial Oxygen vs. Medical Oxygen?
What is the Difference Between Industrial Oxygen vs. Medical Oxygen?
Oxygen remains in high demand in all its forms and is available in containers, cylinders, and many other formats depending on its purpose. For example, medical oxygen aids with respiratory conditions and complications, while industrial oxygen is used in various industries. It’s not surprising that the oxygen market, which was worth almost $26,150.5 million in 2020, is expected to be valued at $37,293.2 million by 2025.
Here’s what you need to know about the difference between industrial oxygen and medical oxygen.
What is Industrial Oxygen?
Industrial oxygen is commonly used in manufacturing facilities and other industrial settings. Considering how reactive oxygen is, the industrial gas may be used for oxidation and combustion. It is also used to stimulate specific chemical reactions.
Here are some common examples of what industrial oxygen is used for:
- Oxidation and coal gasification processes
- Metal and steel cutting, welding and brazing
- Ferrous and non-ferrous metal production
- Flame cleaning, hardening, and straightening
The pulp and paper manufacturing industry also uses it as a bleaching chemical.
Industrial oxygen is not safe to be inhaled, unlike medical oxygen which is primarily used to help with breathing problems and respiratory conditions.
What is Medical Oxygen?
Like its name implies, medical oxygen is used primarily for medical interventions and healthcare purposes. It is typically found in clinics, hospitals, emergency rooms, and other healthcare facilities, and is generated through medical air compressors.
Medical oxygen may be administered for patients with respiratory conditions and those who need assistance with breathing. It can also be used for life-saving treatments.
Some of its most common functions are asthma treatment, oxygen therapy, first aid resuscitation, and life support. Medical oxygen also helps stimulate cell growth.
The functionality of medical oxygen is quite flexible. It is normally used for surgery and trauma situations. It is also essential in treating COVID-19, asthma, pneumonia, and other respiratory illnesses.
How are Industrial and Medical Oxygen Different?
The purpose of industrial oxygen is to accelerate and support chemical reactions in manufacturing plants and other types of industrial facilities. They aren’t regulated as strictly as the FDA regulates medical oxygen, so it’s not safe to ingest.
Medical oxygen helps maintain healthy blood oxygen levels for patients with respiratory illnesses and those who are in trauma or emergency situations. It may also be used for life support. This type of gas is often used in life-threatening situations, so the FDA has set strict parameters to ensure medical oxygen isn’t exposed to harmful contaminants.
To wrap it up, both types of oxygen have their unique purposes and should not be interchanged. Otherwise, it could lead to accidents or health complications.
Get Industrial and Medical Oxygen from a Reliable Source
Through nexAir’s KnowHow, we’ll help you understand that it’s not entirely about our instrument-grade gases and custom gas mixture products. Applied industry knowledge is just as impactful, if not more significant, on the success of your business.
nexAir has a strong Forge Forward culture, wherein we become more than just product suppliers to our clients. We share knowledge and technology to help you take your business to the next level. Contact us today for your oxygen needs, both medical and industrial. Shop Oxygen here.
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Manufacturing downtime costs American companies billions annually. When production lines halt due to gas supply issues, every minute translates to lost revenue, missed deadlines, and frustrated customers. At nexAir, we've spent decades developing solutions that keep manufacturing operations running smoothly.
The Hidden Costs of Gas-Related Downtime
When manufacturers calculate downtime costs, they typically focus on labor and lost production. However, gas supply disruptions create cascading effects that multiply these losses:
- Production rescheduling that disrupts carefully optimized sequences
- Rush shipping fees to meet customer deadlines despite delays
- Quality inconsistencies when processes restart after interruptions
- Overtime costs to catch up after unplanned stoppages
- Reputation damage when delivery commitments are missed
For a typical mid-sized manufacturer, each hour of downtime represents $5,000-$10,000 in direct and indirect costs. Our analysis shows that gas-related issues cause 7-12% of total manufacturing downtime - a substantial opportunity for improvement.
From Reactive to Proactive: The Supply Continuum
Most facilities follow a predictable pattern in their gas management evolution:
Stage 1: Reactive Management At this stage, facilities order gas when they notice supplies running low or, worse, after running out. Emergencies are common, and disruptions are accepted as "part of doing business." One automotive parts supplier operating this way experienced 14 production interruptions in a single quarter.
Stage 2: Calendar-Based Management Facilities advance to scheduled deliveries based on estimated usage. While better than the reactive approach, this method still results in either excess inventory (tying up capital and space) or shortages when usage spikes occur. A plastics manufacturer following this model maintained 40% more cylinder inventory than necessary while still experiencing occasional stockouts.
Stage 3: Consumption-Based Management Our telemetry systems monitor actual gas consumption, automatically triggering orders based on usage patterns rather than calendar dates. This approach virtually eliminates both stockouts and excess inventory.
Stage 4: Integrated Supply Management The most advanced approach connects gas management directly to production planning systems. Upcoming production requirements automatically adjust supply parameters, ensuring resources are precisely aligned with needs. A medical device manufacturer using this approach reports zero gas-related downtime for 27 consecutive months while operating with minimal inventory buffers.
Our expert KnowHow™ in industrial gas applications allows us to guide customers through this evolution at a pace that makes sense for their operations.
Customizing Solutions for Maximum Uptime
Manufacturing environments vary dramatically in their gas requirements and operational constraints. We've developed flexible approaches that address these differences:
- For high-volume, consistent usage operations, our bulk systems eliminate the cylinder handling that frequently causes supply disruptions. Bulk installations include telemetry monitoring and automated ordering to prevent outages.
- For variable-demand environments, our microbulk delivery systems provide the benefits of bulk supply with lower volume commitments. These systems reduce handling requirements while maintaining the flexibility needed for changing production schedules.
- For specialized applications requiring multiple gas types, our gas management programs combine cylinder tracking, usage monitoring, and automated replenishment. This comprehensive approach ensures that specialty gases are always available when needed, regardless of how infrequently they might be used.
- For multi-site operations, our enterprise supply programs coordinate deliveries and optimize inventory across locations. By treating the organization's gas requirements holistically, we minimize both stockouts and excess inventory across the network.
This consultative approach ensures that manufacturers receive solutions aligned with their specific operational patterns rather than generic "one-size-fits-all" systems.
Beyond Traditional Supply: Integrated Services for Total Reliability
Maximum uptime requires more than just reliable gas delivery. Our integrated services address the full spectrum of gas-related reliability factors:
Equipment maintenance programs that prevent system failures before they impact production Technical gas specialists who resolve application issues that could otherwise cause production problems Safety training that prevents accidents leading to downtime events Emergency response capabilities that minimize impacts when unexpected events occur Supply chain redundancy that ensures continuity despite regional disruptions
These services complement our supply solutions to form a comprehensive reliability strategy. By addressing both everyday operations and exceptional circumstances, we help manufacturers Forge Forward with confidence that gas-related disruptions won't derail their production targets.
Measuring Success: The Results That Matter
The ultimate measure of any downtime reduction strategy is its impact on production metrics. Our manufacturing customers consistently report significant improvements after implementing our comprehensive gas management solutions:
Downtime reductions of 85-95% for gas-related issues Inventory cost decreases of 20-30% through optimized supply management Administrative time savings of 5-10 hours weekly through automated ordering and tracking Production schedule adherence improvements of 3-7% due to improved supply reliability
These performance gains translate directly to bottom-line benefits that typically deliver ROI within months rather than years. More importantly, they allow manufacturers to confidently make delivery commitments, knowing that gas supply issues won't compromise their ability to perform.
Don't let gas supply issues impact your productivity. Contact us today to explore our tailored solutions.
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