What are the main uses of oxygen?

September 27, 2025 •

3 min read

Oxygen, a colorless and odorless gas, is the third most abundant element in the universe and makes up approximately 21% of Earth's atmosphere. But beyond being essential for human survival, what are the main uses of oxygen across various fields, including medicine, industry, and the environment?

Quick Summary

Oxygen is a highly versatile and reactive element used for sustaining life through respiration, in medical therapies like supplemental and hyperbaric treatments, and for a wide range of industrial applications including steel production, welding, chemical manufacturing, and rocket propulsion. It is also crucial for environmental processes such as wastewater treatment and maintaining aquatic ecosystems.

Key Points

Sustains Life: Oxygen is critical for cellular respiration, providing the energy necessary for all vital bodily functions in humans and other aerobic organisms.
Medical Treatment: Used in oxygen therapy to help patients with respiratory illnesses, and in hyperbaric oxygen therapy for wound healing and treating other conditions.
Industrial Power: Major applications include manufacturing high-quality steel, chemical synthesis, and creating high-temperature flames for welding and cutting.
Environmental Protection: Oxygen is key for wastewater treatment by accelerating the breakdown of pollutants and for environmental cleanup projects like bioremediation.
Propulsion and Life Support: In space, liquid oxygen is an oxidizer for rocket fuel, and oxygen is recycled for life support systems on spacecraft and the ISS.
Improved Efficiency: Its strong oxidizing properties are used in processes like glass production and paper bleaching to enhance quality and reduce environmental impact.

Oxygen's Role in Human Health and Medicine

Oxygen is arguably the single most important element for human life. In our bodies, it is a key component of cellular respiration, the process that extracts energy from organic molecules to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Without a constant supply of oxygen, our brain and other organs would rapidly fail. This biological necessity makes oxygen a cornerstone of modern medicine.

Supplemental Oxygen Therapy

Supplemental oxygen therapy provides additional oxygen to breathe for individuals with compromised lung function, helping maintain healthy blood oxygen levels. Delivery methods include nasal cannulas, face masks, or tents. It is used for conditions such as respiratory illnesses, heart failure, and sleep apnea.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)

HBOT involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber. This treatment increases oxygen levels in the blood, allowing deeper tissue penetration. HBOT is utilized for healing serious wounds, burns, and infections, treating decompression sickness, and addressing carbon monoxide poisoning.

Industrial Applications of Oxygen

Oxygen is essential in numerous industrial processes due to its reactive and oxidizing properties.

Steel and Metal Manufacturing

The steel industry relies heavily on oxygen, particularly in basic oxygen steelmaking where it oxidizes impurities to produce stronger steel. It is also used in cutting and piercing metals.

Chemical and Pharmaceutical Production

Oxygen is a crucial reactant in chemical synthesis, oxidation reactions, and supporting microbial growth in pharmaceuticals.

Welding and Cutting

Oxy-fuel welding and cutting combine oxygen with a fuel gas like acetylene to create a high-temperature flame for metalwork.

Environmental Applications

Oxygen is used in wastewater treatment through aeration systems to break down organic pollutants. It's also employed in environmental remediation and environmentally friendly bleaching processes in the pulp and paper industry.

Other Important Uses of Oxygen

Oxygen is vital in space exploration for life support and as an oxidizer in rocket propulsion. Advanced recycling technologies are being developed for future missions. It is also used in aquaculture to maintain fish health and in food packaging to extend shelf life.

Comparison of Major Oxygen Uses


Use Case	Description	Primary Benefit
Respiration	Biological process used by living organisms to extract energy from food.	Sustains life by producing ATP for cellular function.
Medical Therapy	Supplemental or hyperbaric oxygen to treat various medical conditions.	Increases oxygen delivery to body tissues for healing and support.
Steel Production	Blown into molten iron to oxidize impurities and strengthen steel.	Produces higher quality steel faster and more efficiently.
Welding & Cutting	Used with fuel gas to create a high-temperature flame for metalwork.	Creates powerful, precise flames for joining and cutting metals.
Wastewater Treatment	Pumps oxygen into sewage to accelerate decomposition by bacteria.	Enhances purification and speeds up the breakdown of pollutants.
Space Exploration	Provides life support and acts as an oxidizer for rocket fuel.	Enables human survival and propulsion in the vacuum of space.

Conclusion

Oxygen's uses span from sustaining life to powering industry. Its biological role is fundamental for aerobic life, while its chemical properties make it essential in diverse industrial applications. Continued advancements in oxygen technology promise further progress in health, technology, and sustainability.

For more in-depth information on oxygen's vital role in biological processes, you can visit {Link: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen}.

Frequently Asked Questions

Oxygen is crucial for our cells to perform cellular respiration, the process that converts nutrients into energy (ATP). Without sufficient oxygen, cells cannot produce enough energy to function correctly, leading to organ damage and failure.

Supplemental oxygen therapy provides a higher concentration of oxygen to breathe at normal atmospheric pressure for patients with low blood oxygen levels. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber, which forces more oxygen into the bloodstream to promote deep tissue healing.

In basic oxygen steelmaking, pure oxygen is blown through molten iron. The oxygen reacts with impurities like carbon and silicon, removing them and creating stronger, higher-quality steel more efficiently than older methods.

No, oxygen itself is not explosive, but it is an accelerant for combustion. For welding and cutting, oxygen is combined with a fuel gas, such as acetylene, to create the high-temperature flame necessary for melting metal.

Wastewater treatment plants use aeration systems to pump oxygen into the water. This promotes the growth of aerobic bacteria that consume and break down organic pollutants and waste materials, speeding up the cleaning process.

Yes, oxygen is used in modified atmosphere packaging to control the gas composition around food products. Different concentrations of oxygen can help extend the shelf life and maintain the freshness of various foods.

Oxygen is essential for two main purposes in space. It is a critical component of life support systems for astronauts, and liquid oxygen serves as an oxidizer that allows rocket fuel to burn in the vacuum of space, generating propulsion.

When you breathe, air containing about 21% oxygen enters your lungs. The oxygen diffuses from the air sacs (alveoli) into your bloodstream, where it is carried by hemoglobin in red blood cells to the body's tissues and organs.