Making oxygenMagnetic momentA new approach may make oxygen-manufacturing much cheaperOxygen is vital. Literally so for breathing, and thus for many hospital patients.And metaphorically for industries ranging from steelmaking to pharmaceuticals, which use it in their processes.The world market for the gas is therefore large. Various estimates put it as having been between about $28bn and $49bn in 2019.It could, though, be larger. In a set of reactions that also involve oxygen and steam, fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas can be turned into hydrogen,a source of energy, and carbon dioxide, which can be separated and sequestered underground.That might allow their continued employment in a world of restricted greenhouse-gas emissions.It would, however, require a cheap and abundant supply of oxygen.Which is why America's Department of Energy is sponsoring a project intended to pull oxygen from the atmosphere with magnets.Dry air is a mixture of 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen and 1% argon, with a few other trace gases such as carbon dioxide.
