Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
You can compress oxygen as far as your equipment allows, with no theoretical limit other than the strength of the container and pressure-generating equipment. As oxygen gas is compressed, it will eventually liquefy or solidify, and at extremely high pressures, it can even become a solid, exhibiting different phases. Practical limits are determined by the strength of the cylinder or container and the pressure you can safely generate.
How oxygen is compressed
AI responses may include mistakes.
Bonded superdense canisters.
That makes the breathing part independent from stateroom general life support.
We don't know how much oxygen scrubbing equipment costs or weighs, but, if the crew is willing to carry around oxygen cans, we can drop this aspect of operating costs, and use television meals.
How oxygen is compressed
- Gas to liquid:
At room temperature, oxygen can be compressed until it liquefies. This requires high pressure, but the gas will not turn into a liquid "per se" until it is cooled below its critical temperature.
- Supercritical fluid:
If you continue to compress it above its critical temperature, it will become a supercritical fluid, which is denser than a gas but does not have a distinct liquid-gas boundary.
- Solidification:
With extremely high pressure, oxygen can become a solid, undergoing phase transitions into different solid states.
- Container strength:
The primary limit is the strength of your container. The higher the pressure, the sturdier the container must be to prevent a rupture.
- Equipment capability:
The maximum pressure you can generate is limited by the capacity of your hydraulic press or other compression equipment.
- Safety:
High-pressure oxygen can be extremely flammable and dangerous. In a compressed gas cylinder, the stored energy is significant. If the cylinder is damaged or the valve is broken off, it can become a projectile.
- In practice:
High-pressure gas cylinders can hold gases at pressures that are around 160 times the internal volume of the cylinder.
- In a lab:
Experiments can achieve pressures of tens of thousands of atmospheres, which can even cause gases to become solid.
- What's the minimum volume that one kg of oxygen can safely ...
02.04.2023 — 1 kg of O2 = 31,25 mol which would be 700 liters at STP. Compress this to 1000 bar and you have 700 cm3, therefore more ...
AI responses may include mistakes.
Bonded superdense canisters.
That makes the breathing part independent from stateroom general life support.
We don't know how much oxygen scrubbing equipment costs or weighs, but, if the crew is willing to carry around oxygen cans, we can drop this aspect of operating costs, and use television meals.
