Talk:Chemical oxygen generator

Latest comment: 9 months ago by Pbsouthwood in topic Out of scope?

Untitled edit

Why are oxygen candles used instead of a canister of compressed oxygen?

Compressed 02 can leak or explode. COGs won't, and have an long shelf lie. [stargate70]

This might be worth adding to the article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/6478127.stm David 12:27, 22 March 2007 (UTC)Reply

Chemical oxygen generator in commercial airliners edit

I added information that the generators are found in the backs of the seats on some wide body airliners, such as the DC-10. Also, that an ATA DC-10 was destroyed while parked at O'Hare Airport, on August 10, 1986, because one O2 generator was triggered while it was in the back of a broken DC-10 seat, which was being shipped to a repair station in the cargo hold of ATA Flight 131. EditorASC (talk) 23:45, 1 December 2008 (UTC)Reply


Is the long description of the location of oxygen canisters on some jets really on-topic?

Mechanical oxygen generators edit

"Oxygen generator" directs to this page, but in fact there are other types of oxygen generators besides chemical generators. One type used aboard aircraft effectively separates nitrogen and oxygen in atmospheric air and can be used for neutral atmospheres in fuel tanks or oxygen supplies, but I don't see any mention of it here.Agateller 01:08, 3 November 2007 (UTC)Reply

Other types of oxygen generation should not be redirected to this page, they are out of scope.· · · Peter Southwood (talk): 16:42, 7 August 2023 (UTC)Reply

Oxygen generator failure on HMS Tireless edit

I came to look at this page after reading an article about what caused an explosion on HMS Tireless - the cause was apparently an oxygen generator, probably fouled by oil. This may be worth mentioning in the article alongside the Mir discussion. The article can be found here on pages 2/3:


Navy News July 2008 —Preceding unsigned comment added by SheffGruff (talkcontribs) 12:39, 2 July 2008 (UTC)Reply

Uses edit

"a kilogram of LiOH absorbs about half a kilogram of CO2".

2LiOH + CO2 → Li2CO3 + H2O

LiOH + CO2 → LiHCO3

If Li has 7, O has 16, H has 1 and C has 12 mass units, then the first equation suggests that 48 units of LiOH can absorb 44 units of CO2. The second equation suggests that twice as much CO2 can be absorbed.

I would be grateful if someone could explain why LiOH can only absorb half its weight in CO2. RTBoyce (talk) 05:44, 18 September 2011 (UTC)Reply

I presume the reaction doesn't go to completion. There will be an appropriate equilibrium based on the ambient CO2 concentration. At 100% CO2, it might go close to completion, but for making breathable air, not so far. Gah4 (talk) 22:25, 3 September 2019 (UTC)Reply

SolidOx_(welding) edit

I presume this is similar chemistry to that in SolidOx_(welding). That article only mentions the chlorate, but there needs to be something oxidizable to generate heat, and to keep the reaction going. Gah4 (talk) 22:27, 3 September 2019 (UTC)Reply

Similar, but not the same. SolidOx exhaust was mostly oxygen, but too toxic to breathe. The pellets were sodium chlorate, bound around cellulose fibres (these were both the fuel and also a mechanical binder) and there was also a glue in there which I think was dextrin. There were some other bits in there too (might have been a surface coating?) which involved a small quantity of ammonium and phosphorus compounds which acted as a primer for lighting. These were the toxic aspect.
I knew two people who'd have been able to reel off the full composition, but like most chemists they're dead now. The things haven't been made for 30+ years. Andy Dingley (talk) 23:54, 3 September 2019 (UTC)Reply
Yes not good enough for breathable oxygen, but otherwise fit within the definition of chemical oxygen generator. Somehow I remember reading about them 30 years ago, yet never being interested in home welding. The idea of lighting them like a match is a little strange. Gah4 (talk) 00:19, 4 September 2019 (UTC)Reply

Out of scope? edit

How are pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen generators classified as chemical oxygen generators? Please provide reliable source to support their inclusion. · · · Peter Southwood (talk): 16:46, 7 August 2023 (UTC)Reply