Ways to make Oxygen
2 routes in the Atlas, side by side per the same functional unit. Whether they compare is computed from their data, criterion by criterion; a warning sits next to each route it concerns.
Per 1 t of Oxygen: inventory from each route's LCI dataset, unallocated; footprints per the functional unit of their own LCA.
| Route | Tier, design maturity, review status | Geography, year | Energy | Feedstocks | Key emissions | Footprint | Comparability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cryogenic air separation unit (500 t/d GOX)cryogenic double-column air separation, 500 t/d GOX, pumped liquid products, TSA front endoxygen/gox-30barg-99.5 | flowsheet or hand-writtenDesign maturity: Screening (research)Not independently reviewedDataset review: not stated | generic, 2026 |
|
| none | 66.7 kg CO2-eq33.1 to 133 (95 %)Climate change per 1 t oxygen, gaseous, >= 99.5 mol%, 30 barg |
|
| Cryogenic air separation unit (500 t/d GOX)cryogenic double-column air separation, 500 t/d GOX, pumped liquid products, TSA front endoxygen/lox | flowsheet or hand-writtenDesign maturity: Screening (research)Not independently reviewedDataset review: not stated | generic, 2026 | a co-product of a multi-output dataset (product:GOXP, product:GANP, product:LIN besides it): its share needs the allocation of the LCI database build | no footprint |
| ||
Footprint data: UK Government GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting 2026 (flat file) (OGL-3.0); Greenhouse gas emission intensity of electricity generation in Europe (indicator ENER038) (CC BY (version not stated) under the EEA legal notice (https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/legal-notice): re-use, including commercial, with the EEA acknowledged in each copy and the meaning not distorted). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (UK Government GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting 2026, DESNZ). Source: European Environment Agency (EEA), indicator ENER038 'Greenhouse gas emission intensity of electricity generation in Europe' (2026), https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/indicators/greenhouse-gas-emission-intensity-of-1, CC BY; values converted from g to kg CO2e per kWh.
How comparability is checked
- Allocation
- same (same allocation method: exergy)
- Background data (impacts)
- not applicable (same background data and boundary behind the impact numbers (only routes with a footprint))
- System boundary
- same (same system boundary of the inventory (the dataset's boundary): gate-to-gate foreground of the plant with its construction)
- Data quality (TfS DQR)
- same (data quality: every route states a TfS DQR, none more than 1 above the best)
- Functional unit
- differs (same functional unit (amount and unit of the reference product): 1 kg, 1 t)
- Reference product (grade, state)
- differs (same reference product: registry grade and state: oxygen/gox-30barg-99.5 (basis mole, component O2, phase gas, pressure 31.0, purity 0.997115, temperature 40.0), oxygen/lox (basis mole, component O2, phase liquid, pressure 1.3, purity 0.998093, temperature -183.0))
- System model
- same (same system model (docs/system-model.md): cutoff)
Market activity in the LCI database: market:oxygen/lox:RER (production-mix, RER), market:oxygen/gox-30barg-99.5:RER (production-mix, RER). Link a consumer of Oxygen to the market rather than to one route.
ISO 14044 requires a critical review (by a panel of interested parties, ISO/TS 14071) of a comparative assertion intended to be disclosed to the public. These routes are listed side by side for screening; a statement that one is better than another needs that review. None of these routes has had such a review.