Science & technology | Making oxygen

How to separate oxygen from air using magnets

If it works, this vital gas should become cheaper

OXYGEN 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.

This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Magnetic moment”

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