Oxygen Concentrator

An oxygen concentrator is a device used for medical health to provide oxygen therapy to patients. They are also used for industrial processes. It is a better substitute to compressed oxygen tanks and provides an uninterrupted supply of oxygen to the users. An efficient supply of oxygen is also provided in industrial developments with the help of an oxygen concentrator.

An oxygen concentrator filters oxygen from the ambient air composed of 80% nitrogen and only 20% oxygen with the help of zeolite granules that absorbs nitrogen from the compressed air. The equipment consists of a compressor that elevates its pressure to about 20 lbs/square inch. This compressed air is passed to one of the cylinders containing zeolite material where the nitrogen is captivated separating oxygen, which is filtered for patient’s use.

The zeolite material in portable oxygen concentrators act as a molecular filter that absorbs nitrogen from the atmosphere. This cycle takes about 20 seconds enabling the provision of a non-stop supply of oxygen to the user. The other cylinder collecting nitrogen from the zeolite is dispersed to the atmosphere, which is regenerated for the next cycle ensuring absolutely no wastage. Every oxygen concentrator unit has an output of 5liters per minute of concentrated oxygen that could be from the level of 50 % to 95 %. This procedure is called the pressure swing option (PSA).

An oxygen concentrator used for the industrial processes have higher soaring pressures and flows that are formulated by the Air Products called the Vacuum Swing Absorption (VSA). This procedure uses a single blower and a valve which turns the flow through the blower to follow the regeneration process that is carried out under a vacuum. These gadgets are purchased by the aquaculture industries.

Other than this there are many updated and advanced gadgets coming up everyday which are portable and battery operated. The portable oxygen concentrator can now be used in commercial airlines but are limited to certain brands only. Such an oxygen concentrator is limited to up to 3LPM and has a non-stop oxygen flow. While it is battery operated, it can also be plugged into a vehicle DC adapter and is used for airline purpose as well as ambulatory purposes.

The oxygen concentrator has proved to be less hazardous when compared to the oxygen cylinders that are prone to accidents, which can rupture or leak to significantly increase the combustion rate of fire. This makes the oxygen concentrator more advantageous and feasible. This equipment is more reliable for surgical teams in the military or disaster situations as oxygen tanks which may be dangerous in such situations, while a portable oxygen concentrator is not.

Though the bottled oxygen is one of the most expensive gases with limited supply, the oxygen concentrator has proved to be cost efficient with a nonstop supply. It has proved to be beneficial to patients suffering with bronchial and breathing problems. The portable feature and rechargeable battery system has also helped patients to be more mobile.