Abstract
Medical oxygen concentrators (MOCs) are used for supplying medical grade oxygen to prevent hypoxemia-related complications related to COVID-19, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic bronchitis and pneumonia. MOCs often use a technology called pressure swing adsorption (PSA), which relies on nitrogen-selective adsorbents for producing oxygen from ambient air. MOCs are often designed for fixed product specifications, thereby limiting their use in meeting varying product specifications caused by a change in patient’s medical condition or activity. To address this limitation, we design and optimize flexible single-bed MOC systems that are capable of meeting varying product specification requirements. Specifically, we employ a simulation-based optimization framework for optimizing flexible PSA- and pressure vacuum swing adsorption (PVSA)-based MOC systems. Detailed optimization studies are performed to benchmark the performance limits of LiX, LiLSX and 5A zeolite adsorbents. The results indicate that LiLSX outperforms both LiX and 5A, and can produce 90% pure oxygen at 21.7 L/min. Moreover, the LiLSX-based flexible PVSA system can manufacture varying levels of oxygen purity and flow rate in the range 93–95.7% and 1–15 L/min, respectively. The flexible MOC technology paves way for transitioning to an envisioned cyber-physical system with real-time oxygen demand sensing and delivery for improved patient care.
Highlights
We investigated portable medical oxygen concentrators (MOCs) for delivering medical grade oxygen to patients suffering from severe lung conditions including COVID-19 and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
We designed and optimized adsorption-based flexible MOC systems that are capable of producing oxygen with time-varying flow rate and purity requirements
The flexible design and operation of MOC units are inherently advantageous as the same MOC unit can be reconfigured to satisfy varying oxygen requirements
Summary
In case of PSA-based air separation processes, a small fraction of the oxygen product produced during the initial production step of the cycle can be utilized as purge and pressurization gas feeds later during bed regeneration stages. The major focus is to evaluate different candidate adsorbents (i.e., LiX, LiLSX, 5A) and cycle operating conditions on the process performance metrics which include oxygen product purity and recovery, production rate and BSF. 5, 6, 7 report the process performance metrics, i.e., oxygen purity, recovery, production rate and BSF, for the LiX, LiLSX and 5A zeolite adsorbents.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
