Pressure Swing Adsorption Research Articles

Simultaneously enhancing H2 recovery and CO2 captured pressure during the hydrogen purification process of medium-temperature shifting gas by coupled wet CO2 separation-PSA technology: From laboratory to industrial scale test

The petrochemical industry has a significant demand for high-purity hydrogen. It primarily obtained from the H2 purification unit by using pressure swing adsorption (PSA) technology to recover H2 from medium-temperature shifting gas (MTSG). The the coupled wet CO2 separation-PSA process was introduced in this work, aiming to capture CO2 from MTSG while simultaneously increasing the H2 recovery rate. To enhance the desorption pressure of CO2 separation unit in the coupled process to facilitate the storage or utilization of the captured CO2, firstly, a rigorous thermodynamic study was carried out to provide a theoretical basis for the development of an improved CO2 solvent. Subsequently, a pilot-scale test was executed to validate the theoretical findings. Finally, the patented coupled process was implemented at an industrial scale for the first time. The results showed that the capacity of PSA unit for H2 purification increased from 6800 to 12,000 tons per year and the H2 recovery rate increased from 84.6 % to 93.6 %; the CO2 desorption pressure increased from about 0.03 MPa (traditional Benfield process) to 0.15 MPa, which reduced the energy consumption of CO2 compression, and the total average annual economic benefits increased by US $ 15.55 million.

A PLC-Embedded Implementation of a Modified Takagi–Sugeno–Kang-Based MPC to Control a Pressure Swing Adsorption Process

The paper presents a case study that applies a model predictive control (MPC) approach in a Micro850 programmable logic controller (PLC) to a laboratory pressure swing adsorption (PSA) process used for separating gas mixtures of CO2 and CH4. PLC is an industrial hardware characterized by its robustness to hazardous environments and limited computational capacities, which poses computational challenges for MPC implementation. This paper’s main contribution is the application of the modified Takagi–Sugeno–Kang-based MPC (MTSK-MPC) algorithm to this PSA unit, which provides features to investigate and implement feasible MPC designs in PLCs. The investigation consists of a sensitivity analysis of how some design parameters influence the PLC memory and the MPC implementation and a comparative evaluation of the computational processing from different MPC algorithms and simulations. The comparison comprises software-in-the-loop simulations with three algorithms in the PC: an implicit MPC, an explicit MPC, and the MTSK-MPC. Additionally, it includes a hardware-in-the-loop simulation with the implemented MTSK-MPC in Micro850. The results show that the MPC algorithms achieve close performance, tracking setpoint changes and rejecting output disturbances, with the MTSK-MPC presenting the lower processing time among the MPCs in the PC. The study concludes that the implementation of MTSK-MPC in the Micro850 is feasible.

Analysis of an anaerobically digested animal waste-based microturbine driven-biogas energy system

The paper designs a biogas power plant that runs on anaerobically digested (AD) animal waste and integrated with a micro turbine and permanent magnet synchronous generator to generate renewable power. Cow dung, poultry manure, and swine have been explored as potential feedstocks for AD, and the various subprocesses are investigated at discrete temperature intervals that cover both the mesophilic and thermophilic temperature ranges (30 °C–50 °C). The biodegradability of animal wastes, retention time, loading rate, and the size of the reactor influence the overall biogas yield. Methane production from cow dung increased from 131.4 L/d at 30 °C to 171.12 L/d at 50 °C in 15 days. Whereas the methane output from poultry manure, and swine at 50 °C were 278.4 L/d and 284.5 L/d respectively. Moreover, a methane recovery efficiency of 75 % and a purge efficiency of 97 % were attained through pressure swing adsorption (PSA). Furthermore, the system is maintained at 25 kW at steady-state conditions, attaining saturation for a torque value of 7.77 p.u. In a dynamic setting, the load is varied for a range of 25 kW–40 kW, and stable sinusoidal waveforms are generated as outputs that indicate the system's ability to withstand load variations.

Techno-economic assessment of bio-hythane upgrading processes based on ionic liquids

Hythane, the blending of hydrogen (H2) and methane (CH4), is attracting attention as it could accelerate the H2 economy. H2 and CH4 can be extracted from organic material by fermentation and anaerobic digestion, respectively, but this alternative bio-hythane also contains carbon dioxide (CO2) that must be removed. This work addresses the use of Aprotic N‑Heterocyclic Anion-based ionic liquids (AHA-ILs) for bio-hythane upgrading. Three AHA-ILs ([P2228][2-CNPyr], [P2228][3-IPyra], and [P2228][4-BrIm]) were evaluated at process scale by conducting rate-based COSMO-based/Aspen Plus simulations of the upgrading processes. A wide range of operating conditions were screened by modifying key process variables such as the absorption pressure and the desorption temperature, and the bio-hythane composition. Energy and AHA-IL consumptions were analyzed together with variable operating cost (VOC). Energy demand and VOC were used to identify the Pareto optimal for each case study using a Python code. In addition, a detailed economic study was performed for the best three systems. The proposed processes are very versatile and are capable of handling bio-hythane of different compositions, being 10 %mol H2, 60 %mol CH4, and 30 %mol CO2 the most suitable for better process performance. For this case, the energy demand is about 0.51–0.56 kWh/Nm3 and VOC is about 1 cent. $/Nm3. The AHA-IL [P2228][3-IPyra] exhibited the best results for both variables. The energy requirement is in line with the minimum energy required for amine scrubbing technology, while VOC can be reduced by up to 17–48 % compared with electricity-intensive water scrubbing, pressure swing adsorption or membranes. Although higher investment is necessary, the assessed bio-hythane upgrading processes have the potential to operate around 0.1 $/Nm3, with VOC contributing about 8 % to the total cost.

3D-printed zeolite 13X gyroid monolith adsorbents for CO2 capture

Self-standing 3D-printed gyroid monoliths of zeolite 13X were fabricated for the first time for carbon dioxide adsorption. Gyroid sheet-based triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) lattices provide high surface area per unit volume, smooth surfaces with no discontinuities, and low pressure drop compared to powder and beads, which are essential in gas adsorption. A photopolymer resin and zeolite 13X powder slurry was 3D-printed by digital light processing followed by debinding to remove the polymer and sintering to diffuse and consolidate the zeolite 13X particles. The sintered adsorbents were mechanically stable, and structural and morphological analyses revealed the interconnected nature of the gyroid cells permitting CO2 molecules to easily diffuse into the printed structure, thus ensuring sufficient adsorbent/adsorbate contact. The gyroid zeolite monoliths reached an equilibrium adsorption capacity of 3.5 mmol g−1 in 77 min at 25 °C and 1 bar, whereas the beads and powder required 96 and 100 min, respectively, while after 20 pressure swing adsorption (PSA) cycles, the zeolite monolith showed sustainable performance compared to the powder. The CO2/N2 selectivity ranged from 328 (at 50 mbar) to 51 (at 1 bar) at 25 °C for the zeolite monolith, whereas the powder exhibited selectivity values in the range of 294 (at 50 mbar) to 33 (at 1 bar). Dynamic breakthrough experiments using CO2/N2 mixtures confirmed the fast kinetics and separation performance of the monoliths, while the pressure drop was also significantly lower than the powder and the beads. The novel topology of the developed self-standing gyroid zeolite monoliths eliminate the need for structuring of powdered adsorbents and exhibit competitive performance, enhanced kinetics and cyclability, and reduced pressure drop toward large-scale carbon capture application.

Pressure swing adsorption process modeling using physics-informed machine learning with transfer learning and labeled data

Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) modeling remains a challenging task since it exhibits strong dynamic and cyclic behavior. This study presents a systematic physics-informed machine learning method that integrates transfer learning and labeled data to construct a spatiotemporal model of the PSA process. To approximate the latent solutions of partial differential equations (PDEs) in the specific steps of pressurization, adsorption, heavy reflux, counter-current depressurization, and light reflux, the system's network representation is decomposed into five lightweight sub-networks. On this basis, we propose a parameter-based transfer learning (TL) combined with domain decomposition to address the long-term integration of periodic PDEs and expedite the network training process. Moreover, to tackle challenges related to sharp adsorption fronts, our method allows for the inclusion of a specified amount of labeled data at the boundaries and/or within the system in the loss function. The results show that the proposed method closely matches the outcomes achieved through the conventional numerical method, effectively simulating all steps and cyclic behavior within the PSA processes.

Exploration of environmentally friendly processes for converting CO2 into propanol through direct hydrogenation

This study firstly explores six process configurations for the conversion of CO2 to propanol via direct hydrogenation. The variations in the proposed configurations lie in the technologies used for off-gas treatment (such as pressure swing adsorption, oxyfuel combustion, autothermal reforming, and chemical absorption) and the intensification of separation (including the incorporation of the hydration reaction of ethylene oxide) within the process. Energy efficiency analysis, techno-economic analysis (in minimum required selling price, MRSP), and life cycle assessment (on global warming potential, GWP) were conducted to evaluate all proposed schemes. Overall, this study suggests that enhancing the selectivity towards propanol and implementing a suitable off-gas treatment strategy are crucial for this process. Based on the findings, we recommend Scheme 4, which involves auto-thermal reforming for off-gas treatment, as the optimal configuration. It leads to an energy efficiency of 45.33 %. Despite the higher MRSP (3.12 USD/kg when using grey H2, 7.45 USD/kg when using green H2, commercial process: 1.4 to 1.6 USD/kg), it significantly reduces GWP (3.19 kg-CO2-eq/kg when using grey H2, 1.59 kg-CO2-eq/kg when using green H2) created from the conventional process (6.77 kg-CO2-eq/kg). Given appropriate economic incentives, the proposed process could serve as a more environmentally friendly option for propanol production.

Multi-objective optimization of ANN-based vacuum pressure swing adsorption process for ethane and ethylene separation

A bilevel optimization methodology was developed for separating ethane and ethylene using vacuum pressure swing adsorption. Data generated through Latin hypercube sampling and normalization were employed to construct a neural network at a lower level, serving as a surrogate model for the comprehensive first-principle adsorption process. Following sensitivity analysis based on Monte Carlo simulation, optimization, data resampling, and reconciliation were performed at an upper level. Two cases were performed to optimize the ethane and ethylene separation process. In the first scenario, ethylene recovery was optimized under a purity constraint, resulting in an enhancement from 65.28 % to 87.19 %. In the second scenario, both ethylene recovery and energy consumption were simultaneously optimized with the purity constraint, leading to the generation of a Pareto front. From this Pareto front, two operating conditions were determined: one using TOPSIS and the other aimed at reducing energy consumption from a conventional distillation column to 0.733 MJ/kg-ethylene. Compared to conventional distillation, the vacuum pressure swing adsorption (VPSA) process showed 82.8 % recovery with 0.747 MJ/kg-ethylene and 72.21 % recovery with 0.683 MJ/kg-ethylene. A dynamic analysis and an economic analysis of scaling up VPSA process were performed to compare with C2 splitter.

Modeling and design of a combined electrified steam methane reforming-pressure swing adsorption process

Steam methane reforming (SMR) is the most widely used hydrogen (H2) production method, converting natural gas and steam into H2 and carbon dioxide (CO2). SMR is a mature industrial technology that burns fossil fuels to provide heat to the endothermic reforming reaction and to generate steam, which contributes to the production of greenhouse gas emissions. In order to reduce heating-based emissions, an electrically-heated steam methane reforming process has been proposed. Conventional SMR uses a packed bed catalyst and receives heat through radiation from hot flames in the surrounding furnace; on the other hand, an electrified SMR employs a washcoated catalyst, and is resistively-heated through the wall of the reactor coil. To gain further insight into the scalability of hydrogen production processes using electrically-heated reformers, this paper takes experimental data from an electrified reformer built at UCLA, extracts kinetic parameters, and uses these parameters to model and scale up a hydrogen production plant with a hydrogen production capacity of 231 kg/h (2607 Nm3/h). The simulated plant includes a reformer, two water gas shift reactors, pressure swing adsorption (PSA) for separation, and a heat exchange network to make steam for the reformer. A two-column-PSA process is dynamically modeled to output 99% H2 purity, and the pressures necessary for separation and H2 recovery are calculated using steady-state simulation data. A sensitivity analysis is conducted for the most energy-efficient H2 production conditions (e.g., operating pressure, heat flux), and CO2 production amounts are compared to a conventional SMR process, demonstrating that electrified SMR can potentially be a significantly cleaner alternative. The optimization of electrified reformers must target high mass and heat transfer along the full length of the reformer to achieve near full methane conversion that will minimize off-gas generation from the PSA unit.

Adsorption capability and regenerability of carbon slit micropores for CO2 capture

To date, the exceptional performance of microporous carbon in CO2 capture has been widely acknowledged as a crucial step towards achieving global zero carbon emissions. In this molecular simulation study, we employ grand canonical Monte Carlo simulation (GCMC) to shed light on the significant influence of micropores on CO2 adsorption capability and regenerability, emphasizing the need for a rigorous selection of the swing adsorption process based on pore size. Our findings corroborate numerous experimental and numerical studies that the ultramicropore (pore size < 7 Å) is the appropriate range for CO2 capture, as it facilitates the formation of a horizontal monolayer of CO2 molecules. Furthermore, we highlight the importance of designing porous carbon materials with a large pore volume at the optimal ultramicropore sizes (approximately 5.8-6.4 Å depending on adsorption and desorption conditions) for obtaining high CO2 capture capacity and effective adsorbent regeneration. For the first time, taking into account the operational parameters of practical swing adsorption processes, our simulation study provides valuable guidance for selecting the most appropriate technology tailored to each specific range of micropore size in porous carbon. For porous carbon materials with an abundant volume of ultramicropores, pressure swing adsorption (PSA) and pressure-temperature swing adsorption (PTSA), as conventional and hybrid swing adsorption processes respectively, are the most effective practices, achieving high CO2 working capacity and regenerability exceeding 80%.

High Selectivity and Adsorption Capacity of Cation-Exchanged Zeolites for Biogas, Syngas, and Flue Gas Separation in a Pressure Swing Adsorption Unit

High Selectivity and Adsorption Capacity of Cation-Exchanged Zeolites for Biogas, Syngas, and Flue Gas Separation in a Pressure Swing Adsorption Unit

Reliability evaluation of a medical oxygen supply system by FTA based on intuitionistic fuzzy sets

The main objective of healthcare centers is to ensure a consistent and high-purity oxygen supply for the safety of patients. Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) is a commonly used technique for supplying medical oxygen by eliminating nitrogen from the ambient air. Due to the increased fire risk associated with oxygen, any malfunctions in the oxygen supply system can lead to serious hospital fires. This study aimed to assess the reliability of the oxygen supply system using Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) based on both the traditional method and Intuitionistic Fuzzy Analysis. FTA is a logical analysis method used to identify events that could result in an undesirable top event and calculate the probability of its occurrence. The FTA of the PSA system outlined the logical sequence of events that could lead to the release of oxygen as a top event. The study revealed that the failure of the pressure switch in the concentrator, inadequate sealing, and the use of inappropriate materials for the seals were the primary basic events that led to the release of oxygen. Additionally, this study utilized the Intuitionistic Fuzzy System to quantify experts' opinions, providing more flexibility in handling ambiguous situations and considering both membership and non-membership functions simultaneously.

An Oxygen Supply Is Not Enough: A Qualitative Analysis of a Pressure Swing Adsorption Oxygen Plant Program in Ethiopian Hospitals.

In response to critical gaps in medical oxygen access, 2 pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen production centers were established using an ecosystem-strengthening strategy in Amhara, Ethiopia, in 2019. A qualitative study was conducted to assess enablers and bottlenecks to oxygen access at the hospital level after installation. A variety of hospital staff (clinicians, biomedical professionals, hospital administrators, and procurement teams) across 13 hospitals procuring oxygen from the plants participated in comprehensive, semistructured focus group discussions. A thematic framework analysis approach was used to identify key themes. A total of 101 individuals participated in 26 focus groups in 2021, 2 years after plants were installed. Primary themes were accessibility of supply, affordability, and hospital readiness. Respondents indicated a substantial increase in their hospital's ability to access lower-cost oxygen, with many attributing this to the locality of plants and reduced transportation barriers. However, other challenges persisted, and the emergence of COVID-19 1 year after plant installation and a civil conflict exacerbated supply shortages. Investments in equipment, supplies, and training optimized clinical utilization of oxygen and were highlighted as a need for ongoing investment. To achieve maximum impact, investments in large-scale oxygen systems must be accompanied by strategic plans to transport oxygen, reduce costs to hospitals, and provide support to clinical teams through equipment, supply procurement, and clinical training. These findings support comprehensive ecosystem approaches to strengthening oxygen access for sustainable impact.

Hydrogen purification to fuel cell quality using pressure swing adsorption for CO2 separation over activated carbon molecular sieve: Experimental and dynamic modelling evaluation under non-isothermal condition

Hydrogen purification is a crucial step in producing high-quality fuel cell-grade hydrogen. This study evaluates the efficacy of activated carbon molecular sieve (CMS) as an adsorbent for CO2 removal from hydrogen streams using pressure swing adsorption (PSA) under non-isothermal conditions. A dynamic model was developed to investigate the effects of bed temperature, solid bulk density, and hydrogen feed concentration on hydrogen purity. To verify the model's accuracy, comparison between the simulated results and experimental data was made under similar operating conditions. By employing a central composite design, the interaction effects of the investigated parameters on the PSA system were also studied. The results show that the observed H2 purity of 99.5% and recovery of 58.82% were obtained. By optimizing the parameters to a bed temperature of 300K, solid bulk density of 720 kg/m3, and hydrogen concentration of 88%, improved hydrogen purity of 99.99% was obtained.

Medical oxygen production, supply, and infrastructure augmentation during the COVID-19 pandemic in India: A narrative review

According to the World Health Organization, the primary symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, and fatigue, while more serious cases present with dyspnea (difficulty breathing) and chest pain. The medical use of oxygen therapy is a common life support treatment for numerous diseases at multiple levels of health care in India. An abrupt spike in medical oxygen demand (nearly 100 &amp;ndash; 200 fold) has been observed in regions such as South America, Africa, and Asia, including India. Governments of the respective countries have implemented policy decisions to tackle medical oxygen shortage during the pandemic. In this narrative review, we describe and summarize the actions taken by the Indian government to manage the medical oxygen requirement during the deadly COVID-19 waves in India. Searches were conducted on PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar databases, and websites of various ministries and departments of the Government of India, covering the period from January 2020 to January 31, 2023. Qualitative data were extracted using pre-defined themes from published documents related to medical oxygen supply during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Indian context. This narrative review summarizes the state of medical oxygen during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on medical oxygen production, supply, infrastructure augmentation, pressure swing adsorption plants, capacity building, web application, and monitoring mechanisms. The 76th World Health Assembly has also adopted the Access to Medical Oxygen Resolution to prevent deaths and ensure that no country faces an oxygen shortage, as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Grafting of functional organic ligand on zeolite Y for efficient CH4/N2 separation

The unique shape selectivity of zeolite is widely used in gas separation, but the preparation of adsorbents for the efficient separation of CH4/N2 is technically challenging due to their similar physical properties. Herein, we performed a two-step modification of commercial zeolite Y by ion exchange (Zn2+) and ligand (almIM) grafting, and successfully introduced metal complexes into the pores of zeolite NaY. The suitable pore size (0.4 nm) and the presence of functional groups made the adsorbents more efficient for CH4/N2 separation. At 298 K and 1 bar, the CH4/N2 selectivity of ZnY-almIM reached to 4.52, which was significantly higher than that of the pristine zeolite NaY (1.52). DFT simulations confirmed that the introduction of ligands enhanced the affinity between the zeolite framework and CH4. Breakthrough experiments have demonstrated that ZnY-almIM exhibits excellent CH4/N2 separation performance, and more importantly, the two-bed six-step pressure swing adsorption (PSA) simulations further indicated that the pristine 50 % methane could be enriched to 90 % with a recovery of 87 %.

A Comprehensive Review on Biomethane Production from Biogas Separation and its Techno-Economic Assessments.

Biogas offers significant benefits as a renewable energy source, contributing to decarbonization, waste management, and economic development. This comprehensive review examines the historical, technological, economic, and global aspects of biomethane production, focusing on the key players such as China, the European Union, and North America, and associated opportunities and challenges as well as future prospects from an Australia perspective. The review begins with an introduction to biogas, detailing its composition, feedstock sources, historical development, and anaerobic digestion (AD) process. Subsequently, it delves into major biomethane production technologies, including physicochemical absorption, high-pressure water scrubbing (HPWS), amine scrubbing (AS), pressure swing adsorption (PSA), membrane permeation/separation (MP), and other technologies including organic solvent scrubbing and cryogenic separation. The study also discusses general guidelines of techno-economic assessments (TEAs) regarding biomethane production, outlining the methodologies, inventory analysis, environmental life cycle assessment (LCA), and estimated production costs. Challenges and opportunities of biogas utilization in Australia are explored, highlighting and referencing global projections, polarization in production approaches, circularity in waste management, and specific considerations for Australia. The review concludes discussing future perspectives for biomethane, emphasizing the importance of technological advancements, policy support, and investment in realizing its full potential for sustainable energy and waste management solutions.

Analysis of nitrogen adsorption capability at various activation temperatures of Klaten natural zeolite

The Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) method operates by passing air through an adsorbent to produce concentrated oxygen gas. Zeolites are commonly utilized as adsorbents due to their ability to adsorb nitrogen from the surrounding air. Two types of zeolites commonly employed are natural and synthetic zeolites. While the utilization of natural zeolites as adsorbents in oxygen purification remains limited, their potential as an alternative adsorbent is worth exploring in this field. This study focused on developing physically activated Klaten natural zeolite as an adsorbent to enhance oxygen purity. Physical activation involved heating for 1.5 hours using an electric oven at four temperature variations (250ºC, 300ºC, 350ºC, and 400ºC). Additionally, four distinct flow rates were tested: 0.1; 0.5; 1.0; and 1.5 lpm. Oxygen purification testing revealed that higher activation temperatures led to greater increases in oxygen concentration. The highest increase of 2.45% was achieved at an activation temperature of 400ºC, while the lowest increase of 1.75% was observed at 250ºC with a flow rate of 0.1 lpm. With a 10-minute holding period, oxygen content during the adsorption process ranged from 1.35% to 2.45%, compared to 0.60%-0.75% without holding. Physical activation of zeolite from Klaten enhanced its nitrogen absorption capacity, indicating the potential of natural zeolite from Klaten for oxygen purification through optimized activation processes, possibly via chemical activation

Reformer + Membrane separator plant for decarbonized hydrogen production from Biogas/Biomethane: An experimental study combined to energy efficiency and exergy analyses

Nowadays, the world energy production is still based on the exploitation of fossil fuels, mainly oil, coal, and natural gas, responsible for large greenhouse emissions in the environment. According to the measures proposed by the European Green Deal to meet the carbon neutrality by 2050, the decarbonisation of the global energy production processes represents a top priority. Hydrogen represents a carbon-free energy carrier, useful to drive the society toward a decarbonized-economy. The novelty of this work is represented by the experimental generation of clean hydrogen by a two stages plant constituted of a biogas/biomethane steam reformer and a Pd-Ag membrane separator, meanwhile applying on this simple case the methodology of the exergy analysis, identifying the main losses and suggesting improvements. Hence, it deals with the exergy analysis of the whole system with the process intensification operated by the membrane separator adopted instead of using several stages to separate/purify hydrogen − as conventionally done after the reforming stage (two water gas shift reactors, high and low temperature, followed by a pressure swing adsorption stage) − with the objective of recovering decarbonized hydrogen coming from the biogas/biomethane steam reformer, meeting the European targets indicated by the Clean Hydrogen Alliance. This approach allowed to understand the amount of irreversibilities present in such a system as well as how the thermal efficiency may be influenced by a number of parameters, constituting globally a baseline for the scaling up of this process technology from lab to bench/pilot scale. The best results of this work highlight that the utilization of biomethane in the feed stream to generate hydrogen resulted to be a better choice than biogas in terms of thermal efficiency (based on the lower heating value) of the whole system, equal to 73 % at 773 K, while the highest percentage of exergy destruction was concentrated in the condensation stage, with values varying between 76 % and 93 %, depending on the feed stream typology. The two stages system was able to meet the “decarbonized hydrogen production target 2027”, with a hydrogen recovery of 90 % and a purity of 99.9999 %. Last but not least, the overall exergy destroyed efficiency of the overall system in the two analyzed cases was 92 % (biomethane feed stream) and 88 % (biogas feed stream), respectively.

Optimizing medical oxygen concentrators: Efficiency, flexibility, and patient-centric solutions

Medical oxygen concentrators (MOCs) play a vital role in providing oxygen therapy to patients with respiratory diseases. This paper offers a comprehensive evaluation of different adsorbents, including 13X, LiLSX, 5A, CaX, Ag-ETS-10, and AgLiLSX, utilized in MOCs. Process modeling and multi-objective optimization are conducted to assess the effectiveness of these adsorbents using the Skarstrøm cycle, employing pressure swing adsorption (PSA), vacuum swing adsorption (VSA), and pressure vacuum swing adsorption (PVSA) processes. The optimization result indicates that LiLSX is the top choice, providing medical-grade oxygen at a total product flow rate exceeding 15 SLPM. Additionally, 13X and CaX are identified as economical alternatives, particularly suitable for employment in the PSA and VSA processes, respectively. This study highlights the significance of establishing a connection between the Medical and Chemical Engineering communities through the direct incorporation of medical performance indicators, such as the fraction of inspired oxygen (FIO2), into the optimization process. The findings serve as a guide for selecting an appropriate design based on the patient’s requirements and demonstrate LiLSX’s capability to meet a diverse range of treatments, achieving FIO2 values up to 0.75. Furthermore, we explore the flexibility of MOC designs in meeting the demands of multiple patients simultaneously and propose energy-efficient design options based on patient needs. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into optimizing MOCs, ensuring effective and reliable oxygen therapy for patients, while also addressing challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic and potential global lithium scarcity.