Oxygen concentrator is Very popular for medical purposes. It is the industrial supply device for oxygen which is used for bedside oxygen treatments, supplies to patients requiring oxygen for inhalation aid as well as in ambulances. It is a safer, cheaper and more convenient option compared to oxygen cylinder for providing oxygen. An oxygen cylinder, due to containing compressed gas in high pressure, has the chance of bursting and catching fire easily.
An oxygen concentrator basically consists of two cylinders, each containing zeolite material. This zeolite material comprises many pores and is constructed of aluminosilicate minerals. It is used for adsorbing nitrogen in the ambient air. The device’s most important aim is to complete a cycle: the nitrogen is adsorbed in the atmosphere in 1 cylinder, while another one is vented off to the environment to dissipate the trapped nitrogen. In each of the cycles, the air flows at a pressure of approximately 20 psig, where psig denotes the gauge pressure.
The oxygen Concentrator allows for a constant supply of oxygen, which is typically at the rate of 20 seconds each cycle. The flow speed is generally around 5 litres/minute (LPM) and the concentration levels may vary between 50 and 95%. This specific process is also called pressure swing adsorption or PSA. In the year 1999, there have been concentrator units that provide up to 10 LPM, usually available for high flow sufferers.
Recently, since the Year 2000, many companies have also begun providing portable oxygen concentrator units. These are usually smaller and produce less than one 1 LPM of oxygen. They generally employ a specific sort of pulse or need flow, which is meant to offer the patient with oxygen only when he/she’s inhaling. However, there are additional portable ones that provide a constant stream of oxygen. These portable concentrators are often operated simply by plugging them to wall plug sockets, exactly like the bigger, stationary ones.
Oxygen concentrator Units are also utilised in ambulances, aeroplanes etc. medical applications by plugging them into the car’s DC adapter. The majority of them are also capable of being provided by battery power. They are used in combat aircraft for providing the pilot with oxygen at very high altitudes, in a form called molecular sieve oxygen concentrators or MSOC. They have other military applications also desiccant pouch. Typically, oxygen concentrators are used together with CPAP masks for sleep apena patients and also those with other respiratory ailments such as emphysema.