Performance of a medical oxygen concentrator using rapid pressure swing adsorption process: Effect of feed air pressure

The effects of feed air pressure on the steady-state performance of a medical oxygen concentrator (MOC) were experimentally evaluated using a novel design of a MOC unit which produced a continuous stream of ∼90% O₂ employing a rapid pressure swing adsorption (RPSA) process scheme. Dry, CO₂ free air containing ∼1% Ar at different feed gas pressures was used in the tests in conjunction with a commercial sample of LiLSX zeolite as the N₂ selective adsorbent in the process. The bed size factor (BSF) can be systematically reduced by increasing the feed air pressure for any given total cycle time. The effect of feed air pressure on the oxygen recovery (R) is, however, more complex; it increases with increasing feed pressure only at longer cycle times while the effect is marginal at shorter cycle times. The BSF cannot be indefinitely reduced by lowering total process cycle time at any pressure-a minimum is exhibited in the BSF-cycle time plot. The minimum value of the BSF decreases as the feed pressure is increased. The cycle time for the minimum BSF is, however, not significantly altered by the feed pressure in the data range of this work.