Developing a novel lightweight portable oxygen concentrator unit by validating the performance of the adsorbent materials

空气污染是一个全球性的流行病问题，特别是在人口稠密的特大城市。因此，越来越需要使用轻质便携式氧气浓缩器来解决空气质量问题。在该提案中，行业合作伙伴CPAP Direct Inc.直接涉及用于睡眠呼吸暂停和其他医疗应用的氧气浓缩器领域。CPAP有兴趣通过开发一种生产30-50%富氧空气的产品，将其市场扩展到“便携式”空气浓缩器，这不是医疗级。本研究的主要目的是寻找一种合适的沸石分子筛，用于开发轻质非医用级便携式制氧机。一种基于变压吸附（PSA）技术的合适的沸石分子筛已被确认为在Engage Grant中有效。该系统能够以2升/分钟的流速在空气中产生30-50%的富氧空气流。 连续模式 在项目的下一阶段，CPAP Direct将继续与我们的团队合作，研究和验证所选沸石分子筛在环境条件下的性能，并构建便携式氧气浓缩器作为新产品。将研究能够在加速试验条件下模拟实际氧气浓缩器装置的实验室规模自动PSA装置，以评估所选吸附剂的寿命和空气污染物对装置性能的影响。此外，控制系统和硬件组件将在工业合作伙伴的工程团队的帮助下设计。

Air pollution is a worldwide epidemic problem particularly in heavily populated megacities. As a result, there is a growing need to address the air quality using a lightweight and portable oxygen concentrator. In this proposal, the industry partner, CPAP Direct Inc. is directly involved in the field of oxygen concentrators for sleep apnea and other medical applications. CPAP is interested in expanding their markets into "portable" air concentrators by developing a product that produces 30-50% oxygen-enriched air, which is not medical grade. The main objective of the research project is to find a suitable zeolitic molecular sieve for the development of a lightweight non-medical grade portable oxygen concentrator. A proper zeolitic molecular sieve working based on pressure swing adsorption (PSA) technique has been identified proven effective in the Engage Grant. This system is capable of producing a 30-50% oxygen-enriched air stream with a flow rate of 2 l/min in a continuous mode. In the next phase of the project, CPAP Direct would continue its support and collaboration with our team to investigate and validate the performance of the selected zeolitic molecular sieves under environmental conditions, and construct a portable oxygen concentrator as a new product. A bench-scale automated PSA setup capable of simulating the actual oxygen concentrator unit under accelerated testing conditions will be investigated in order to evaluate the lifetime of the selected adsorbent and the effect of air pollutants on the unit performance. Furthermore, the control system and the hardware components will be designed with the help of the engineering team of the industrial partner.