All About An Industrial Oxygen Generator

By Janine Hughes


If you have been sick, at some point, you have required oxygen when your body is not able to breathe in an out effectively. This gas is produced by an industrial oxygen generator and packaged appropriately for you to breathe. Apart from hospitals, the vital gas is made for industrial processes such as thermal cycling, biological water treatment, bleaching, catalytic oxidations, incineration and ozone regeneration. Other users include the mining industry and armed forces.

There are two kinds of technologies for industrial generators in existence-VPSA and PSA. To start with, both use a multistage process to purify the oxygen from 95% to around 99% purity level. PSA, which refers to Pressure Swing Adsorption works by extracting oxygen from the atmosphere and consequently concentrating it to achieve a higher purity level.

PSA functions by separating the molecules of the required gas from all other compressed air molecules. A particular set of pellets is used in the set up to ensure that only oxygen molecules pass through while all other molecules are adsorbed. The PSA system is able to achieve a purity level ranging between 93% and 99%. These PSA based generators come with maintenance advisories, low pressure and purity alarms, analyzers, among others.

VPSA, on the other hand has a purity level of around 93%. Its level of automation is adequate with remote controlling, communication and monitoring made possible. Despite the differences, both systems have remarkable reliability and minimal maintenance cost. For instance, the inlet air filters can be inspected and cleaned only twice a year. Moreover, they are both efficient in space occupied and also support on-site installation; a new trend among users.

The market has for a long time employed compressed air in cylinders for their needs. However, on-site generators have gained popularity among users. On-site supply cut down on transportation costs and cylinder rentals. They also nullify the need for long contracts between manufacturers, suppliers and users. On-site set ups also give the users much more control as the models are made with the least knowledgeable user in mind.

There are different parameters users should look out for when buying tanks. The number of models and manufacturers across the globe are numerous. Buyers should consider a models air requirement, size and output. Besides, rate of airflow and delivery capacity should be considered. The rate of flow ranges between 2 and 200NM/hour while delivery capacity varies from 0.6 to 56 l/s.

Functionalities to look out for before purchasing include off and on switches, customized flow gauges and controls, integrated control panel and a digital hour meter. These functionalities enable a plug and play kind of set up as all the operator needs to do is to set the required pressure and flow. Simply put, the system should be as user friendly as possible.

Air does not cost a thing and hence industrial generators should have low purchasing and operational costs. The buyer should also be sensitive about the functions, power consumption and efficiency. However, purpose of purchase should be the most important factor as all these factors should fit the purpose.




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