Oxygen plant 3

[Esha2012]

Hi Everyone,

I would like to get some info. about Oxygen manufacturing plant(For Hospitals)-like method of production equipment required,Safety considerations etc.If any one of you can provide some web links it would be a help.
Expecting members valuable replays.
Regards.
Hem.

 

[nickelkid]

In the past I supported the maintenance for a hospital Breathing Air and Vacuum plant. The Oxygen plant was separate and provided, filled, and maintained by Air Liquide.

http://www.us.airliquidehealthcare....lk-gas-installations-and-engineering-drawings

I imagine most major Gas Suppliers have similar offerings.

 

[Esha2012]

Thank u Robin .Actually I am planing a separate plant and to supply in cylinder.it would be great if I get the process and machinery required.

 

[iainuts]

See CGA G-4.4, "Oxygen Pipeline Systems".

 

[Esha2012]

Hi All,

Can any one explain the process of making medical gases like oxygen nitrogen etc.The raw materials required,equipment process etc.I coud not find much info from WIKI.
Regards.

 

[DRWeig]

Put these phrases in Google:

Industrial production of pure oxygen

Industrial production of pure nitrogen

Etc...


Best to you,

Goober Dave

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[chicopee]

If I were you, research breathable oxygen under US Air Force references.
For Hospital your best bet would be liquid oxygen stored in insulated tanks instead of gaseous oxygen which would be stored under high pressure in cylinders. If gaseous O2 is stored in cylinders, you may need several manifolds as stanby while the remaining manifolds with their pressure reducers are supplying the hospital with its content. Then an attendant will have to be on standby to switch manifolds when the O2 pressure is at its minmum. Then you have the hazard of improper handling full and empty O2 cylinders.

 

[Cockroach]

I always thought this was achieved cyrogenically. Don't they just take fresh air, filter out the particulate matter and then start cooling it down? You basically get the gases liquified off at the various temperatures which I don't recall off the top of my head. My understanding, this is how nitrogen is obtained. But you get some helium, argon in trace amounts and oxygen as the second biggest liquified gas.

Regards,
Cockroach

 

[DRWeig]

Agree with chicopee. I was engineering director at a couple of big hospitals for a number of years each. One of them had the liquid oxygen tank start tipping over (fun!!), and we had to go to the emergency backup oxygen connection for about six weeks. Swapping out tube trailers full of compressed gas is quite a hassle and no simple trick, especially in a hospital with high oxygen demand.

For a long-term contract, Air Liquide or one of their competitors in your particular location will give you quite a deal on the liquid equipment, evaporators, and all that stuff.

They would also be a big help to you on the front end with your design decisions.

Best to you,

Goober Dave

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[MikeHalloran]

All you need is a very good refrigerator, feed air in, get oxygen out.

... not.

Okay, in principle that's all there is to it, but there are a lot of ways it can all go wrong, badly, quickly, when you start concentrating oxygen, because as far as oxygen is concerned, everything else, including steel pipe, is fuel.

Read that again; everything is fuel, for a really bad fire.

That simple fact affects everything else, in ways that are obvious and in ways that are not.
The gas suppliers have the know-how gained from centuries of experience, and some unfortunate outcomes.

Rolling your own is not a good way to learn what they know.

Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[EnergyMix]

Some of the comments assume the OP is in an area where Air Liquide (or one of their competitors) exist. He may not be in such an area. Remember that Eng-Tips attracts people from all over the globe. That may make it more difficult to just contact someone. Which doesn't mean I don't agree that this is a specialized field and trying to learn how to do it from Wikipedia is not the way to go about it.

I notice that iainuts didn't get a star for his reference to the standard from the compressed gas association. That would be a good site for the original poster to visit. Those standards would tell him the types of things he says he wants to know like "methods of production equipment" and "safety considerations."

Want to know the do's and don'ts of Eng-Tips? Read FAQ731-376.
English not your native language? Looking for some help in getting your question across to others or understanding their answers? Go to forum1529.

 

[bcd]

There are basically 3 common ways to make Oxygen. The method used depends upon the quantity required and the purity that is expected.

For small quantities, compressed air is forced through membranes to separate the Oxygen. Common method used in small units for individual use which is found at Hospitals.

For medium volumes but not high purity, vacuum swing adsorbtion is used (VSA or VPSA). These are fairly large plants that separate Oxygen from air by flowing lightly pressurrized air through carbon. The Oxygen passes through while Nitrogen, moisture, etc. is trapped by the carbon. Once the tank of carbon is saturated, then it is subjected to vacuum which removes the Nitrogen and other contaminants and regenerates teh carbon in the tank so it can be used again. Such systems are common at Steel mills and glass factories where Oxygen is used in the furnace.


Lastly, are the large Air Separation Units (ASU). In these, air is purified and then compressed to very high pressure. Then as pressure is dropped, Joule-Thompson effect cools the gas, and at certain pressure drops, the various gases in the air will liquify. These gasses are separated and stored for loading onto trucks for delivery to custoemrs. This is where liquid Oxygen comes from, which is very high purity.

Go to any major Industrial Gas company website and they will have much more detailed explanations for each method. Air Products has good explanations of the systems and equipment, and how they work. They also have good information about safety with Oxygen systems because fire is a very big concern. It does not take much to get them to light-up and burn away. Notice that the valves and piping in Hospitals tend to be bronze and copper. It is to avoid fires.