Industrial Oxygen Generator

Industrial oxygen generator, also known as oxygen concentrator or oxygen concentrator system, is a specially designed equipment used to produce high purity oxygen from ambient air. It is essential in various industrial applications that require a stable and reliable supply of oxygen. It effectively separates oxygen from nitrogen and other gases through advanced technology, thus meeting the high quality demand for oxygen in industries such as steel production, glass manufacturing, chemical reactions, etc.

Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) is an adsorption separation process widely used in the industrial field. This process uses the selective adsorption characteristics of porous solid materials under different pressure conditions to achieve gas separation. Specifically, at higher pressures, porous solid materials selectively adsorb specific gas components to achieve gas separation; at lower pressures, these adsorbed gas components are desorbed, allowing the adsorbent to be regenerated.

When this process is used to produce oxygen, we call it a pressure swing adsorption oxygen production process. The basic steps of this process can be summarized as follows: First, the clean air is pressurized by a blower, and then the pressurized air is sent to the adsorption tower. In the adsorption tower, impurity gases such as H₂O (water vapor), CO₂ (carbon dioxide) and N₂ (nitrogen) in the air will be adsorbed by the adsorbent, while oxygen will penetrate the adsorbent layer. Subsequently, the oxygen that penetrates the adsorbent layer will enter the buffer tank for pressure stabilization and finally be sent to the gas point for use. When the adsorbent adsorbs to a certain degree, the gas in the adsorption tower is evacuated by a vacuum pump to achieve the regeneration of the adsorbent.

Compared with the traditional air separation process, the pressure swing adsorption oxygen production process operates at normal temperature and pressure and has a higher safety factor. Its process flow is relatively simple, equivalent to only two sections of air compressor and molecular sieve in the cryogenic process. Because conventional electromechanical equipment is used and the number of equipment is small, maintenance is also easier and faster. In addition, the pressure swing adsorption oxygen production process is not only more energy-saving, but also has lower requirements for public works. No harmful substances are produced during the production process, which meets the current "dual carbon" target requirements.

The pressure swing adsorption oxygen production process also avoids the harsh and lengthy operation process in the traditional air separation process, can automatically adjust the output and purity, and can realize unattended operation mode. Its start-up and stop time is very short, and oxygen can usually be delivered within 20 minutes. In addition, the equipment manufacturing cycle of this process is short, and the pace of engineering construction is also very fast.

In order to ensure the continuity of oxygen production, the pressure swing adsorption oxygen production device usually adopts a two-tower process. In the two-tower process, when one tower is performing adsorption operation, the other tower is regenerating, and the two towers are operated alternately to achieve a continuous and stable oxygen supply. As shown in Figure 1, the scale of the industrialized two-tower process device can reach 7500 m³/h, which can meet large-scale industrial oxygen needs.