Commercial Uses
The design simplicity and efficiency that VSA technology offers has generated products that are more energy- and cost-efficient than traditional gas separation units. VSA processes are used at refineries, chemical and petrochemical plants, water treatment facilities, and landfills. VSA technology is used to purify air, soil, water, and hydrogen, and to manufacture oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen.
VSA technology plays an increasingly important role in the commercial production of oxygen. Oxygen concentrators that use VSA processes are a more lucrative and reliable option than oxygen cylinders for many industries. Due to their mobility and constant supply of oxygen, they are often used by governments and aid organizations in emergency medicine and disaster relief operations, as well as by district hospitals in developing nations. Other commercial applications of oxygen concentrators include the fields of aquaculture and high-altitude work environments, including in the mining industry or the Goldmud-Lhasa railroad in Tibet. VPSA technology has allowed the development of a portable oxygen concentrator weighing less than 15 pounds (7 kg), but with continuous flows of oxygen up to 3 LPM and pulse flows up to an equivalent of 7.2 LPM.
VSA is also used in hypoxic air fire prevention systems to produce air with a low oxygen content.
Read more about this topic: Vacuum Swing Adsorption
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