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How much are you paying for oxygen?
Are you paying too much for oxygen?
PCI Gases’ Vacuum Swing Adsorption (VSA) systems provide one of the most affordable oxygen supplies for both medical and industrial applications. Our unique, proprietary VSA process produces oxygen from air while avoiding many of the design issues found in traditional Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) systems.
With our patented technology, we separate oxygen from air at low pressure using an oil-free, reversible blower. This blower passes air through a zeolite molecular sieve in a single-bed adsorber. The design reduces the number of process valves and eliminates the need for feed air compressors, multiple adsorber beds, air dryers, and the air filtering and storage systems typically required by PSA oxygen systems.
The VSA Process
In the VSA process, the blower module compresses air to a low pressure and pushes it through the molecular sieve bed. Oxygen passes through as the product gas, while nitrogen, moisture, and other gases are adsorbed into the media. Once the molecular sieve is saturated, the blower reverses, creating a slight vacuum that releases the adsorbed nitrogen and contaminants back into the atmosphere. The bed is then purged with pure oxygen from the buffer vessel before fresh air enters the VSA plant for a new production cycle.
An integrated oxygen scroll compressor delivers oxygen to your process at 20 to 100 psig (1.4 – 6.9 bar). Higher pressures are achieved using a boost compressor. This design compresses only oxygen, resulting in over 50% energy savings compared to a conventional PSA system of the same capacity
PCI DOCS
PCI Gases’ Deployable Oxygen Concentrator System (DOCS) features load-following and sleep mode capabilities, which further reduce energy consumption during low flow demand. This also minimizes wear and tear on rotating and compression equipment. By using Variable Frequency Drives (VFD) on both the air blower and oxygen compressor, the DOCS unit efficiently adjusts to meet your production needs. A properly sized buffer vessel allows the DOCS unit to shut down during periods of low flow, restarting only when needed to maintain buffer pressure above the set point.
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So, what does all this mean for the operating costs of a PCI Gases’ DOCS VSA unit?
Our standard DOCS 500 unit produces 500 liters per minute of 93% purity oxygen at 3.8 barg, or 39.8 kg per hour of oxygen molecules, with a maximum power consumption of 17.5 kW. That’s 0.44 kW per kg of oxygen delivered to your process. This is the only cost involved in generating oxygen onsite. Based on an average electricity cost of USD 0.12 per kWh, the operating cost of a DOCS 500 unit is just USD 0.05 per kg of oxygen supplied. There are no delivery costs, rental or storage fees, blow-off or evaporation losses, or logistical challenges of maintaining an oxygen supply at your site.
Including a monthly maintenance fee and factoring in straight-line capital depreciation, you’ll pay a total “all-in” cost of under USD 2.00 per kg of oxygen. This is significantly lower than any other oxygen supply system available today.
We at PCI are decentralizing oxygen supplies, maximizing economics and sustainability for everyone.
Reshaping your Tomorrow, Enabling you to have complete autonomy in your oxygen supply.
For further information on our products/systems, please contact our sales directors worldwide:
https://www.pcigases.com/contact/
Posted August 14, 2024
