Indigenous Opensource Oxygen Concentrator Design

With COVID patients requiring between 5-20 LPM and keeping in mind the need for such devices in villages and interior parts of the country, TCE targeted the specification for up to 20 LPM designs. The prototype leveraging opensource design (www.oxikit.com) was accomplished in less than five (05) working days, with complete local parts as available in India (except Zeolite) and with benchmark results of 10-20 LPM of 90-95% oxygen concentration. Necessary design changes and process refinements were incorporated to ensure benchmark results under Indian conditions.

The TCE oxygen concentrator is based on proven PSA technology. It utilises a molecular sieve to adsorb gases and operate on the principle of rapid pressure swing adsorption of atmospheric nitrogen onto zeolite minerals at high pressure. PSA technology is a reliable and economical technique for small to mid-scale oxygen generation.

Conversion of Existing PSA Nitrogen Plants for the Production of Oxygen: 75+ Nitrogen Plants Under Conversions

A new ‘Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) oxygen generation plant typically takes about eight months. PSA nitrogen plants were already installed and operational in many industries for industrial purposes. Given the COVID19 induced oxygen emergency, conversion of existing PSA nitrogen plants for oxygen production emerged as the most practical solution in the given situation.

The technology has been in existence since 1970, so workability was not an issue, the only concern was to see it working in front of us, and that too quickly as time was of essence.

The basic configuration and technology for both Nitrogen and Oxygen PSA units are similar. The significant difference being the adsorbent material. When the adsorbent material (activated carbon molecular sieve – CMS) of the nitrogen generating units is replaced (by Zeolites), the same unit that produced nitrogen becomes suitable for producing oxygen. The OEMs also confirmed this point. However, when such conversion is implemented, the nameplate capacity of the converted unit is reduced roughly to 25% of the original nitrogen generation capacity.

Explore Use of CO2 Fire Extinguisher and LPG Cylinders for Medical Oxygen

The cylinders are the last mile connectivity between oxygen production facilities and the hospitals’ patient beds. Various alternative means for storing medical oxygen are being explored. Plenty of fire extinguishers are already available and in use across all the locations, be it offices, malls, theatres, residential complexes, etc. Since offices, malls, theatres are not in operation, and people are working from home, every city already has the availability of these storage devices.

These fire extinguishers can be used without worrying about fire safety as buildings are not occupied. Moreover, these are lightweight, easy to transport, and quick to fabricate in bulk. They can be potential candidates for converting and utilising for storing medical oxygen during emergencies like the COVID19 pandemic. Some essential considerations for checking the suitability of CO2 fire extinguisher cylinders as medical oxygen cylinders include confirming its pressure rating specifications, the material of construction, and the available cylinder’s capacity.

Standard Tata Unit: Modular Health Facility for COVID-19

To meet the COVID19 challenge requiring urgent strengthening of health infrastructure, Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE) and its subsidiary Ecofirst designed a ‘ready to implement’ modular health facility. Each module is equipped with air-conditioning, five beds and one toilet. This ready to use design can be implemented immediately as an extension of an existing hospital or a completely new COVID19 hospital anywhere in India. These modular units put together can expand to any number of beds, are self-sufficient, sustainable, and can be easily repurposed or dismantled in the future.

The design of these modular units incorporates inputs received from medical planners, COVID doctors, virologists, architects, HVAC and ventilation experts. Tata Consulting Engineers shared these designs freely with many implementing or donor agencies for immediate use.

Supported PSA Plants with Sourcing of Zeolite from Europe and Technical Knowhow: 89+ New Oxygen Plants

While creating the prototypes and pilots, Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE) realised the acute shortage of a vital component, Zeolite, to convert PSA Nitrogen plants to produce Oxygen. The same is also required for installing new oxygen plants.

TCE partnered with Tata Chemical for the required sourcing of Zeolite from Europe. With the support of the Ministry of Commerce, PSA, DSIR & CSIR, we received GOI – IAF support for urgent airlifting of this critical resource to convert and install new oxygen plants.

With the support of Tata Chemicals and Central Pollution Control Board, TCE created a process of due diligence and project managed the allocation of this raw material to more than 65 plants, ensuring timely availability of the essential resource at an affordable price.

Oxygen Ventilator

An engineering, feasibility and viability study was conducted on multiple ventilators, and a viable open source ventilator was identified. The learnings were shared with group entities for evaluation, and appropriate next steps were suggested for mass manufacturing related tie-ups.

Multiple Ventilator design were studied for feasibility under emergency conditions (No prototypes were created, only feasibility evaluations and recommendation made).

OpenSource Medtronics Ventilator was finally zeroed upon, and manufacturing firms were conveyed to explore tie-up and manufacturing.

Consulting on Oxygen Generation Supply Chain and Capacity Enhancement

As the COVID-19 pandemic posed newer medical challenges. Hospitals across the country face infrastructure challenges for increasing the Oxygen Generation and then ensuring the last mile connectivity of this oxygen. Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE) is consulting across various States, namely Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Silvassa and Gujarat to help with the supply chain and capacity enhancement.

TCE is also helping various NGOs and hospitals including Tata Medical Centre for their Oxygen augmentation and readiness.

TCE along with its subsidiary has designed and distributed the designs for emergency Modular Units with Oxygen, AC and Medical support.

Project O2 for India

The office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government announced ‘Project O2 for India’. The project has been initiated to ensure supply of critical raw materials such as zeolites, setting up of small oxygen plants, and manufacturing of compressors. The second wave of COVID-19 saw an increase in demand for medical oxygen in different parts of the country. This team has been setup to build a resilient oxygen network within the nation.

The manufacturing and supply consortium includes Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL); Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE); C-CAMP, Bengaluru; IIT Kanpur; IIT Delhi; IIT Bombay, IIT Hyderabad; IISER, Bhopal; Venture Center, Pune; and more than 40 MSMEs.

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