ZEOLITE Gas Filter

gfwhell,

Yes, a pressure change seems to be needed for reasonable efficiency in a single pass through the zeolite. The zeolite or molecular sieve method is commonly used in small commercial oxygen concentrator or purifier systems for medical use. If I recall properly, because of the close proximity of Oxygen to Nitrogen, in terms of molecular weight, size, density, etc., the degree of purification depends on the number of stages (or passes) you use in the process.

I googled the phrase "oxygen concentrators" and got about 90,000 hits. The Wikipedia site gives a good overview, and additional information was available from http://www.nda.ox.ac.uk/wfsa/html/u01/u01_009.htm (which was referenced in the Wikipedia articicle). Since that posting is a 1992 article, I suspect the technology has matured since then, but probably is very similar to what they cite.

--JMM

JMM.

The medical application of these devices has advanced in recent years. I believe there are systems that deliver oxygen to the patient relying upon the the patients intake of breath, in a similar fashion to a scuba demand valve.

I was hoping to obtain information on the technology regarding pressure/flow ,valves and control systems for my experiments. I want to use this on an IC engine.

I have been scouring the patent lists, for inspiration.

GF

gfwhell,

Yes. I saw this in my reading also. Very interesting thought you have. I suspect that you are only wanting a modest increase in O₂ concentration, because the IC engine environment with oils and many typical contaminants would make high purity O₂ (particularly when compressed in the cylinder) very risky to handle. It would decrease NOX formation, and reduce the volume of exhaust gases per unit of fuel burned.

Only experimentation would show if this is a reasonable approach, when you compare the weight and energy consumption of an O₂ concentrator to any fuel efficiency gains. I assume any initial studies would be with a stationary engine or vehicle.

--JMM

First see:

http://www.mvsengg.com/psa-oxygen.htm

Then Google: PRESSURE +SWING+ADSORPTION---- you get all.

KISS? All up to you.