A PORTABLE OXYGEN CONCENTRATOR FOR EMERGENCY USE

THE MAXDEM OXYGEN PUMP IS A NOVEL ELECTROCHEMICAL PROCESS FOR CONCENTRATING OXYGEN FROM AIR. IT IS RADICALLY DIFFERENT FROM ANY OTHER MEANS OF OBTAINING PURE OXYGEN. THE OXYGEN PUMP IS EXTREMELY SIMPLE IN CONCEPT. EXCEPT FOR A SMALL FAN TO CIRCULATE AIR, THERE ARE NO MOVING PARTS, PROVIDING FOR QUIET OPERATION. THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR CONCENTRATING OXYGEN IS PROJECTED TO BE 4-5 TIMES MORE EFFICIENT THAN THE BEST PRESSURE SWING ABSO ABSORPTION DEVICES AND TO HAVE ADDITIONAL SIZE AND WEIGHT ADVANTAGES. MAXDEM WILL EXTEND THE SUCCESSFUL PHASE I WORK ON THE OXYGEN PUMP TO FULL SCALE LABORATORY TEST CELLS. THE PERFORMANCE WILL BE IMPROVED BY MATCHING THE PROPERTIES OF THE COMPONENT MATERIALS TO THE OBSERVED CHEMISTRY. BOTH SURFACE AND SOLUTION CHEMISTRY PLAY A ROLE IN OVERALL EFFICIENCY AND WILL BE INVESTIGATED. ENGINEERING AND CHEMICAL STUDIES WILL BE CLOSELY INTEGRATED. BASED ON THE TEST CELL RESULTS A PROTOTYPE SINGLE CELL WILL BE CONSTRUCTED AND A COMPLETE CELL STACK DESIGNED. THE ARMED FORCES UTILIZE OXYGEN GAS FOR A VARIETY OF CRITICAL NEEDS. AT PRESENT, MOST OF THE OXYGEN PURCHASED AS COMPRESSED GAS OR IN LIQUID FORM FROM COMMERCIAL SUPPLIERS. THE ASSOCIATEDTRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE REQUIREMENTS POSE SEVERE LOGISTICS PROBLEMS E.G. FOR REMOTE LOCATIONS AND FIELD HOS HOSPITALS. THE MAXDEM OXYGEN PUMP IS DESIGNED TO BE A PORTABLE, CONVENIENT SOURCE OF HIGH PURITY OXYGEN, FOR MEDICAL AND OTHER MILITARY APPLICATIONS (WELDING, AIR CRAFT, ETC.).