Oxygen and Nitrogen is widely used in various Industries around the world and more users are considering alternative methods of supply, rather than to rely on the traditional Cryogenic and High-Pressure Cylinder installations. Dintsu Engineering Technologies (Pty) Ltd, signed a distributorship with Sysadvance, a Portuguese company, which manufacture Oxygen (O2) and Nitrogen (N2) Generators.

Sysadvance, an ISO9001 Company with their QMS certified according to ISO 13485 Standard, was founded in 2002 and is represented in 40 countries around the globe. Their business service ranges from the Medical, Industrial and Energy Industries suppling equipment complying to ATEX, ASME-U-Stamp, CSA and UL codes as well as certified according to Medical Devices Directive 93/42/EEC.

Nitrogen is extensively used in the Pharmaceutical, Food Packing, Wine Making, Laser Cutting, Heat treatment, Laboratories, Electronics, Petrochemical, Refineries, Tyre Inflation and Marine Industries.

Oxygen is used in the Medical environment, Aquaculture, Water treatment, Plasma Cutting, Oxy-Fuel Combustion, Stone Flaming and Laboratories

Both O2 and N2 is supplied to users by renting, from a few suppliers, either Cryogenic storage Receivers or High-pressure cylinders which is replenished once empty. The rental option has its own challenges insofar that the pricing structure depends on usage and on-time delivery of stock requires proper planning by the user and access to their sites. This makes on-site production of Nitrogen and Oxygen a popular option since these generators, which range in size, can be selected to meet every customer’s budget and supply requirements. The on-site production cost of O2 and N2 is reduced by up to 90%, making the return on investment very attractive. The maintenance cost is kept to the minimum as the molecular sieve only needs replacement every 10 years. Power consumption is minimum with the biggest units consuming a mere 100W at 220V single phase.

How does it work?

PSA Technology

Pressure Swing Adsorption can be used to produce N2 or O2 from compressed air, which is fed to the unit that uses adsorption phenomena to remove the contaminants: N2 when the desired pure gas is O2, or O2 when the desired pure gas is N2.  Also, in both cases, H2O and CO2 are removed as well as other minor contaminants.

The PSA unit contains two columns packed with a selective adsorbent that has affinity towards the component to be removed: a carbon molecular sieve is used to produce N2 and zeolites are used to produce O2.

Each column undergoes a cyclic sequence of high- and low-pressure steps that guarantees the production of a continuous flow of high purity gas.           

In the high-pressure step, the adsorbent retains the contaminants present in the compressed air and the desired gas (N2 or O2) is obtained from the top of the columns.

The regeneration is accomplished in the low-pressure step, with the release of contaminants retained by the adsorbent.

PSA Advantages

• Economy - 90% reduction in the cost of Nitrogen | Oxygen

• Convenience - elimination of logistical and administrative operations

• Continuous availability - elimination of orders and deliveries

• Modularity / Scalability - your installation grows with you

• Robustness, reliability and durability

• Reduced maintenance

• Security

• Ready-to-use engineering solutions

N2 Generators

Features

• Nitrogen pressure up to 9 bar  (without Booster);

• LCD display;

• Oxygen analyzer;

• Purity up to 99.999%;

• Variable Flow PSA (optional).

Advantages

• Reduction of Nitrogen costs up to 95%;

• Independence from external gas suppliers and from fluctuation of the nitrogen market prices;

• Suppression of logistic operations like handling of cylinders or liquid nitrogen supplier management;

• Modular, flexible and low maintenance units.

Variable Flow PSA Technology (Vario PSA)

Standard PSA cycles have fixed production and regeneration time cycles designed for optimum efficiency at a constant nominal production.  

Some processes have a gas consumption demand that can vary along the production shifts or different production steps, thus requiring variable gas flows at a fixed purity. Standard PSA tend to be less efficient under these consumption scenarios. Lower than the nominal consumption rates will influence the standard PSA, which is purity increase, thus decreasing efficiency by higher than needed air consumption.

SYSADVANCE VARIO option allows for a smart control of the PSA cycle times by continuous monitoring of the outlet purity thus adapting the PSA production capacity to the fluctuating process demand keeping constant the specific air consumption, therefore maximizing efficiency on a variable consumption scenario, while maintaining a constant required purity.

O2 Generators

Features

• Oxygen pressure up to 5 bar (without Booster);

• LCD display;

• Oxygen analyzer;

Advantages

• Safe delivery and independence from external gas suppliers and from fluctuation of the oxygen market price;

• Suppression of logistic operations like handling of cylinders or liquid Oxygen and supplier management; 

• Modular, flexible and low maintenance units;

• Don't waste more money with Oxygen!

PSA High Purity

Description

A standard Oxygen generator using PSA technology can concentrate the oxygen present in the air at a maximum purity of 95% (V/V). To reach higher purities, up to 99,5% O2 (V/V), a second stage of purification is needed.

In the first purification stage the adsorbent retains the constituents of the air (N2, H2O and CO2), except argon and Oxygen. A gaseous flow containing 95% O2, 4% argon and 1 % N2 is obtained.

The second purification stage uses a high-performance adsorbent with kinetic selectivity, allowing the separation of argon and the residual N2, for the production of O2 up to 99,5% purity.

Advantages

• Up to 99,5% purity for high demand applications;

• Economy - Reduction of the costs with Oxygen (compared to the cryogenic Oxygen);

• Continuous availability - No need to order Oxygen from external suppliers;

• Low maintenance required;

• Simple and robust technology.

VSA Technologies

Vacuum Swing Adsorption

Description

The Vacuum Swing Adsorption (VSA) technology for O2 production is one of the variations of the PSA process specially engineered for low pressure O2 applications. The O2 VSA technology makes use of a specific zeolite adsorbent that takes advantage of the higher adsorption selectivity at lower pressure. The adsorption step is carried out feeding air from a blower at a maximum pressure of 2000 mbar(abs), followed by a regeneration step under vacuum (ranging from 200 to 500 mbar (abs)).  

 The most relevant advantage of the O2 VSA compared to O2 PSA is a 50% reduction in the power consumption for O2 production.  

This technology can produce O2 with a purity ranging from 75% to 93,5%. The product pressure is 300 mbarg without any supplementary compression stage. Higher pressures can be achieved using an additional blower for O2 to reach 2 barg and scroll or piston compressors to reach up to 8 barg.  

O2 VSA is a very good value for money when it comes to heavy duty applications requiring continuous consumption of O2 at low pressure.

Advantages

• Low power demand: <0,5 kWh/Nm3 @ 90% O2;

• O2 purity up to 93% (dew point < -50ºC @ 0 barg);

• Lower maintenance compared to O2 PSA;

• No pre-treatment required for inlet air;

• Longer adsorbent lifetime compared to O2 PSA;

• Compression up to 8 barg available;

• O2 sensor & output signal for remote monitoring;

• Skid or container mounted for mobility.