Excellent study material for all civil services aspirants - begin learning - Kar ke dikhayenge!
SHARE:
Oxygen concentrator and making of medical oxygen
Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment
- The story: Oxygen is proving vital in the fight against Covid-19, but some hospitals in India are experiencing a shortage in supply as coronavirus cases surge. Many deaths were reported due to sheer exhaustion and lack of pure oxygen in hospitals. How is oxygen made, how does it help those with Covid, why is supply so short and what are oxygen concentrators?
- Making oxygen: Oxygen can be produced using various methods, including air separation, chemical and electrolysis.
- It can be made from hydrogen peroxide, which decomposes slowly to form water and oxygen. However, the rate of reaction can be increased using the catalyst manganese oxide. When manganese oxide is added to hydrogen peroxide, bubbles of oxygen are given off.
- In order to make oxygen in a laboratory, hydrogen peroxide is poured into a conical flask which contains some manganese oxide. The gas produced from this reaction is then collected in an upside-down gas jar filled with water, and as the oxygen collects in the top of the gas jar, it pushes the water out. A gas syringe can also be used to collect the oxygen instead of the gas jar and water bath.
- Oxygen can be stored in cylinders, a vacuum insulated evaporator or a manifold cylinder bank, with most oxygen storage cylinders being made of steel.
- Making oxygen on Mars: Scientists working on the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) recently witnessed the first mechanised creation of oxygen in the history of the planet, with the tool being used in order to find the sparse levels of oxygen within the planet’s masses of CO2. The mechanism takes in the planet’s atmosphere and heats it to extreme temperatures. Then, after all the air’s dust is filtered out, MOXIE strips the CO2 of its oxygen quantities and releases the remaining carbon monoxide through a vent, creating the preservation of small new stores of oxygen.
- What are oxygen concentrators: Oxygen concentrators dispense oxygen in almost exactly the same way that oxygen tanks or cylinders do, but they collect oxygen from the surrounding air instead. These devices then concentrate the air and deliver it to the patient - which removes the need for replacement or refilling - whereas oxygen tanks contain a fixed amount of pressurised oxygen.
- Why medical oxygen: Medical oxygen can be used for a variety of reasons, including providing a basis for all modern anaesthetic techniques, restoring tissue oxygen tension by improving oxygen availability in conditions such as COPD, carbon monoxide poisoning and cardiac arrest, as well as providing life support for artificially ventilated patients.
- How oxygen helps Covid patients: Those struggling to breathe due to Covid-19 impacting the respiratory system may be given oxygen in order to increase the amount of oxygen in the lungs and blood. The disease affects lung function, with a tell-tale symptoms being shortness of breath, which can be followed by pneumonia, as the lungs fill with fluid. If a person can’t get enough air into their lungs, this means oxygen can’t travel to the other organ systems, which can start to fail. But some countries are experiencing a huge surge in the number of positive Covid infections, with a shortage in the supply of oxygen in some places.
- Why India struggled with shortages: Cases of Covid in India have recently surged, with the country currently experiencing a critical shortage of oxygen. India reported 349,691 more cases in the 24 hours to Sunday morning (25 April), as well as another 2,767 deaths. Delhi has extended its lockdown restrictions as overcrowded hospitals continue to turn patients away, with the number of patients being admitted to hospital outweighing the supply of oxygen. International efforts are now underway to help India amid the critical oxygen shortages.
- Industrial versus Medical oxygen: The difference is that purity levels of industrial oxygen are not appropriate for human use. There can be impurities, which can make people ill. The term 'medical oxygen' means high-purity oxygen, which is used for medical treatments and developed for use in the human body. The medical oxygen cylinders actually contain highly pure oxygen gas. Medical oxygen cylinders should also be free of contaminants. The cylinders need to be thoroughly cleaned before use.
- Indian oxygen situation: The majority of factories that produce oxygen in India are located in the eastern part, more than a thousand miles from major cities like New Delhi and Mumbai. Inox Air Products ramped up its oxygen production from 1,800 tons to 2,300 tons a day over the past few weeks, which is more than a third of the 7,000 tons produced in India daily. The other two major global manufacturers—France-based Air Liquide and U.K.-based Linde—have also been working to increase medical oxygen supplies in India. A big obstacles is that oxygen is not so easy to transport. Tanks of compressed gases can only travel by roads or trains and cannot be flown on planes (unless giant transporters are used). But Oxygen concentrators, on the other hand, which suck oxygen out of the air to achieve a high concentration, can fly. These tanks have to travel farther than ever before to keep up with surging demand in the states in north and west India that don’t have any oxygen manufacturing. Another bottleneck is that cryogenic tanks that hold compressed oxygen cannot be manufactured quickly. Each tank takes about four to six months to produce. So the Indian Air Force is flying empty tanks to production sites to try and cut down on transportation time.
* Content sourced from free internet sources (publications, PIB site, international sites, etc.). Take your
own subscriptions. Copyrights acknowledged.
COMMENTS