The VPSA industrial oxygen generation station is a mechanical equipment primarily composed of a blower, vacuum pump, switching valve, adsorber, and oxygen balance tank. Industrial oxygen generation equipment VPSA and PSA oxygen generation equipment, pressure swing adsorption vacuum desorption (referred to as VPSA) oxygen generation equipment, which operates under conditions penetrating atmospheric pressure, utilizes VPSA-specific molecular sieves to selectively adsorb impurities such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and water from the air. Under vacuum conditions, the molecular sieves are desorbed, thereby cyclically producing oxygen with high purity (90~95%). VPSA has low energy consumption, and the larger the equipment, the lower the energy consumption.

The VPSA industrial oxygen generator adopts the principle of pressure swing adsorption, using the pressure swing adsorption method to separate nitrogen and oxygen. The main components of air are nitrogen and oxygen. By leveraging the different adsorption properties of nitrogen and oxygen on zeolite molecular sieves (ZMS) at ambient temperature (oxygen passes through while nitrogen is adsorbed), an appropriate process is designed to separate nitrogen and oxygen to produce oxygen. Nitrogen has a stronger adsorption capacity on zeolite molecular sieves than oxygen (nitrogen interacts more strongly with the surface ions of the molecular sieve). When air is pressurized and passed through an adsorption bed filled with zeolite molecular sieve adsorbent, nitrogen is adsorbed by the molecular sieve, while oxygen, being less adsorbed, is enriched in the gas phase and flows out of the adsorption bed, thereby separating oxygen and nitrogen to obtain oxygen. When the molecular sieve adsorbs nitrogen to near saturation, the air flow is stopped, and the pressure in the adsorption bed is reduced, allowing the adsorbed nitrogen to desorb. The molecular sieve is thus regenerated and can be reused. By alternating the operation of two or more adsorption beds, oxygen can be produced continuously.

The boiling points of oxygen and nitrogen are close, making them difficult to separate, and they are enriched together in the gas phase. Therefore, pressure swing adsorption oxygen generation units can typically only obtain oxygen with a concentration of 90-95% (the maximum oxygen concentration is 95.6%, with the remainder being argon), also known as oxygen-enriched air. In comparison, cryogenic air separation units can produce oxygen with a concentration of 99.5% or higher.

Technical Features of VPSA Industrial Oxygen Generators

1. Simple process flow of the equipment;
2. Oxygen generation capacity below 10,000 m3/h, lower power consumption for oxygen production, and smaller investment;
3. Small civil engineering workload, shorter installation period compared to cryogenic units;
4. Low operating and maintenance costs;
5. High degree of automation in equipment operation, convenient and quick start-up and shutdown, and fewer operators;
6. Strong operational stability and high safety;
7. Simple operation, with major components sourced from internationally renowned manufacturers;
8. Uses original imported oxygen generation molecular sieves with superior performance and long service life;
9. Strong operational flexibility (excellent load capacity and fast switching speed).