This PFI: AIR Technology Translation project focuses on development of a self-contained compact prototype Medical Oxygen Concentrator (MOC) for use in oxygen rehabilitation therapy for patients suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis and other pulmonary diseases. The market for MOCs producing 1 to 8 liters/min of ~90 % oxygen from compressed ambient air is rapidly growing with an estimated global market in 2017 valued at ~$2 billion. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 80 million people worldwide have COPD and nearly 3 million deaths per year can be attributed to COPD. A more compact and light-weight MOC design with substantially higher oxygen recovery and longer battery run-time will provide greater mobility to COPD patients for exercise, improved cardiovascular health and quality of life. This project seeks to meet this critical objective through the development of a fully functional self-contained prototype based on a novel patented Medical Oxygen Concentrator (MOC) design. Our MOC design has the following advantages: (1) it uses a single adsorption column inside a storage tank, as opposed to conventional two-bed rapid pressure swing adsorption processes (RPSA), thereby reducing size; (2) it uses fast cycle times in the range of 3-6 seconds to continuously produce up to 3 liters/min of ~90% oxygen from compressed air which is 3 times higher than the product delivery rate of commercial portable MOC units; (3) it uses less than one third of the adsorbent inventory for a given product flow rate; (4) it uses lesser number of switching valves and sensors and needs simpler process control for the single adsorption bed design due to the absence of synchronized operation of two or multi-column systems. (5) it provides more flexibility in selection and optimization of the individual step times of the RPSA process; (6) it allows continuous product withdrawal as opposed to pulsed product flow offered by many commercial portable units; (7) it is scalable in size and oxygen flow rates; (8) it can be used as a ?Snap On? device without a dedicated compressor in applications where a compressed air source is available, such as in hospitals (military or civil), cruise ships and airlines. Graduate and postdoctoral students will be trained on new concepts in technology transfer and business strategies beyond basic research. A master's student from the Technical Entrepreneurship program at Lehigh will benefit from incorporating our study in his/her capstone integrated business design project. Undergraduate Chemical Engineering seniors will conduct experiments that will integrate traditional chemical engineering principles across four years into a single comprehensive project as part of their Opportunities for Student Innovation course. The project will lead to comprehensive prototype performance data for enabling either a new start-up company or for a licensing agreement with a MOC manufacturer for commercialization.
