AuthorBY- SUPRAJA G.S The first chemical element with the highest percentage in the human body is Oxygen, all cells in our body need oxygen to create energy efficiently, hence it plays a vital role. During this COVID – 19 Pandemic, the patients affected with the Coronavirus suffered from Breathlessness, when the virus spreads it blocks the entry points of oxygenated blood into your lungs. To support and cure the patients at early-stage medical oxygen was widely used. So, let’s discuss what is medical oxygen production method and the reason behind the demand. What Is Medical Oxygen? Medical oxygen is high purity oxygen that is used for medical treatments and is developed for use in the human body. No other types of gases are allowed to prevent contamination. This type of oxygen can only be generated by medical air compressors with which we can attain a purity of 99.5 percentage. Methods to produce Medical Oxygen. There are several methods to produce Medical Oxygen, out of which production through Air Separation Units (ASU’s) is most common. ASU’s are production plants that separate large volumes of gases. They use a method called Fractional Distillation to produce pure oxygen from atmospheric air, which is first cooled to -181°C, Oxygen liquefies at this point. Since the boiling point of Nitrogen is -196°C, it remains in a gaseous state. But Argon has a boiling point similar to that of oxygen (–186°C) and hence a significant amount of Argon liquifies along with Oxygen. The resultant mixture of Oxygen and Argon is drained, decompressed and passed through a second low-pressure distillation vessel for further purification. We then get the output as final purified liquid oxygen, which is then transported using cryogenic containers. Oxygen can also be produced non-cryogenically, in gaseous form, using Selective Adsorption. This method leverages the property that under high pressure, gases tend to be attracted to solid surfaces. Hospitals can also opt for on-site generation of oxygen by this method, where oxygen is produced from ambient air by concentrating it. Producing oxygen near hospitals has the additional advantage of eliminating the need for transportation. In addition to the above sources of medical oxygen, there are also portable oxygen generators known as Oxygen Concentrators that can be used at home. Oxygen concentrators are simple devices that take in ambient air and increase the oxygen concentration, by filtering out and throwing away nitrogen, while the cylinders need to be refilled, the Oxygen Concentrators can work 24 x 7. How much Oxygen is produced in India? During the first wave, the demand for liquid medical oxygen (LMO) increased from 700 metric tonnes per day (MTPD) to 2,800 MTPD. But during the second wave, it has skyrocketed to 5,000 MTPD. It was only in the second week of April when demand for medical oxygen in India witnessed a five-fold jump. On April 21 demand was 5500 MTPD and production was 7287 MT and the government had a buffer stock of 50,000 MT. As you can see the goods were surplus then why there was a demand at hospitals for medical oxygen. Reason for the Demand for Medical Oxygen. It is clear that that there is no shortage of medical oxygen capacity in the country. Hospitals receive oxygen both in cylinders, also in tankers based on their stocking capacities and daily needs. The non-availability in critical states is primarily due to a lack of foresight and planning. If all available resources across the country had been mapped, activated in time with a foolproof logistical model in place, this situation would have never occurred. After this crisis EG 2 came forward to resolve the crisis, If these measures had been taken before, a normal citizen wouldn’t have been running from pillar to post to receive treatment or to get vaccinated. Governments must realize that what Medical Oxygen is to COVID-19 treatment, citizens are to the existence of the nation.
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