CanGas® PSA Oxygen Generation System Provides Triple-Layered Oxygen Supply Guarantee for a Hospital in China

Oxygen is an essential medical resource. The stability, safety, and cost-effectiveness of its supply directly impact the quality of hospital care. To address the challenges associated with bottled oxygen supply at a hospital in northern China, CAN GAS provided a customized solution featuring two 10-cubic-meter-per-hour PSA oxygen generation systems (one primary, one backup). This upgrade, leveraging professional expertise, transformed the hospital's oxygen supply model into an efficient, reliable, and safe centralized system.

Project Background

Prior to installing the PSA on-site oxygen generation system, the hospital relied on bottled oxygen to meet its medical needs. This method presented several significant issues:

·        Logistical Dependence and Safety Risks: Bottled oxygen required frequent external deliveries, which were susceptible to weather and traffic disruptions. The manual handling and replacement of high-pressure cylinders increased the workload for medical and logistics staff and introduced safety hazards such as collision risks and potential leaks.

·         Inefficiency and Waste: The use of cylinders led to issues with unusable residual gas and oxygen loss during filling, constantly hampering supply efficiency.

·        High Operational Costs: As a continuously consumed product, bottled oxygen incurred ongoing hidden costs for delivery, storage, and labor management, limiting the hospital's operational efficiency.

Project Description

To comprehensively address the safety, cost, and maintenance challenges of the traditional oxygen supply model, CAN GAS implemented a PSA oxygen generation system built around a "primary-backup + emergency redundancy" configuration.
The core of the system consists of two 10 Nm³/h PSA oxygen generation units, forming a highly reliable architecture with automatic primary-backup switching. Utilizing Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) technology, the system employs zeolite molecular sieves to selectively adsorb nitrogen, producing 93% purity medical oxygen directly from ambient air on-site. With an outlet pressure of 6 bar, the oxygen is fed directly into the hospital's pipeline network. This eliminates reliance on external gas sources and manual cylinder handling, achieving fully independent and controllable oxygen supply from the source.
To further enhance system resilience, the solution includes an emergency backup manifold. This backup can immediately switch the supply source in case of main equipment failure or a power outage, entirely eliminating the risk of oxygen interruption. This design is particularly suited to the stringent demand for continuous, stable oxygen in critical departments like ICUs and operating rooms, fully adhering to the hospital's emergency principle of "life first, always prepared."
The system features a high degree of automation, enabling efficient, stable, and unattended operation. It provides a continuous 24/7 supply of qualified oxygen for the hospital's daily treatment and emergency needs, ensuring a reliable, economical, and safe oxygen supply across the entire facility.

Project Photos

Project Highlights

Leveraging its solid professional expertise, CAN GAS delivered systematic value through three key enhancements:

I. Uninterrupted, High-Quality Oxygen Supply

The "primary + backup + emergency redundancy" configuration forms a highly reliable medical oxygen supply solution. Its core benefits include:

·         Eliminating Single Points of Failure: If the primary oxygen generator goes offline, the backup unit switches over seamlessly, maintaining full-capacity oxygen supply with "zero impact" on clinical use.

·         Effective Emergency Response: In the event of a sudden surge in oxygen demand (e.g., during major public health incidents or mass rescue operations), the backup unit can be activated manually or automatically. Both units can then operate in parallel to rapidly increase supply capacity, buying critical time for life-saving efforts.

·         Enabling "Non-Stop Maintenance": Routine inspection, maintenance, and repair can be performed on the offline unit without interrupting the hospital's normal oxygen supply. This practice extends the overall equipment lifespan and keeps the system in optimal condition.

·         Supporting Future Expansion: As the hospital expands and bed count increases, the existing "primary-backup" system can be adapted to meet higher demand through flow rate adjustments or minor modifications, allowing for cost-effective future upgrades.

II. Efficient Space Utilization

The hospital's original oxygen cylinder storage room was not designed as a standard oxygen plant room. After a detailed site survey, the CAN GAS technical team rationally repurposed the space, transforming the cylinder storage area into a fully functional PSA oxygen generation room. The renovation strictly adhered to medical oxygen supply system specifications, ensuring both stable equipment operation and efficient use of space, thereby saving the hospital significant renovation costs.

III. Optimized Construction with Zero Interference

Acknowledging the critical need for uninterrupted oxygen supply, CAN GAS meticulously planned the project to avoid any disruption. The new equipment was installed, debugged, and commissioned without affecting the existing oxygen supply system's normal operation. Through precise construction scheduling, the upgrade was completed without a single interruption to the hospital's oxygen supply, safeguarding patient care and safety.
Furthermore, the technical team optimized the equipment layout and piping design. This simplified the pipeline arrangement and provided ample access space for inspection, allowing maintenance personnel to quickly check parameters and identify potential issues. This optimized design significantly enhances maintenance convenience, contributes to longer equipment life, and reduces the operational burden for long-term stability.

With the official commissioning of the PSA oxygen generation system, the hospital has achieved significant improvements:

·         In Safety: The system completely eliminates the need for high-pressure gas cylinders or liquid oxygen storage tanks, reducing risks associated with leaks and explosions. Fully automated controls and multiple redundancy designs achieve the goal of "zero accidents, zero interruptions" in oxygen supply.

·         In Economics: The PSA system significantly reduces the overall cost of oxygen use. Combined with its high efficiency and energy-saving operation, it delivers considerable long-term cost savings.
Through this customized solution, CAN GAS has precisely met the hospital's medical oxygen supply needs. It has not only resolved the dilemmas of traditional bottled oxygen but has also established a safe, stable, and economical modern oxygen supply system through technological innovation.