How Does a PSA Oxygen Generator Work?

When Air Meets the "Intelligent Sieve", Oxygen Gains Endless Vitality

In hospital emergency rooms, health clinics in remote mountainous areas, and oxygen supply systems at plateau outposts, an seemingly ordinary device quietly performs the miracle of "turning air into oxygen" — it is the PSA oxygen generator. Without chemical agents or complex pipelines, it can stably produce medical-grade oxygen with a purity of 93%±2 using only air as raw material. Behind this magic lies the exquisite principle of Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) technology.

Step 1: Air's "Purification Practice" — From Impurities to Clean Air Source

Everything starts with the air we breathe. The PSA oxygen generator first filters out dust and particles from the air through an intake filter, just like sifting sand. It then compresses the air to 3-4 barg via a compressor to provide power for subsequent separation. The temperature of the compressed air rises sharply, and the cooling system immediately starts to lower the temperature of the high-temperature air to an appropriate level, while removing moisture and oil stains. This step is like giving the air a "deep cleaning", ensuring the air source entering the core link is pure and free of impurities, laying the foundation for the production of high-purity oxygen.

Step 2: Core Separation Technology — The "Selective Preference" of Zeolite Molecular Sieve

The purified air is sent to an adsorption tower filled with zeolite molecular sieve — the "heart" component of the PSA generator. Zeolite molecular sieve is a white particle covered with tiny pores. The size of these pores is precise enough to allow only specific molecules to pass through, which can be called an "intelligent sieve". It has an inherent "adsorption preference" for nitrogen: under high-pressure conditions, nitrogen molecules are firmly adsorbed in the micropores of the molecular sieve, while oxygen molecules, due to their slow diffusion rate and weak adsorption capacity, can "break through", gathering at the top of the adsorption tower to form high-purity oxygen.

What's more ingenious is that the system is usually equipped with two adsorption towers, which realize "alternate operation" through a PLC intelligent control system. When the first tower adsorbs and produces oxygen under high pressure, the second tower depressurizes synchronously, discharging the previously adsorbed nitrogen into the atmosphere to complete the "regeneration" of the molecular sieve. After the first tower is saturated with adsorption, the two towers switch roles instantly, ensuring continuous oxygen output without shutdown, realizing 24-hour uninterrupted gas production.

Step 3: Oxygen's "Quality Control" — From Production to Safe Delivery

The oxygen overflowing from the adsorption tower first enters a buffer tank to stabilize the pressure, then undergoes strict detection by an oxygen analyzer to ensure the purity meets the standard. It is then adjusted to an appropriate pressure through a pressure reducing valve, and finally delivered to the terminal application scenario. Whether it is the filling of oxygen cylinders in hospitals or the pipeline oxygen supply for home oxygen therapy, this oxygen that has undergone layers of screening always maintains stable purity and flow rate. It is free of chemical pollution and high-pressure explosion risks throughout the process, and its safety is far superior to traditional oxygen production methods.