NSF Award
8905840
In this study Guild will investigate and seek to demonstrate a proprietary noncryogenic system to produce high-purity oxygen. Such a system offers the potential for not only on-site generation of high-purity oxygen at the user location, but large scale production of oxygen as a substitute for cryogenic methods. This will be the first practical process capable of producing oxygen at 99.5% purity by means other than cryogenic distillation. The concept offers users of oxygen a simple and lowcost alternative to the logistical encumberances of present methods. It may also offer manufacturers a more economical method of producing oxygen on a large scale. High-purity oxygen is used extensively in industrial, medical and military applications. In industry, its primary use is as a reagent in chemical synthesis. In the medical field and for the military it is used primarily as breathing oxygen. High- purity oxygen is commercially manufactured by cryogenic technoiques. These techniques are very complex, and involve reducing the temperature of air low enough to liquify the oxygen and nitrogen and facilitate their separation in a distillation column. The product oxygen is supplied as liquid in bulk quantities or as bottled gas. Chemical production plants, hospitals and military bases which rely on high-purity oxygen must all have extensive and costly facilities for storing and handling tanked liquid oxygen or bottled gaseous oxygen. Furthermore, they are reliant on an outside source to provide them with the product which is, therefore, subject to uncertainties with supply and price.
