Amid the second wave of COVID struck India, many of its states continue to stare at the scarcity of medical oxygen for treating COVID-19 patients, the IIT Bombay has come up with an innovative solution to help address the issue by converting a nitrogen unit into an oxygen generating unit, the institute said on Thursday.

According to an official statement, the pilot project, which has been tested successfully, relies on a simple technological intervention of converting a Pressure Swing Adsorption nitrogen unit into a PSA oxygen unit. It  claimed that initial tests conducted at the  IIT Bombay have shown ''promising results''.

The oxygen production could be achieved at ''3.5 atm pressure with a purity level of 93 per cent to 96 per cent'', the statement said.

This gaseous oxygen can be utilised for COVID-19- related needs across the existing hospitals and upcoming COVID-19-specific facilities by providing a continuous supply of oxygen, it said.

The pilot project is a collaborative effort among IIT Bombay, Tata Consulting Engineers and Spantech Engineers, Mumbai, who deal with the PSA nitrogen and oxygen plant production, the statement said.

To undertake this study on an urgent basis, an MoU was signed among IIT Bombay, Tata Consulting Engineers and Spantech Engineers to finalise a standard operating procedure (SOP) that may be leveraged across the country, it said.

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