Engg students convert water purifier to oxygen concentrator

Final product costs just ₹20,000

In what could be a handy device for COVID-19 patients, the students of city-based Lords Institute of Engineering & Technology (Autonomous) have developed a dual-use oxygen concentrator from water purifier. The final product will cost ₹20,000 with the purifier converted into a full time oxygen concentrator, said Shaik Mohd Rayyan, Md. Adil and Mohd. Misbah Uddin, final year students of mechanical engineering department, showcasing the product. Explaining the process, they said air is taken from atmosphere, compressed and allowed to pass through silica gel that reduces unwanted rise in temperature apart from removing moisture content. This low temperature and moisture-free air is passed through Zeolite (13X) pellets where nitrogen is blocked and oxygen is allowed. By blocking nitrogen through these pellets, 85-92% of pure oxygen can be obtained.