ITS Surabaya Creates OXITS Innovation To Help Overcome The Oxygen Crisis

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SURABAYA - Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology Surabaya made an innovation in the form of an oxygen concentrator device named Oxygen Concentrator ITS (OXITS) to help overcome the oxygen crisis in Indonesia.

ITS Chancellor Prof. Mochamad Ashari at the launch on campus, stated that OXITS can replace the role of oxygen cylinders which are now a rare item as COVID-19 cases soar in Indonesia.

"Oxygen cylinders are currently needed by the community. OXITS is expected to meet the oxygen needs of the wider community," said the Chancellor, who is familiarly called Ashari, quoted by Antara, Friday, August 6.

He hopes that OXITS can ease the burden on people who desperately need oxygen supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Hopefully this (ITS) work can make things better and the pandemic can end quickly," said Ashari.

Meanwhile, the Head of the OXITS Research Team, Fadlilatul Taufany, explained that along with the low oxygen saturation in the blood of COVID-19 positive patients, a high concentration of oxygen is needed, while the oxygen level in the air is only around 21 percent.

"This OXITS can produce pure oxygen up to 95.5 percent," said the academic who is also the Head of the Sub-Directorate of Research and Scientific Publications of the ITS Directorate of Research and Community Service (DRPM).

The ITS Chemical Engineering Department lecturer added that in addition to oxygen, free air also contains around 78 percent nitrogen and the rest are other gases.

"The working principle of OXITS is to take free air and purify it from nitrogen content through pressure swing adsorption (PSA) technology," said Taufany.

He also explained that the air absorbed by OXITS will go through a filter first to filter out particles more than 5 microns in size, then the air will be compressed to increase the air pressure.

"During the compression process, the cooling mechanism continues to run in order to keep the concentrator from overheating and improve PSA performance," he said.

Then, he continued, the nitrogen contained in the air will be absorbed by the zeolite filter to purify the air.

There are two column units that work alternately, namely a column to absorb nitrogen and a column that removes nitrogen trapped in the zeolite.

"Zeolite in OXITS can be used in the long term," he said.

The alumnus of the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) explained that the air that has been free of nitrogen content will be adjusted and regulated in advance for its pressure and flow with existing electronics before oxygen is flowed.

"OXITS innovation is in accordance with WHO and UNICEF health standards," said Taufany.