A portable oxygen-concentrator for climbing to the death zone without oxygen canisters

Abstract

Climbing any of the 14 tallest peaks in the world at altitudes of over 8,000 m takes the human body to the extremes of survival. Most alpinists ascend to “the death zone” using oxygen canisters. However, this practice has a drawback: these geological sanctuaries became a canister cemetery. This work evaluates the feasibility of using pressure swing adsorption (PSA) as a technological solution to reduce littering in high-performance mountaineering. A PSA unit can provide enough oxygen for the ascent and for the descent, where most deaths happen due to insufficient oxygen. Zeolite 13X was the selected material because other improved zeolites are highly sensitive to moisture. The two-column PSA unit is designed to fit in a backpack and operate at low temperatures and pressures. Oxygen with 80 % purity and 45.5 % recovery was obtained. The battery energy consumption for portable oxygen concentrators is 11.78 Wh/mol to produce 8.6 mmol·kg⁻¹·s⁻¹ of oxygen.