DRDO to ramp up oxygen generation plants in three months using tech that was developed for LCA Tejas

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will set up 500 medical oxygen generation plants across the country in the next three months to ensure continuous supply of oxygen and boost India’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

The plants will be set up under the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) fund, the Defence Minister’s office said on Wednesday (28 April).

“The DRDO is going to set up 500 Medical Oxygen Plants within 3 months under PM CARES Fund,” the Defence Minister’s Office said in a tweet.

“The Medical Oxygen Plant technology developed by DRDO for On‐Board Oxygen Generation for LCA, Tejas will now help in fighting the current crisis of Oxygen for the COVID-19 patients,” it added.

The oxygen plant developed and designed by the DRDO will have a capacity of 1,000 litres per minute (LPM), according to a Defence Ministry release, and can cater to 190 patients at a flow rate of 5 litres per minute (LPM). The plant can charge 195 cylinders per day.

Transfer of Technology has been agreed upon by Tata Advanced Systems Limited, Bengaluru and Trident Pneumatics, Coimbatore, who will be producing 380 plants for installation across various hospitals in the country, the ministry said.

120 plants of 500 LPM capacity will be produced by industries working with the Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun, belonging to CSIR, it added.

However, the most interesting aspect is that the DRDO had developed a medical oxygen plant as a spin-off technology of the ‘Onboard oxygen generation system’ (OBOGS) of the LCA Tejas. This technology was developed by DRDO’s Defence Electromedical and Bio-Engineering Laboratory (DEBEL).

What the system does is it breaks down molecular components of the atmospheric air to provide continuous oxygen to the pilot within the aircraft for long duration and in high altitude flights.

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