University of São Paulo: In Brazil, few companies supply industrialized oxygen, which indicates a problem

In the last few days, Manaus experienced a chaos situation due to the lack of oxygen for patients hospitalized with covid-19. There are a number of peculiarities involving the industrialization of hospital oxygen and Professor José Roberto Simões, from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Poli, explains them in an interview with the Jornal da USP no Ar Primeira Edition .

The reality is that, in Brazil, there are few companies that supply industrialized oxygen, which can be a problem in times of crisis like the one that happened in Manaus. Simões comments that “there are alternatives for the hospital itself to have its oxygen concentration system and not rely exclusively on the cryogenic system”, the oxygen storage and distribution technology most commonly used by hospitals in the country.

Hospital Oxygen Production – Alternative
PSA – Pressure Swing Adsorption – is a very cost-effective and very simple alternative, according to the professor, and could be applied in time to overcome the crisis in the city of Amazonas. According to him, there are already suppliers of this equipment abroad and it is necessary to disseminate this knowledge so that it reaches those responsible and is considered in decision making.

Simões adds that there is a lack of organization to respond to the demands of a country of continental extension such as Brazil. Recently, the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Polytechnic School of USP, together with professors of Electrical Engineering, developed respirators that are being used to face the pandemic.

The crisis has shown the need for some sectors that supply the health area to move towards the updating of technologies, many that are already being developed within universities, and, thus, to avoid greater tribulations.