Amidst the severe crisis of medical grade oxygen requiredfor the COVID-19 patients, MSME DI, Ahmedabad conducted a webinar on 29.04.2021 on the Oxygen Enrichment Unit developed by CSIR-CMERI. Prof. (Dr.) Harish Hirani, Director, CSIR-CMERI was invited as the Chief Speaker. Mr. Ranjeeth  Kumar S., IAS,Commissioner, MSME, Government of Gujrat; Mr. Vikas Gupta, Jt. Director & HOO, MSME .Govt. of India, Ahmedabad and Mr. P. N. Solanki, IEDS, Dy Director, MSME -DI Ahmedabad also participated in the above webinar.

Prof. Harish Hirani, Director, CSIR-CMERI, while interacting with the MSME representatives requested the Commissioner, MSME, Gujarat to explore the possibilities of Import Duty waiver for Individual Components of the Oxygen Enrichment Unit such as Compressor, Zeolite etc. Oxygen is playing the role of a Life-Saver for the COVID patients and the CSIR-CMERI developed Oxygen Enrichment Unit can pitch-in to play a very crucial role in this regard. Oil-Free Compressors are better in terms of performance for Medical Usage and in this regard even Zeolite plays a crucial role. The CSIR-CMERI Oxygen Enrichment Unit, focuses upon Severe and Critical COVID cases. The usage of Oxygen Cylinders as evident in few cases,sometimes becomes risky due to its leakage. Besides, the Transportation Logistics Expenditure accounts a major component of the cost.

The Oxygen Enrichment Unit (OEU) may also facilitate the setting up of Mini-ICUs in Smaller Clinics, Dispensaries and Isolation Centres. The OEU can also be used along with the CSIR-NAL developed Bi-PAP system. Essentially the OEU has two parts namely i) Fixed Compressor Unit and ii) Portable Enrichment Unit.  If innovatively used by the MSMEs, a Single Air Compressor strategically placed outside the room can help serve 4-6 patients at one go. The technology can also be customised as per the requirements of the situation. This would help Shape-Up the technology as per local requirements and help boost the local manufacturing scenario, thereby paving the way for an AtmaNirbhar Bharat. The Raw Materials that would be required for the OEU are:

1. Oil-Free Reciprocating Compressor (Continuous Duty)
2. Oxygen Grade Zeolite Sieves
3. Pneumatic Components

Prof. Harish Hirani after briefing the MSMEs on the facilities required to Start Manufacturing the Technology and the Space Requirements for the same shared that the CSIR-CMERI developed OEU Prototype costs around Rs. 35,000/, however when productions are Scaled-Up, the cost for the same might be brought down considerably. CSIR-CMERI commits to provide all sorts of assistance to the MSME partners in terms of Technical Training and Raw Materials sourcing.

Mr. Ranjeeth  Kumar S., IAS, Commissioner, MSME, Government of Gujrat requested MSME officials to make a complete list of the resources as well as the details of the interested entrepreneurs and share amongst them for initiation and ramping up of mass production at the earliest.

 

Mr. Vikas Gupta, Jt. Director & HOO, MSME .Govt. of India appreciating the technology thanked CSIR-CMERI for developing OEU to fight the pandemic and stated that it would be very useful for patients at home isolation and small hospitals and there is tremendous for MSMEs for manufacturing the unit.

 

Mr. P. N. Solanki, IEDS, Dy. Director, MSME DI Ahmedabad on the occasion expressing on the present oxygen crisis said that though such Oxygen Concentrators were available since long, most of the technologies were imported. CSIR-CMERI by developing the new device has provided enormous opportunities for the entrepreneurs of Gujrat as the major components are manufactured in this region. He also expected that with the mass production of OEUs India be successful in becoming an importer country of the Oxygen Concentrators to the exporter country.

 

The webinar was interactive and overwhelming responses in the form of queries and suggestions were received from the participants. It was also recognized that the move of CSIR-CMERI is not only to produce up to 1000 OEU per day but to help thousands of MSEs to produce more than thousand OEUs per dayto eliminate the existing crisis being faced by the country.

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