Open Access Journal Journal of Power Technologies 95 (Polish Energy Mix) (2015) 1–5 Analysis of the applicability of adsorption oxygen generators in the field of industry and power engineering Tomasz Banaszkiewicz ∗ , Maciej Chorowski Wroclaw University of Technology, Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering 27 Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego Street, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland Abstract Adsorption air separation technologies can be used to generate several hundred tons of oxygen per day. The basis of adsorption technology is the variable absorptive capacity of the adsorbent, which depends on temperature and pres- sure. The driving force is given by the difference between the actual and the equilibrium concentration of the substance adsorbed on the surface of the adsorbent. There are two main technologies: Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) and Tem- perature Swing Adsorption (TSA). PSA methods require electricity to be supplied to the compressor or vacuum pump while the TSA method involves heating the adsorption bed during the regeneration stage. There are also combinations of these processes. In the case of mixed methods, the adsorption process takes place under elevated pressure, whereas regeneration takes place under vacuum or at elevated temperature. The article presents an economic analysis of oxygen production from air by pressure and temperature adsorption methods. We analyzed the possibility of using waste and cogenerated heat from a power station. We specified the effect of the adsorption technology on purity and pressure of the generated oxygen. We analyzed the possibility of using adsorption air separation methods in various fields of industry and energy sector. Keywords: Oxygen, Adsorption, Energy Engineering Introduction 1. Introduction Oxygen for industrial purposes is generated through the process of condensation and distillation of atmospheric air at air separation units (ASU). Membrane-based and ad- sorption techniques are used to obtain lower purity oxy- gen. In cases of oxygen separation for energy purposes (in quantities closely correlated to produced electricity), the energy consumption of the process is a key factor. Fur- thermore, it is important whether the energy supplied to air separation units may take other forms (for exam- ple thermal energy). If thermal energy can be used this ∗ Corresponding author Email addresses: (Tomasz Banaszkiewicz ∗ ), (Maciej Chorowski) opens the way for air separation to be coupled with co- generation and heat derived from solar collectors. When a power plant is required to work at varied loads (which can be caused by increased shares of renewables in the en- ergy mix), it is also reasonable to examine the possibility of accumulating energy in air separation products, in par- ticular liquefied oxygen, nitrogen, argon and compressed gases. With respect to oxygenic combustion, the efficiency of an individual installation is the key criterion when se- lecting the air separation method. Assuming 500 metric tons of oxygen per day to be an economically reasonable threshold for adsorption installations to work efficiently, power units exceeding 25 MWe should be linked with cryogenic air-separation installations. Pilot installations, laboratory installations and oxygenic combustion instal- lations at units with minor powers (distributed cogenera- tion units, waste incineration plants, steelworks and oth-