3D printed zeolite monoliths as open-source spare parts for oxygen concentrators

Oxygen concentrators are essential medical devices for basic emergency care, surgery and treatment for chronic and acute respiratory diseases. Despite their reliability and accessibility, they require spare parts which can be difficult to source in low resource settings, where the extreme environmental conditions and the overloads often make failures more frequent. The solution to this shortcoming can be their local production, enabled by 3D printing (3DP) technologies. Here we describe an extrusion-based 3DP process to produce zeolite monolith structures for use in the air adsorption process. The printed structures were physically and mechanically characterized. Compared to the material in pelletized form, the 3D printed zeolite monoliths have better transport properties (30 times increased permeability), comparable adsorption (being comparable with standard pellets), and are easier to handle. They are therefore the more appropriate technology for higher performance, easier maintenance, and lower weight oxygen concentrators in low resource settings.