Naval Dockyard teams repair two oxygen plants in Nellore and Srikalahasti

Oxygen supply gets a big boost with this in the State during the pandemic

Teams from Naval Dockyard, Eastern Naval Command, engaged in repairing the oxygen plants at Nellore and Srikalahasti. The plants were restored for production on Sunday.

Teams from the Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam, achieved a major breakthrough in repairing two major oxygen plants in Nellore and at Srikalahasti thus achieving a major boost to the oxygen supply in the State during the pandemic.

Based on a request from the State administration, the Eastern Naval Command had airlifted the teams of specialists from Naval Dockyard by naval Dornier Aircraft from Visakhapatnam, about a week ago.

The teams successfully repaired the oxygen plants on Sunday morning by overhauling the compressors and replaced certain adapters and accessories which were manufactured within the dockyard.

The Krishna Teja Oxygen Plant in Nellore is a big cryogenic plant capable of charging 400 jumbo type cylinders a day and had been non-functional for the past six years. The naval team undertook the repairs of the plant and managed to achieve the cryogenic temperature of minus 186° Celsius and also achieve the requisite output oxygen pressure to charge bottles. The analysis of the output is 98% oxygen, 0% carbon monoxide and 0.01% carbon dioxide meeting the requirements of medical grade oxygen.

The plant in Srikalahasti, near Tirupati, is a big plant based on Vacuum Pressure Swing Adsorption (VPSA) technology and is capable of generating 16,000 litres per minute. The naval team undertook repairs of the plant and achieved the requisite output for medical grade oxygen above 93%, 0% carbon monoxide and 0.02% carbon dioxide by carrying out necessary adjustment of column and moisture absorption of the plant. The specialist teams led by Commander Dipayan worked tirelessly for almost seven days along with the engineering teams of the State Health Department to complete the task.