Membrane oxygen enrichment : II. Economic assessment

Abstract The classic membrane gas-separation process that virtually everyone doing membrane research has considered, and many have worked on, is oxygen enrichment of air. There seems to be an almost emotional appeal for membrane oxygen enrichment, perhaps because air is free and the market for oxygen is huge. This paper is an attempt to add some facts to the appeal. The state-of-the-art of membrane oxygen enrichment is analyzed, and the authors' opinions of where the leverage for improvement is, and is not, are presented.