One of the plants can refill empty cylinders while the other feeds oxygen to supply lines

Two major Oxygen plants at Nellore and Shri Kalahasthi in Andhra Pradesh have been repaired by Indian Navy personnel, giving a major boost to supply in the state during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

The Eastern Naval Command had sent teams of specialists from Naval Dockyard, Vishakhapatnam by naval Dornier Aircraft following a request from the Andhra Pradesh administration.

These teams successfully repaired the Oxygen plants on Sunday by overhauling the compressors and replacing certain adapters and accessories which were manufactured within the Naval Dockyard, the Ministry of Defence said.

One of the plants, the Krishna Teja Oxygen Plant at Nellore, is a big cryogenic plant which can charge as many as 400 Jumbo type cylinders a day. It had, however been non-functional for the past 6 years.

"The naval team undertook the repairs of the plant and managed to achieve the cryogenic temp of minus 186 Deg Celsius and also achieve the requisite output oxygen pressure to charge bottles," the defence ministry said.

The analysis of the output is 98% oxygen, Zero% Carbon Monoxide and 0.01% Carbon Dioxide, meeting the requirements of Medical Grade Oxygen.

On the other hand, the Oxygen Plant at Shri Kalahasthi near Tirupati is a big plant based on VPSA technology. This plant is capable of generating 16,000 litres per minute at 5 bar; it feeds the oxygen directly to supply lines.

The naval team undertook repairs of the plant and achieved the requisite output proved for medical-grade Oxygen above 93%, Zero% Carbon Monoxide and 0.02% Carbon Dioxide. This was achieved by carrying out necessary adjustment of column and moisture absorption of the plant.

The Indian Navy personnel, led by Commander Dipayan, worked tirelessly on both the plants for nearly a week, along with the Engineering teams of the Andhra Pradesh Health Department.

The task was completed with the wholehearted cooperation of the District Collectors and the District Administration, the defence ministry noted.