Medical Air: Oil Free Pistons & Oil Free Scroll Compressors

For hospitals and other medical environments, installing reliable and safe air compressors to deliver this air is of paramount importance. After all, medical air is used to treat respiratory problems, as well as low oxygen due to heart failure, anaemia, and chronic pulmonary conditions.

Clean, safe air needs to be delivered to the patient quickly and on demand, with the oxygen mix catered to each patient's specific needs. With medical air also used to power incubators for babies, and as a carrier gas for anaesthetic gases, we can see then how critical well engineered air compressors are to the medical profession. They are the backbone of modern medicine.

Two of the biggest challenges when selecting an air compressor for medical environment can be summarised as:

• Choosing between oil free and oil lubricated models.
• Knowing which air compressor design best suits your needs.

As the leading distributor of air compressors and accessories to the medical and health sectors throughout the Australian continent and surrounding areas, BOGE Australia is here to assist you in making the right choice.

Why Oil Free Medical Air Matters

Without safe and quickly administered medical air, patients suffer and, in some cases, even die. Because the risks are so great, medical professionals require BOGE to create air compressors which are innovative, durable, and non-invasive in terms of vibrations and size. The beauty of BOGE's compressors is that they offer modular redundancy so compressed air is always available even in the worst case scenarios. BOGE also follows the zero oil, zero risk mantra. While we have designed effective filtration systems for oil lubricated air compressors, our oil-free lines guarantee that no oil can contaminate the pipeline – this is safer for the medical professional and safer for the patient. With no oil, there is no need for excess filtration systems or waste water treatment of pollutants.

Oil-free compressors deliver performance and peace of mind to the medical sector, but which type of oil-free air compressor is best for medical air production?

Scroll Vs Piston Compressors for Medical Air

We recommend choosing either our oil-free piston PO models or our oil-free EO scroll models, each of which has their own benefits for medical use.

Piston Compressors and Medical Air

Also known as reciprocating air compressors, piston air compressors are great for continuous use, frequent load changes, long service life, and high reliability. BOGE's PO Series of oil-free compressors offers all of this and has been designed from the ground up with sensitive working environments in mind. This makes it an excellent option for delicate medical environments.

Like all piston air compressors, our models create compressed air through a moving part which thrusts back and forward, compressing the air in the process. However, our designs incorporate BOGE's world-renowned German engineering which sets these piston compressors apart from the competition in terms of durability and reliability. With extensively ribbed aluminium cylinder and cylinder heads, our PO Series of compressors are lightweight and more compact than ever.

Space is often at a premium for medical professionals, and so BOGE engineers have included a closed hood design which allows for our compressor components to make the most of available space. Furthermore, the PO series is designed to allow for both intermittent and continuous use, making it more adaptable than its piston competitors.

Our V-Principle piston design produces premium air without the wear and tear of a standard piston. This V-shaped piston is coated in our innovative piston bearing lubrication system, and with a hermetically sealed crankshaft, the compressed air produced is 100% safe for human consumption.

Product variants within the PO Series include:

• PO 2L: A basic unit which is directly coupled with a motor rating of 2 PS.
• PO 2LR: A PO 2L with an added storage receiver for on site, on demand gas mixtures.
• PO 6 LDR: This PO model incorporates both a storage receiver and a dryer, which is perfect for producing compressed air with reduced moisture when needed, particularly important for patients with fluid retention.
• PO 8 LTR: A twin unit, two compressors for added power and/or redundancy. They can also be combined with two separate compressed air receivers for greater volume production.

BOGE Scroll Compressors for Medical Air

An alternative to the standard piston design is the BOGE EO Series – scroll compressors which are future-proofed and have a number of key medical applications. Scroll compressors produce compressed air through two revolving rotors which turn in opposite directions. In BOGE models, we go that extra mile for efficiency and reliability with inter-meshing spiral scrolls and a two-stage aftercooler. The resulting continuous movement makes our scroll compressors quiet and perfect for continuous medical application where noise levels would cause anxiety in patients.

Also known as the EO Series, BOGE scroll compressors provide completely oil-free compression in a super-silences whisper quiet design. These compressors are compact, low maintenance, and have a modular design which means they can be arranged to suit almost any medical scenario.

Product variants within the EO Series include:

• EO 4: One of the most compact scroll compressors available today. 4kW of low power use for medical environments.
• EO 6D: A compressor complete with a refrigerant dryer and controlled via either the base control or the optional focus control 2.0 for remote access.
• EO 16: Redundancy is essential for medical applications where failure can result in death. This scroll compressor has triple redundancy, and still with a small footprint, capable of offering free air delivery at any moment.
• EO 22D: Our EO 22 and EO22D models are at the top end of our EO line, with massive delivery volumes of up to 2.480 m3/min and max pressures of 10 bar and 145psig.

Still Unsure Which Air Compressor Suits Your Needs?

At BOGE Australia, we prioritize customer needs and are proud to have been supplying compressors to the medical industry for over 50 years. If you have any questions regarding medical air compression, please contact our trained technicians today, who will gladly answer any of your queries.