Powdered Oxygen vs Oxygen Cylinders for emergency Oxygen provision

We have a product in South Africa which is called EMox which offers a light weight powdered emergency oxygen system in the form of a kit that is easy to transport.

My querstions are as follows

1. Has anyone had any experience with a similar product
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this system over a conventional kit like the DAN 3l oxygen kit.
3. Which would you recomend as a solution for a 9 crew RIB.
4. If neither what would you recomend and why.

Thank you

looked online in regards to it... pros is indefinate shelf life and the cylinder isn't truely pressurized so no inspections needed. cons? it's a chemical reaction and would require PURE water for best reaction, not sure about temperature range needed and the cylinder DOES get hot as a end result as well.. also no idea on flow rate etc. it doesn't say how long it'll take to produce a given amount of O2 either. If any of the chemicals gets wet during setup before getting into the cyl, you're in trouble. i would ask for more information by the manufacturer than what's on the website.

i would investigate how exothermic the reactions are in open air in case of accident -- you are in a RIB and don't want to melt a hole in it.

Here’s an interesting write-up on a few versions: http://asmameeting.org/asma2013_mp/pdfs/asma2013_present_104.pdf
And a DAN article on the emOx: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...YsYMjNap6Kr4SoQHXuvsRxQ&bvm=bv.64363296,d.aWc

so DAN is saying in their studies it'll take at least 10-15 to get a good enough O2 buildup & flow --- not what you're looking for in emergencies on a boat... so my vote would be forget it and go for a regular compressed O2 bottle of whatever nature/size.

Thank you both for your invaluable input. I have just cancelled my order for a unit. The last thing you want in an emergency situation is unsuitable equipment.

knotical:

a DAN article on the emOx: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...YsYMjNap6Kr4SoQHXuvsRxQ&bvm=bv.64363296,d.aWc

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Heh. That's interesting. I'm not trained in emergency O2 equipment, nor have I heard about this kind of contraption before, nor do I konw about reaction rates for this specific chemical reaction, so I refrained from commenting. However, I do know my chemistry and HES. And my first, instinctual thought was not just "no", it was "H€LL, NO!" There's no way I'd use a new and not very well proven system with a totally unknown O2 source for emergency treatment. When there's an emergency, you want everything to work really smoothly, just as it always has done, with as few possibilities for problems as possible.

The discussion in the DAN paper really says it all:

Oxygen delivery systems appropriate for first aid use must be reliable, easy to use, easy to transport and able to provide sufficient volume and flow rates for the conditions of treatment.

[...]

Unfortunately, the total oxygen yield for a set of reactants is extremely limited – approximately 10% of that provided by a single “D” size oxygen cylinder. Practically, this extremely limited supply would likely be ineffective in treating most medical conditions. Additionally, the slow and variable time required for the oxygen production rate to climb, despite careful standardisation of activation steps, brings into question any benefit of rapid deployment in advance of EMS arrival. Ultimately, the time spent dealing with the device and not spent paying attention to other needs of the patient does not seem justified for the limited benefits delivered.

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IOW, it's practically useless.

i was thinking what situations you might actually prefer this? and only thing i could come up with was high-altitude backpacking where weight/size is a serious issue. but then got to thinking that the altitude may affect the reactions so i think that's a strike against that idea.... i wonder though how it would work in low-G or Zero-G? thinking about the space station etc...

see: Chemical oxygen generator - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Really you need a flow rate of minimum 6 lpm to feed a therapy mask or non rebreather. That still will not give you 100% O2 delivery to the patient. A Diver or Resuscitation victim need 100% if at all possible. You really need a Demand/positive pressure system to do that. Flow rates between 10 and 15 lpm are needed to provide that level.

The only flow rate that system seems able to deliver is what would be something like a nasal canula which has generally not been used in First Aid for a long time. The thought process behind this has been that in an emergency patients are mouth breathing not nasal breathing and require a higher concentration than what nasal prongs can deliver.

I do carry my own O2 System and AED in country but transporting it by air is a problem. I do teach O2 providing courses for a major First Aide Training Agency. I prefer NOT to name my employer as I do not want to take any chance that people think I am speaking on their behalf. I have forwarded those links to them (Thanks knotikal :worshipas I am sure they will find this interesting as well.

I would dearly love to be able to find something that would be able to do what this produce SAYS it can do. I believe DAN's testing and report indicates it just isn't possible yet

What concerns my most, having read the DAN report is that this product was endorsed by one of our local diving magazines. I have written to them and atttached the DAN report, but I have not has a response as yet.