“It is my understanding that a human does not want to breath O2 below a depth of 30ft. or less.”
Its not that simple. It depends on the pressure and the % of oxygen in the air you are breathing. 100% oxygen is really only used in medical situations at sea level.
At sea level the air we breath is 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and the rest is other stuff. Most people can breath this mixture down to about 150 feet of depth. As you increase depth the gas compresses which in turn increases the % of oxygen you actually receive. At a certain point you encounter oxygen toxicity which can cause vomiting, dizziness, convulsions and unconsciousness. The last usually results in drowning. For technical divers who go 200, 300, and 400 feet down one breath of the wrong air mix will kill them.
This sounds like a great tool but I would have to know more about it before using it. I’d wager there are significant restrictions on where it can be used safely.
they will be testing this in pools for years I guess
I am focused on the separation of the O2 from the water. This separation of a gas from liquid has been around commercially for about 3 decades. Think Goretex although this actually works backwards from Goretex but don't get hung up on that.
The battery is going to need to power 2 things. First, I am pretty sure that there is going to be some water pumping to keep O2 rich water in contact with the membrane - This will be low pressure, high volume pumping. Second, on the gas side of the membrane there needs to be a negative pressure. The gas pump would have its suction on the membrane side and the diver on the discharge side. What may be really cutting edge innovative on this device is more the battery for powering things than the gas permeable membrane separation.