Process Design for Separating R-410A Using Fluorinated Membranes

Hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants are being phased out of production due to their high global warming potential. The ability to separate complex, azeotropic refrigerant mixtures will be imperative to maintaining a supply of refrigerants for existing and new equipment amid the production phasedown. This study investigates the process design of membrane technology for the separation of R-410A, an azeotropic mixture of 50 wt % difluoromethane and 50 wt % pentafluoroethane. The software tool MEMSIC is used with ASPEN Plus to model the separation of R-410A using hollow fibers coated with fluoropolymers. A 2-stage and 3-stage separation design was simulated using pure-component permeability data for promising fluoropolymers reported in the literature for refrigerant separation. The results indicate that separation processes based on membrane technology can be designed to reach >99.5 wt % purity for both components of R-410A with a high recovery rate and a low energy usage.