Granted Patent B2

US 12,612,541 · App. 17/253,016 · Granted Apr 28, 2026

Inventors: Charles Clinton Allgood (Elkton, MD); Barbara Haviland Minor (Elkton, MD)

Assignee: THE CHEMOURS COMPANY FC, LLC

C09K5/045F25B45/00C09K2205/122C09K2205/126C09K2205/22

Abstract

Claims (27)

1 . A process of preparing a refrigerant blend of R-449A comprising recovered R-407A or R-410A, comprising:

(a) recovering a blend selected from the group consisting of R-407A or R-410A from one or more refrigeration systems;

(b) purifying the R-407A or R-410A to form purified R-407A or R-410A, wherein the purifying of step (b) comprises removing solid impurities from the R-407A or R-410A, and wherein the solid impurities are removed by one or more purification techniques selected from vacuum filtration, membrane centrifugal filtration, gravity filtration, depth filter filtration, granular bed filtration, cartridge filtration using carbon, fiber or metal filtration, and precoat filtration;

(c) blending the purified R-407A or R-410A with 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene (HFO-1234yf) to form the refrigerant blend;

(d) recovering 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene (HFO-1234yf) from one or more refrigeration, air conditioning or heat pump systems;

(e) purifying the 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene (HFO-1234yf) to form purified 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene (HFO-1234yf); and

(f) optionally adding one or more components of R-449A after step (c) to bring the refrigerant blend into specification;

wherein steps (d) and (e) are each performed prior to the blending of step (c);

wherein the purifying of step (e) comprises removing liquid impurities, gaseous impurities, or a combination thereof, from the 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene (HFO-1234yf), wherein the liquid impurities, gaseous impurities, or a combination thereof are removed by one or more purification techniques selected from distillation, decantation, contact with molecular sieves, and vapor space purging.

2 . The process of claim 1 , wherein step (b) is performed one or more times prior to the mixing of step (c).

3 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the refrigeration system comprises an air conditioner, a freezer, a refrigerator, a chiller, a heat pump, a mobile refrigerator, a mobile air conditioning unit, an immersion cooling system, a data-center cooling system, or any combination thereof.

4 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the purifying of step (b) comprises removing liquid impurities, gaseous impurities, or a combination thereof, from the R-407A or R-410A.

5 . The process of claim 4 , wherein the liquid impurities, gaseous impurities, or a combination thereof are removed by one or more purification techniques selected from distillation, decantation, contact with molecular sieves, and vapor space purging.

6 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the purifying of step (e) further comprises removing solid impurities from the 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene (HFO-1234yf).

7 . The process of claim 6 , wherein the solid impurities are removed by one or more purification techniques selected from vacuum filtration, membrane centrifugal filtration, gravity filtration, depth filter filtration, granular bed filtration, cartridge filtration using carbon, fiber or metal filtration, and precoat filtration.

8 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the recovered blend is R-410A, and wherein the purified R-410A is blended with HFC-134a and the purified HFO-1234yf.

9 . The process of claim 8 , further comprising recovering HFC-134a from one or more refrigeration, air conditioning or heat pump systems, and purifying the HFC-134a to form purified HFC-134a, wherein the purified HFC-134a is blended with the purified R-410A and the purified HFO-1234yf.

10 . A process of reducing the global warming potential of a refrigerant blend of R-449A, comprising:

(a) selecting R-407A or R-410A recovered from one or more refrigeration systems;

(b) purifying the R-407A or R-410A to form purified R-407A or R-410A, wherein the purifying of step (b) comprises removing solid impurities from the R-407A or R-410, and wherein the solid impurities are removed by one or more purification techniques selected from vacuum filtration, membrane centrifugal filtration, gravity filtration, depth filter filtration, granular bed filtration, cartridge filtration using carbon, fiber or metal filtration, and precoat filtration;

(c) blending the purified R-407A or R-410 with 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene (HFO-1234yf) to form a purified refrigerant blend;

d) recovering the 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene (HFO-1234yf) from one or more refrigeration, air conditioning or heat pump systems;

(e) purifying the 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene (HFO-1234yf) to form purified 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene (HFO-1234yf); and

(f) optionally adding one or more components of R-449A after step (c) to bring the refrigerant blend into specification;

wherein steps (d) and (e) are each performed prior to the blending of step (c);

wherein the purified R-449A refrigerant blend has a reduced global warming potential compared to a refrigerant blend comprising components which have not been recovered and purified according to steps (b)-(c);

wherein the purifying of step (e) comprises removing liquid impurities, gaseous impurities, or a combination thereof, from the one or more hydrofluoroolefins, wherein the liquid impurities, gaseous impurities, or a combination thereof are removed by one or more purification techniques selected from distillation, decantation, contact with molecular sieves, and vapor space purging.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (63)