Ionic liquid fluoropolymer membranes for the separation of R-410A: Understanding the effect of ionic liquid on membrane characteristics and separation performance

Environmental legislation such as the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act will phase out today's generation of high-global warming hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants over the next two decades. Energy-efficient technologies are needed to separate these often azeotropic and complex mixtures. Membrane technology and extractive distillation with ionic liquids as entrainers have been individually developed for the separation of azeotropic refrigerant mixtures. This study provides details for the separation of R-410A through combining the benefits of glassy, amorphous polymers with ionic liquids to form ionic liquid polymer membranes. Two different classes of ionic liquid polymer membranes are considered: polyvinyl acetate composite membranes with 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium tris(pentafluoroethyl)trifluorophosphate, and 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride, and Hyflon AD 60 with 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(pentafluoroethylsulfonyl)imide. The membranes are characterized with FTIR, helium pycnometry, differential scanning calorimetry, and a high-pressure view-cell to characterize the effect of ionic liquid on polymer properties. The Hyflon AD 60 composite membranes were evaluated for the separation of R-410A through pure-gas permeability, selectivity, solubility, and diffusivity measurements, which show exceptional selectivity for separation of R-410A. Results provide insights on the effect of ionic liquid on the separation of R-410A and indicate that improved separation performance of glassy polymers can be achieved with the addition of ionic liquid.