Time: 2024-04-26 15:14 Click:
The Origin of Solution
As early as 5 years ago, manufacturers began to negotiate helium purification business with air conditioner manufacturers. Several different solutions have emerged, including traditional pressure swing adsorption (PSA), temperature swing adsorption (TSA) and more advanced membrane separation proposals. However, up to now, no air conditioner manufacturers have purchased the above equipment in bulk, and related test equipment have been shelved by air conditioner manufacturers.
The traditional PSA and TSA equipment is too large, the recovery rate is too low, the adsorbent needs regeneration at high temperature with hydrogen, etc. For the former membrane separation equipment, the process is complicated, and affects the life of the compressor of original system.
Based on more than 20 years of research and industrialization experience of team members, and based on three types of completely different material systems, such as high-performance polymer membrane materials, inorganic membrane materials and metal alloys, with the help of “genetic engineering” design of materials. The materials was optimized to achieve the separation of hydrogen and nitrogen, the separation of hydrogen and helium, and the purification of hydrogen and helium to electronic grade purity (>99.999%). The team members have experienced semiconductor manufacturing, gas production plant R&D and enterprise managemen, and are familiar with the downstream and special impurities controlling of pan-semiconductor processes. The CTO of RefineTek is from a leading semiconductor equipment company, familiar with the manufacturing specifications and requirements of semiconductor equipment and systems.
RefineTek has the business to design, manufacture and engineering for 5N (99.999%) electronic grade helium and liquid helium plant. Electronic grade helium and liquid helium can be used in cutting-edge fields such as pan-semiconductors, superconductor, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR/MRI), cryogenic physics and military research, while the grade purity of 2N (99%) is the first-stage purification process of such solution as the details shown in figure 1.
RefineTek draw on the solutions of the competitors and fully communicated with the air conditioner manufacturers to understand their needs and developed the helium purification system for the air conditioner industry. Compared with the solutions of the competitors, RefineTek has the following advantages:
(1) no power facilities are required, no energy consumption is required, so stability is much higher; (2) core consumable has a long life-time; (3) no regeneration is required in the life cycle of the purified material; (4) the material for purification does not need to be regenerated, so no high temperature or hydrogen used; (5) does not modify the existing system, does not affect any production or process, does not increase the cycles of start and stop shift of the original compressor; (6) equipment is much smaller and compacter; (7) system recovery rate is greater than 95 %, significantly higher than 70% of PSA or TSA; (8) the system does not involve pressure vessels, so no need to report and annual inspection; (9) always maintain helium concentration above 90%, improving the consistency of leak detection.
The specific and detailed differences of proposals are shown in figure 2 below:
System Performance
Helium gas recovery and purification system developed for the air conditioning industry has a quite high helium recovery rate of more than 95%. The specific performance is as follows:
1. Inlet feed gas condition
Helium flow: 1~5 Nm3/h, adjustable
Purity of helium: 85% to 95%
Pressure of helium: approx. 15 Barg, adjustable
The dry bulb temperature: room temperature
Deuterium dew point: room temperature
2. Export product gas condition
Purified helium flow: adjustable
Purified helium purity: 95% to 99%
Purified helium pressure: approx. 1 Barg, adjustable
3. Export tail gas condition
Exhaust exhaust flow: adjustable
Discharged exhaust gas flow: 1% to 5%
Exhaust gas pressure: 1 to 15 Barg, adjustable
4. System indicator
Helium recovery rate: 95% to 99%
Notice!
In the helium leak detection process of air conditioner manufacturing, the loss of helium comes from the inherent consumption of the workpiece leak detection. Meanwhile, the helium circulation system has a inherent leak rate, operation error, active emissions when helium purity below a certain concentration (80% or 75%) , etc.
For the helium recovery and purification system, it actually recover the helium that is actively discharged below a certain concentration (80% or 75%) by seprating the air. After testing by many companies, helium recovery and purification system mannifatured by RefineTek can save about 40% of total amount.
