Project Earth: Environmentally Applied Research Towards Hydrofluorocarbons

Project EARTH (Environmentally Applied Research Toward Hydrofluorocarbons) is a collaborative project focused on developing sustainable processes for the selective separation of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerant mixtures. Currently, HFC mixtures are being phased out due to their high global warming potential leading to thousands of tons of refrigerants being unusable with no sustainable way to dispose of or reuse. In order to repurpose these valuable materials, it is necessary to develop a way to separate the HFC mixtures which is difficult do to the fact that most HFC mixtures form azeotropes or near azeotropes. Project EARTH is composed of a multidisciplinary team to address these difficult separations with focus on three main separation techniques: ionic liquids, porous media, and membranes. This poster will give an overview of Project EARTH, each approach being used, and the partnerships between universities and industry partners.