We report a facile method for the adsorption separation of fluorocarbon blends containing tetrafluoroethane (R134a), pentafluoroethane (R125) and trifluoroethane (R143a) refrigerants into their pure components using commercial 13X zeolite and pore-size modified 5A zeolite under ambient condition. Based on the measured R134a, R125, and R143a pure gas equilibrium adsorption isotherms, the adsorption capacity varies in the order of R134a > R143a > R125 on 13X zeolite. The mixed gas breakthrough experiments reveal that 13X zeolite selectively adsorbs R134a over R125 and R143a. By running two adsorption cycles, it is possible to obtain R134a with ultrahigh purity. Furthermore, through chemical modification of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), the pore size of 5A zeolite could be successfully narrowed to the extent to just adsorb R125 while excluding R143a. The modified 5A zeolite was utilized to separate refrigerant mixtures containing R125 and R143a into their pure components. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2017

中文翻译：

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使用13X和表面改性5A沸石吸附分离R134a，R125和R143a碳氟化合物混合物

我们报告了一种简便的方法，该方法使用市售13X沸石和孔径改性的5A沸石在环境条件下将四氟乙烷（R134a），五氟乙烷（R125）和三氟乙烷（R143a）致冷剂吸附分离为纯组分。根据测得的R134a，R125和R143a纯气体平衡吸附等温线，在13X沸石上的吸附容量按R134a> R143a> R125的顺序变化。混合气体突破实验表明，13X沸石在R125和R143a上选择性吸附R134a。通过进行两个吸附循环，可以获得具有超高纯度的R134a。此外，通过对原硅酸四乙酯（TEOS）进行化学修饰，5A沸石的孔径可以成功缩小到仅吸附R125而不包括R143a的程度。改性的5A沸石用于将含有R125和R143a的制冷剂混合物分离为纯组分。©2017美国化学工程师学会AIChE的Ĵ，2017年