Apparatus and process for renewing refrigerants

An apparatus for decontaminating a liquid refrigerant with a decontaminating liquid chemical, the chemical being reactive with impurities in the refrigerant to form a reaction product and wherein the decontaminating liquid chemical and the reaction product have boiling temperatures substantially higher than the refrigerant vaporization temperature, the apparatus comprising:

• a container having an upper end, a side wall, and a lower end adapted to contain a pool of decontaminating liquid;
• an inlet into the container for liquid refrigerant;
• a refrigerant vapor outlet from the container through the upper end of the container;
• and
• means for mixing the refrigerant and the chemical within the lower end of the container, comprising a tube having a top end communicating with the refrigerant inlet, a descending portion, and a discharge end at said lower end adapted to feed liquid refrigerant into the pool decontaminating liquid at said lower end;
• whereby refrigerant injected via the tube into the container with the decontaminating liquid chemical therein to a liquid level above the discharge end of the tube, will mix with the chemical by swirling action, and generally pure refrigerant vapor may leave the container via the vapor outlet.

An apparatus for decontaminating a fluid refrigerant, the apparatus comprising:

• a container having an upper end and a lower end;
• a refrigerant inlet to the container;
• a refrigerant vapor outlet from the container through the upper end of the container;
• a decontaminating liquid chemical disposed within the lower end of the container, the chemical having a chemical vaporization temperature higher than a refrigerant vaporization temperature and being reactive with impurities of the refrigerant to form a reaction product;
• and
• means for mixing the refrigerant with the chemical within the lower end of the container;
• whereby generally pure refrigerant vapor may leave the container via the vapor outlet and the reaction product may remain in the container.