Modeling and simulation of Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) purification process

Liquid sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) contains carbon tetrachloride (CF4) and air as main impurities. It is very difficult to remove these impurities by using a catalyst column or an adsorption column. In this work a new purification method for SF6 mixture based on batch distillation is proposed. Experimental study showed good purification performance, where SF6N50 was obtained from SF6N30 feed. In the modeling of the batch purification process of SF6 mixture, the K-value was calculated based on the regular solution theory and a short cut method was employed. Results of simulations showed good agreement with those of experiments.