Hudson Technologies has signed a joint development agreement with Icorium company for the commercialisation of Icorium’s patented extractive distillation technology.
The collaboration is expected to broaden and complement Hudson’s existing fractional distillation systems with the potential for rapid and more complete processing of more complex refrigerant compositions through Icorium’s single-stream extractive method.
The technology under development pursues the ability to split complicated refrigerant mixtures into their core components – including azeotropes – with a yield and throughput previously unknown in the industry.
The ability to separate and purify traditionally difficult refrigerant blends will simplify recovery of used refrigerants by allowing contractors to combine refrigerants in cylinders, reducing onsite recovery time and also enabling Hudson to extract the maximum refrigerant possible from every pound of refrigerant recovered, thereby producing a faster transition from stock to saleable product.
The joint development agreement provides Hudson with dedicated access to Icorium’s engineering resources, access to Icorium intellectual property related to refrigerant separation technologies, exclusivity and first-mover advantages during the initial commercialisation period, as well as early access to additional separation technologies which may create further opportunities for expansion into new markets.
Hudson Technologies president & CEO, Ken Gaglione, said this agreement marks a significant milestone to execute the company’s strategy to expand its offerings beyond traditional refrigerant sales and reclamation to include a premier technology-driven platform for recovery, purification, and separation services.
“With Icorium’s technology, we seek to separate complex refrigerant blends with greater speed and efficiency than traditional fractional distillation, substantially enhancing our capabilities and capacity,” he said.
“The ability to convert a broader range of refrigerants into saleable product would create a differentiated competitive advantage for Hudson as our industry moves from conventional to next-generation equipment and refrigerants.”
Icorium co-founder & CEO, Dr. Kalin Baca, said working with Hudson will allow Icorium to scale its patented distillation technology to broaden and support the practice of refrigerant recovery and reclamation.
“Hudson and Icorium share a commitment to promoting and facilitating responsible refrigerant management,” Baca said.
“The combination of Hudson’s scale and market reach with our technology may open meaningful commercialisation pathways in the continued development of a circular refrigerant supply chain.”