SEMICONDUCTOR PRODUCTION SYSTEM AND RECOVERY OF AT LEAST ONE PERFLUOROCOMPOUND GAS FROM A GAS MIXTURE FLOWING FROM SUCH A SYSTEM

摘要

A process to recover at least one perfluorocompound gas or gas mixture flowing from a semiconductor manufacturing process, comprising the steps of: (a) providing a gas mixture (24) comprising at least one perfluorocompound gas, at least one harmful species, and at least one carrier gas; (b) providing a polymer membrane (6) having a feed side and a permeate side, (c) pretreating said gas mixture to reduce the concentration of said species harmful to said membrane and obtaining a treated gas mixture; (d) contacting the feed side of said membrane with said treated gas mixture; (e) withdrawing a concentrated gas mixture comprising a higher concentration of the at least one perfluorocompound gas than in the treated gas mixture, from the feed side of the membrane as a non-permeate stream (8) at a pressure which is substantially equal to said predetermined pressure; and (f) withdrawing a gas or gas mixture from the permeate side of said membrane as a permeate stream enriched in carrier gas. 334 ו' בניסן התשס" ד - March 28, 2004