ACR Journal

February | March 2023 REFRIGERANTS 18 A-Gas Group sustainability director Ken Logan explains why lifecycle refrigerant management will play an important role on the road to Net Zero. Six pillars of lifecycle refrigerant management Volume 9 No.2 There are approximately five billion refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump systems in operation globally. Over the years, as environmental legislation is adopted, the type and make-up of refrigerants used has changed. From CFCs and HCFCs to HFCs, HFOs and natural refrigerants, the gases in use have changed to reduce the impact on our natural environment. Lower global warming potential refrigerants continue to be developed and adopted as we look to build a more sustainable future. But relying on the development and use of lower GWP gases alone is not enough in reducing emissions globally. It is estimated that there are 90 billion tonnes of CO2-e emissions requiring abatement within the existing installed bank of Ozone Depleting Substances and HFC refrigerants. In anybody’s book that’s a vast amount of potential emissions. If these legacy refrigerants are not recovered, and then reclaimed or disposed of correctly, much of the great work of the Montreal Protocol to protect the ozone layer and reduce greenhouse gas emissions will suffer. Used refrigerant released into the atmosphere is a significant contributor in the acceleration of global warming. According to COPA (Climate and Ozone Protection Alliance) the yearly global emissions of ozone depleting substances and HFCs are the equivalent of 1.5 gigatonnes of CO2-e – that’s the same as the emission releases by 441 coal-fuelled power stations. It is clear that reducing leakage and recovering refrigerants for future re- use has a far greater impact on our climate than the adoption of lower GWP refrigerants alone. Where there are no further uses for recovered gases they should be destroyed of by the most efficient and effective means possible. Reclaimed refrigerant sent to A-Gas reprocessing centres undergoes chemical analysis, is cleaned of contaminants, and goes through our reclamation and separation plant to create a product that matches that of virgin refrigerant specification. This refrigerant becomes a fully reclaimed product and is returned to the market in line with the AHRI 700 standard, replacing the need for virgin production. Ken Logan Recovering refrigerants for re-use is a key part of the six pillars of lifecycle refrigerant management