Open-access content
20th April 2010
The use of ozone depleting substances has been banned in the UK. Current users of HCFC systems should develop a plan to manage their operations without virgin gas.
by Mark Hughes
Most recently, the 1 January 2010 saw the extension of the ban to include the use of virgin HCFCs for the maintenance or servicing of existing RAC installations, meaning that only reclaimed or recycled HCFCs may be used for such purposes. From 1st January 2015 it will be illegal to use any HCFCs to service RAC equipment – so the use of recycled or reclaimed HCFC will also be forbidden as of that date.
The most recent ban on the use of virgin HCFC gases represents a very real business threat to any company which uses a refrigerant such as R-22 for its cooling or air conditioning systems. R-22 remains one of the most commonly used refrigerants in the UK with the national bank estimated to be at over 10,000 tons. It remains perfectly legal to continue using existing RAC equipment containing HCFCs but servicing requirements for these systems equate to an annual demand of approximately 2,000 tonnes per year – a demand which can no longer be met by virgin gas.
Who will be affected?
Those sectors at greatest risk include the food and drink industry, petro-chemicals, pharmaceuticals, health, retail, hospitality, finance and data-processing. While applications can vary widely, typical examples include refrigeration systems in supermarkets, blast chillers, cold stores and process coolers and many types of air-conditioning in buildings as well as in transport refrigeration. Many of these applications are absolutely critical to the continued operation of their owner’s business. For all of these companies it is essential that they develop a plan to manage their operations without virgin HCFCs, and, in our opinion, there are four options to choose from.
Four potential phase-out strategies
1. The first option, which is both the easiest to fulfil yet also associated with the greatest risk, would be for the users of HCFC refrigerants to carry on operating their current systems with reclaimed or recycled HCFC. The introduction of EC Regulation 1005/2009, which brings with it many significant changes for the refrigerant and air conditioning sector including greater restrictions on the use of recycled and reclaimed HCFCs, is critical within this context.
According to the new regulation, recycled HCFCs, which have been recovered from a system and subjected to a basic cleaning process, may only be used by the undertaking which carried out the recovery (in most cases the refrigeration contractor) during the servicing and maintenance of equipment belonging to the system owner. Recycled HCFCs, therefore, may not be placed on the market (either for payment or free of charge). Alternatively, reclaimed HCFCs, which have been recovered and chemically processed to a specified standard and are identified as such by the label, may be placed on the wider market and used by undertakings other than the original contractor and owner. The consequences of this regulation are not only the risk of future shortages – current projections place the availability of recycled and reclaimed R-22 in the UK to be at only 15 per cent of the amount needed to service existing installations – but also an increase in cost due to the costly process of recovering the gas and its potential scarcity of supply.
2.The second option would be to look at new equipment that runs on alternative refrigerants such as ammonia, hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide or hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants such as Suva from DuPont. While this is an expensive option, incurring downtimes ranging from days up to several weeks, it would perhaps be the most sensible and cost-effective option if the current system is nearing the end of its life.
3. The third alternative is to keep the existing equipment running, and to modify it for operation with HFCs such as Suva® (for example R404A or R407C). Such a conversion requires a change to polyester oil and some further technical modifications. The downtime would be measured in days due to the need to completely remove the existing mineral oil.
4. Finally, the fourth option is to use a retrofit HFC blend refrigerant which only requires minimal technical modification of the existing RAC system and downtimes of half a day to a day when carried out by experienced and suitably-trained contractors. Already proven in a range of applications, HFC blend refrigerants certainly constitute the best option for systems that are working well and, in most cases, the retrofit of existing installations involves no business disruption at all.
Ultimately the best phase-out solution will need to be determined on a plant-by-plant basis, and will fall within one of the afore-mentioned options depending on criteria such as the age and condition of equipment and the company’s current requirements. What is certain is that doing nothing is not a sustainable option, and timely planning is key.
Mark Hughes is the North European sales manager at refrigerants supplier DuPont.
22 April 2010
As part of European legislation to phase-out ozone depleting substances, the use and sale of virgin hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) in the UK has been banned since the start of this year. The passing of this deadline also saw the replacement of the old EC Ozone Regulation EC 2037/2000 with Regulation 1005/2009, which in addition to the ban brings with it new requirements relating to the use of recycled and reclaimed HCFCs. The Montreal Protocol marked the beginning of the end for the use of ozone-depleting substances such as CFCs and HCFCs around the world. The most harmful ozone-depleting substances (such as CFCs like R12) were banned in the 1990s. In Europe, the EU Regulation 2037/2000 banned the use of less harmful “transitional” HCFCs (predominantly R-22) in new RAC systems from 2000 onwards.
Most recently, the 1 January 2010 saw the extension of the ban to include the use of virgin HCFCs for the maintenance or servicing of existing RAC installations, meaning that only reclaimed or recycled HCFCs may be used for such purposes. From 1st January 2015 it will be illegal to use any HCFCs to service RAC equipment – so the use of recycled or reclaimed HCFC will also be forbidden as of that date.
The most recent ban on the use of virgin HCFC gases represents a very real business threat to any company which uses a refrigerant such as R-22 for its cooling or air conditioning systems. R-22 remains one of the most commonly used refrigerants in the UK with the national bank estimated to be at over 10,000 tons. It remains perfectly legal to continue using existing RAC equipment containing HCFCs but servicing requirements for these systems equate to an annual demand of approximately 2,000 tonnes per year – a demand which can no longer be met by virgin gas.
Who will be affected?
Those sectors at greatest risk include the food and drink industry, petro-chemicals, pharmaceuticals, health, retail, hospitality, finance and data-processing. While applications can vary widely, typical examples include refrigeration systems in supermarkets, blast chillers, cold stores and process coolers and many types of air-conditioning in buildings as well as in transport refrigeration. Many of these applications are absolutely critical to the continued operation of their owner’s business. For all of these companies it is essential that they develop a plan to manage their operations without virgin HCFCs, and, in our opinion, there are four options to choose from.
Four potential phase-out strategies
1. The first option, which is both the easiest to fulfil yet also associated with the greatest risk, would be for the users of HCFC refrigerants to carry on operating their current systems with reclaimed or recycled HCFC. The introduction of EC Regulation 1005/2009, which brings with it many significant changes for the refrigerant and air conditioning sector including greater restrictions on the use of recycled and reclaimed HCFCs, is critical within this context.
According to the new regulation, recycled HCFCs, which have been recovered from a system and subjected to a basic cleaning process, may only be used by the undertaking which carried out the recovery (in most cases the refrigeration contractor) during the servicing and maintenance of equipment belonging to the system owner. Recycled HCFCs, therefore, may not be placed on the market (either for payment or free of charge). Alternatively, reclaimed HCFCs, which have been recovered and chemically processed to a specified standard and are identified as such by the label, may be placed on the wider market and used by undertakings other than the original contractor and owner. The consequences of this regulation are not only the risk of future shortages – current projections place the availability of recycled and reclaimed R-22 in the UK to be at only 15 per cent of the amount needed to service existing installations – but also an increase in cost due to the costly process of recovering the gas and its potential scarcity of supply.
2.The second option would be to look at new equipment that runs on alternative refrigerants such as ammonia, hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide or hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants such as Suva from DuPont. While this is an expensive option, incurring downtimes ranging from days up to several weeks, it would perhaps be the most sensible and cost-effective option if the current system is nearing the end of its life.
3. The third alternative is to keep the existing equipment running, and to modify it for operation with HFCs such as Suva® (for example R404A or R407C). Such a conversion requires a change to polyester oil and some further technical modifications. The downtime would be measured in days due to the need to completely remove the existing mineral oil.
4. Finally, the fourth option is to use a retrofit HFC blend refrigerant which only requires minimal technical modification of the existing RAC system and downtimes of half a day to a day when carried out by experienced and suitably-trained contractors. Already proven in a range of applications, HFC blend refrigerants certainly constitute the best option for systems that are working well and, in most cases, the retrofit of existing installations involves no business disruption at all.
Ultimately the best phase-out solution will need to be determined on a plant-by-plant basis, and will fall within one of the afore-mentioned options depending on criteria such as the age and condition of equipment and the company’s current requirements. What is certain is that doing nothing is not a sustainable option, and timely planning is key.
Mark Hughes is the North European sales manager at refrigerants supplier DuPont.