INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
FEATURE
Phase out of R141b : major step in SA ’ s HPMP
By John Ackermann
Where are we with banning the importation of the HCFC blowing agent R141b in terms of South Africa ’ s phase-down schedule for ozone depleting substances ?
As a signatory of the Montreal Protocol , South Africa phased out the importation and production of CFCs on 1 January 1996 . Because of the high ozone depletion potential ( ODP ) of CFCs like R11 , R12 , and R502 , the international community first focused on the phasing out of these man-made substances to halt the damage to the ozone layer at between 10 and 30km above the earth ’ s surface .
The next step is to phase out the remaining ozone depleting substances ( ODSs ), predominantly HCFCs , which have a much lower ODP . These include substances like R22 , R123 , R124 , R141b , R142 , and methyl bromide .
South Africa commenced with the phasing out of HCFCs by setting a baseline of importations as the first step in a longterm plan towards zero importation and usage of man-made ODSs by 2040 . Zero usage would require a change in technology , alternative equipment , training of different hands-on skills , and different manufacturing processes to those that had made use of HCFCs for decades . The HCFC Phase-out Management Plan ( HPMP ) was formally published in Government Gazette No . 37621 of 8 May 2014 . The baseline was set in ODP tonnes , a product of tonnage and ODP of all the man-made HCFCs in use , for example 3 720 tonnes of R22 with an ODP of 0.055 equated to 204.6 ODP tonnes . Based on South Africa ’ s average importation of HCFCs in 2009 and 2010 , the baseline included R22 , R123 , R124 , R141b , and R142b in pure form or as a component of a chemical composition or blend . eliminate approximately 43 % of the baseline . This ban would facilitate that the annual targets towards zero HCFC imports would easily be met or possibly accelerated without any detrimental impact on the economy or contributing towards job losses .
The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation ( UNIDO ) is assisting the country to phase out the use of HCFC-141b in the foam-blowing industry , reduce the overall HCFC consumption by 35 % in 2020 , and secure additional voluntary reductions . The first step of the HPMP aims to encourage not only the phase out of ODSs , but also to emphasise the swing towards low global warming potential ( GWP ) alternatives and high energy-efficiency solutions that will result in a CO 2
-equivalent emission reduction of about 969 535 tonnes in the PU foam sector and savings of approximately 1.8 CO 2
- equivalent tonnes to each kilogramme of HCFC-22 not emitted due to better refrigeration practices .
Photos by John Ackermann
Yuri Sorokin of UNIDO during a visit to South Africa .
SWING TOWARDS LOWER GWP ALTERNATIVES
Unlike R22 , with its many applications and hundreds of users across a very wide cross section of the industry , each with its unique requirements , techniques , equipment , and skills , R141b had limited users and mainly in foam blowing and the manufacture of rigid polyurethane . To a large extent , alternative methods and blowing agents were available and some tested in other countries .
As a crucial step in the HPMP , the importation of R141b was banned from 1 January 2016 . With an ODP of 0.11 , the ban on R141b importations would
Bruce Elliot of Resikem with Alan Yeates ( left ).
COLD LINK AFRICA • January | February 2018 www . coldlinkafrica . co . za 41