Cold Link Africa January / February 2020 | Page 23

EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN Technical visit to Refrigerant Reclaiming Hub in Dubai By John Ackermann T he answers to these concerns were hopefully to be found during a technical visit to The Recycling Hub (TRH) by Enviroserve, headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The group that visited The Hub, included six members of the National Ozone Unit (NOU) of Department Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) South Africa; suppliers of refrigerants: Afrox, A-Gas and Refrimate; the Capricorn College; The Cold Link Africa newspaper/SARDA and two members of United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), who facilitated and organised the visit. Initially the relevance of the visit to Enviroserve’s TRH was not fully understood, but after witnessing that refrigerant Recovery, Recycle, Reclaim (RRR) equipment used by Enviroserve was in- fact, similar to that shipped to South Africa – and so, the purpose of the visit became very evident. Four similar RRR packages, funded by the Montreal Protocol aid programme, managed and monitored by UNIDO, are waiting to be utilised in South Africa. Three of the RRR packages are with Afrox, Refrimate and the Capricorn College, where it will be used for the training of refrigeration technicians and as a service to the surrounding operators of air conditioning and refrigeration systems. Dubai, with its high density of multi- storey buildings (30 storeys plus), district COLD LINK AFRICA • January/February 2020 cooling systems, shopping malls, trains, trams, hotels, medical centres, all of which are air conditioned – the mass of installed refrigerant is in the millions of kilograms. Similarly, in the seven Emirates of the UAE, with extreme daily ambient temperatures, air conditioning is a necessity for human productivity, comfort cooling and all forms of refrigeration are essential for food safety in the storage and distribution of perishable foodstuffs, mostly imported. Without any formal legislation and driven by a passion to reduce the release of ozone depleting and global warming synthetic refrigerants and to provide an alternative to imported refrigerants, Stuart Fleming founded Enviroserve with the service of RRR, in 2004. The only assistance given to Stuart, was the financial support of his partner, Brian Wilkie, and the much- needed technical knowhow and training by Ronald Viskil, who supplied the RRR equipment from the Netherlands. “Our beginnings were small, and our primary challenge was to convince large corporations that we had an alternative to the imported refrigerants needed to keep their plants operational,” stated Fleming. The large service providers – Trane, Carrier and Daikin, were also receptive, knowing that Enviroserve were able to provide a sustainable supply of refrigerants long after being banned by international agreements. Reclaimed refrigerants also offered a cost saving. Can the reclaiming of refrigerant be a viable commercial business? How does reclaimed refrigerant gain acceptance by industry role players? Does reclaimed refrigerant have the same quality as virgin? Air conditioning is essential in the clusters of high-rise buildings in Dubai. It took some time, but the model developed by Enviroserve has proven financially sustainable. The experience gained in the RRR of refrigerants, prompted expansion into the recycling and destruction of all electronic equipment, computers, plastics, aerosols, recalled products and confiscated illegal imports. TOURING THE HUB Based on Swiss technology, The Recycling Hub by Enviroserve stands on 40 000m 2 of which 20 000m 2 houses, under cover, the largest integrated e-waste recycling plant for electrical and electronic equipment – accessible from Asia and Europe and of course, its primary footprint area of Middle East, Africa and The Caucasus (MEAC region). Quality assurance given for the Enviroserve reclaimed refrigerants, originally only R11, R12, R22 and R134a, was a key factor to gain support and acceptance by users of refrigerants, corporations, chiller suppliers and service companies. www.coldlinkafrica.co.za 23