EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
Destruction facility As with every meeting , the topic of the feasibility of a refrigerant destruction facility was raised . Although there is still no disposal facility in South Africa , this topic is finally getting more attention thanks to the new regulations .
A-Gas reported that they are receiving more refrigerant for destruction , but the volumes are still very low — too low to justify facilities for destruction .
Reference was again made to a destruction facility at A-Thermal .
The shortage of recovery cylinders was raised without any solution .
Until South Africa possesses the national infrastructure for the collection and the destruction of unwanted refrigerant — by incineration or shipment ( funded by an import levy ) to another party of the Montreal Party for destruction — the matter will remain just another item of the agenda .
Amendment to ODS regulations The amendments to the ODS regulations of 8 May 2014 are being circulated for discussion and should be published early 2017 . These will include new sections , dealing with the quota system , and the requirement for all importers and exporters of HCFCs to obtain an endorsement . According to the amendment , “ No person will be granted quota allocation to establish or expand any supply of HCFC if this will lead to the country ’ s noncompliance with obligations under the Montreal Protocol .”
HCFC consumption 2015 / 6 The part of the meeting that really got everyone excited ( some even walked closer to see the numbers up close ) was the report from the DEA on the HCFC importation and consumption figures for 2015 and 2016 , up to end September .
2015 R22 imports ( direct ) 2 616 metric tonnes 2015 R22 imports ( as component ) 2.2 metric tonnes Total R22 imports for 2015 Total HCFC imports ( 2015 ) Total HCFC exports Total HCFC consumption ( 2015 )
The Montreal Protocol requires a 10 % reduction in HCFCs by December 2015 . As the baseline was 326 ODP tonne , this 10 % meant that we could not exceed 293.4 ODP tonne last year . With the numbers standing at 208.3 ODP tonnes , we are well below this target . This is mostly due to the fact that blowing agent R141b has been completely phased out .
For 2016 , January to September , so far we ’ ve used 122.6 ODP tonnes of R22 , exporting 6.53 ODP tonnes . This means that our consumption of R22 is on 116.07 ODP tonnes so far . The total consumption of HCFCs is currently on 122.1 ODP tonnes .
With the 15 % reduction required by the end of 2016 , South Africa is not to exceed 277.1 ODP tonnes , so we ’ re still well within target .
Presenting the HCFC consumption figures brought to light the urgent need to revise all quota allocations to importers , in an attempt to avoid an increase in the
2 618.4 metric tonnes 3 274.5 metric tonnes 119 metric tonnes 3 155.6 metric tonnes / 208.3 ODP tonnes
importation of R22 to fill the gap in import tonnages created by the ban on R141b . At present , quotas are in OPD tonnes and an importer of R22 and R141b could take advantage of this by importing much more R22 when no longer importing R141b and still be within the quota of ODP tonnes .
“ If this were to happen , all the good work done by South Africa to meet the phase out time frames of the Montreal Protocol would be lost ,” said Ron Buissinne of A-Gas .
John Ackermann of Cold Link Africa urged the National Ozone Unit ( NOU ) to revise the quotas based on no imports of R141b urgently .
R141b projects Alan Yeates , consultant for UNIDO , gave feedback on what the total phase out of R141b has meant to various industries , the challenges that had to be overcome , and the alternatives that needed to be put in place .
“ It has been very positive , but it has shaken up the market ,” Yeates said .
World Ozone Day and events At the meeting , the global activities of World Ozone Day on 21 September were also discussed .
The DEA hosted an event in Upington and selected 11 schools in the area to partake , with more than 900 participants subsequently taking part in the various activities planned for the day .
The plan is to visit a different province each year .
Before concluding the quarterly HCFC stakeholder meeting with lunch , a short feedback session on relevant global events focused on the third extraordinary Meeting of the Parties ( MOP ) and the Resumed 37th Open Ended Working Group ( OEWG ) meeting . CLA
24 www . coldlinkafrica . co . za COLD LINK AFRICA • November | December 2016