30
Feature
THE MANAGEMENT OF REFRIGERANTS The main purpose in managing refrigerants is to preserve and protect the environment . Werner Terblanche of A-Gas South Africa delivered the following presentation at SAIRAC Johannesburg ’ s Tech Talk at ACRA .
Refrigeration and air conditioning systems have become an essential part of modern life . In recent years , there has been growing concern about the impact of these systems on the environment . A-Gas has adopted an approach over the last couple of years that takes into account the regulations that practitioners must comply with and to ensure the doing away with harmful gases and replacing them with safer alternatives .
The main aim is to create a better approach to lifestyle management of refrigerants .
Sustainability is becoming increasingly important , and it is becoming harder to ensure that decisions made today are futureproof . At a time when consumers are demanding that products are manufactured and managed in less wasteful ways , recycling and reusing materials has never been more important to industries across the globe . This is the circular economy .
A-Gas ’ on-site rapid recovery teams recover gas that has already been used , for example , in air conditioning systems or supermarket refrigerators , returning it to its facilities to be cleaned for future reuse .
The focus on climate change has meant extraordinary growth in worldwide environmental legislation . As each new piece of legislation is adopted in countries around the globe , the type and makeup of the gases sold has changed at varying rates .
The company sources next-generation products while finding recovery and reprocessing material from the market . Governments around the world look to it to responsibly and efficiently manage these critical resources . Major air-conditioning manufacturers utilise its reclaimed refrigerants to fill certain models of current generation air conditioning units . These are recovered , cleaned , separated and reclaimed .
From 2024 , the importance of HFCs will decrease significantly and African countries will be implementing similar measures to phase out HFCs . The amount of HFCs imported into a country will be based on a predetermined construction plan . Importers of HFCs and other gases will need to manage these gases to ensure that they are being used in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way .
One aspect of supply chain management that is unavoidable is the need for proper disposal and reclamation of gases . Many endusers require certification to show that a company has properly handled their gases . A-Gas can issue certificates to show what actions have been taken with each cylinder .
Another option is to have a dedicated team come to the site for gas recovery . This is a more expensive solution , but it ensures
30
RACA Journal I June 2024 www . refrigerationandaircon . co . za