Feature
RIGHT PATH TO EFFECTIVE
AND RESPONSIBLE RECOVERY
By Rob Parker, A‑Gas Operations director, Europe
A‑Gas operations director, Rob Parker, advises on why recovering
refrigerant has grown in importance as the F‑Gas Regulations’ step-
downs continue.
E
ffective and responsible refrigerant recovery should be a key
component in the armoury of every successful refrigeration
engineer. In the past five years, the rapid pace of the F‑Gas
regulations’ step-downs has forced upon the industry many
changes. With the availability of virgin refrigerant diminishing
year on year the need to recover and re-use gases has grown.
As manufacturers respond to the F‑Gas step-downs by
reducing the supplies of virgin product, the installer can no
longer rely upon their refrigerant supplier to have enough
virgin product to top up systems during routine maintenance
or equipment upgrades. Reclaimed refrigerant is needed more
and more to fill this gap. Some manufacturers have already
announced that they will no longer sell virgin R404A – once the
go-to gas for supermarkets.
This year, from 1 January, virgin refrigerants with a GWP
of 2500 or greater can no longer be used in new installations.
Maintenance has also been affected as systems with a charge
size of 40 tonnes CO 2 equivalent or greater – more easily
understood as around 10kgs of R404A – cannot be serviced using
virgin material with this high GWP.
If you are working on systems with less than 10kgs of R404A,
virgin R404A is still an option but supplies are limited and we are
urging installers and end-users to make the switch to reclaimed
gases – or low GWP alternatives – as soon as they can.
For larger systems the use of virgin R404A is not legal, so
There is no shelf life for recovered refrigerant.
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RACA Journal I May 2020
reclaimed R404A must be used or the system retrofitted to an
alternative gas. This means that under the quota mechanism,
refrigerant recovery and reclamation has grown in importance to
allow end-users to keep existing high GWP equipment running.
Amid all this change, systems still need to be serviced and
the time constraints facing the engineer have not diminished.
A typical supermarket or food processing plant upgrade or
maintenance job is likely to take place over a weekend. The work
may involve recovering refrigerant overnight to ensure business
continues as usual. Time is of the essence for the engineer as
they will be up against the clock to meet tight deadlines laid
down by the customer.
Not always an easy task but as we all know, effective and
quick recovery requires good risk assessments in place before
the job begins. It is essential that those working on the recovery
job are F‑Gas trained, have experience and confidence to deal
with the system, and ultimately competence to complete the job
without risk to themselves, their customer or the environment.
On top of all of this, having the right paperwork and relevant
site inductions to prove their competence is a key part of any
recovery job.
Engineers should ensure they are aware of and follow the
manufacturer's installation and operating instructions while
handling the system. The right gauges, hoses and cylinders need
to be on hand to ensure that the job can be executed safely and
efficiently. Higher pressure gases like R410A or R32 and other
mildly flammable A2Ls will need different equipment.
Ammonia and highly flammable hydrocarbons will raise
the bar even further safety-wise as the engineer looks to
react to the demands of different gases. Such gases require
specialist knowledge and training along with suitably rated
equipment that is certified for use for the gas. When talking
about highly flammable or toxic gases, risks cannot be taken
in such circumstances.
With new generation gases emerging it is important
that engineers receive the right training and have the right
certification to handle all types of work. Failure to do so could lead
to a hefty fine and in the worst instance could put lives at risk.
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