www. refrigerationandaircon. co. za RACA Journal I May 2025 9
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Delegates to the Southern African Development Community Refrigeration and Air Conditioning( SADC RAC) association workshop held in Johannesburg in November 2024.
use, leading to significant loss of refrigerants either through venting or mishandling. To resolve this, he called for more funding to equip technicians with the necessary recovery machines and cylinders to collect refrigerants effectively.
He outlines three possible scenarios for countries at different stages of refrigerant recovery and reclamation:
• The first scenario is where recovery networks are nonexistent or poorly managed, with minimal regulatory frameworks in place. This is the situation that many countries in Southern Africa still face, where refrigerant recovery is not yet a standard practice, and the recovered refrigerants often end up vented or recycled improperly.
• The second scenario involves countries where recovery networks are in place, but they are not fully optimised. In these countries, technicians might be recovering refrigerants, but there is a lack of centralised systems for bulk recovery and reclamation. Additionally, some countries have makeshift reclamation processes, such as using reclaim machines without proper laboratory support, which can result in the introduction of contaminated or degraded refrigerants back into the market.
• The third scenario, which Labacher described as the ideal situation, is where a fully functional refrigerant recovery network is in place. South Africa, in Labacher’ s view, is leading the region with a solid recovery system, although there is still room for improvement. The country has cylinders and recovery machines circulating in the market, and refrigerants are being recovered and sent to specialised facilities. Labacher envisions that with more investment in recovery machines and cylinders, this system could be expanded regionally, with recovered refrigerants bulked up and sent to reclamation centres for processing.
“ The goal is to create a regional network for refrigerant recovery, reclamation and destruction, which will ensure full life cycle management of refrigerants,” he says. He emphasises that A-Gas, as a company, is committed to supporting these efforts globally, with a focus on building capacity in Article 5 countries. In this ideal scenario, funding is directed toward training and capacity building, while the private sector, represented by companies like A-Gas, takes over the responsibility of maintaining the system. A-Gas would help by buying back refrigerants, reclaiming them and potentially sending them for destruction if required. This model not only ensures that the refrigerants are handled correctly but also supports the economic cycle of refrigerant recovery.
THE ROLE OF CARBON CREDITS He touches on the concept of carbon credits as an additional incentive, explaining that A-Gas earns carbon credits by destroying certain refrigerants and reinvesting these credits back into the system. This reinvestment could be used to fund more recovery efforts, and if countries have stocks of refrigerants like CFCs or Halon, A-Gas would be willing to purchase these from them, using the proceeds to support further recovery and infrastructure development. Labacher notes that even HCFCs,
www. refrigerationandaircon. co. za RACA Journal I May 2025 9