Page 17 - Climate Control News September 2021

Refrigerants
The average initial charge sizes are displayed in Figure 5. This is critical data for determining the potential quantity of refrigerant available for recovery at end-of-life.
FIGURE 5: AVERAGE CHARGE SIZES
2.5 2.0 1.5
01.0 0.5 0.0
R22 R104A R32
Average
charge size
The overall average loss during the operating life of the air conditioning equipment is 30 per cent leaving 70 per cent of the average charge of 1.93 kilo-
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
replacing the refrigerant in existing systems but in-
Study author, Michael Bennett.
Projecting forward potential recovery from in the near term is as follows, in tonnes:
FIGURE 10: PROJECTED RECOVERY BY SPECIES FROM SING
in Kilograms
The study found that the RRA recovery pro- gram needs to provide incentives for higher lev- els of compliance in the split air conditioning sector. But to do this successfully it will require more than rebates.
RRA believes it is possible to increase collec- tions to abate a further one million tonnes of CO2 e each year. In the coming months, RRA will consult directly with contractors and techni- cians to better understand the impediments to improving rates of recovery.
RRA will then work with industry through as- 201s9ociation20s20such as2t0h21e Refrig2e0r2a2 tion an2d023Air Con2-024
ditioning Contractors Association, the Vehicle Air-conditioning Specialists of Australasia, and the Airconditioning and Refrigeration Manufac- turers Association, along with licensing authori- ty the Australian Refrigeration Council and the Department of Environment, to develop initia- tives that will support and further assist the in- dustry and lead to the collection of increased quantities of unwanted refrigerant from end-of- life equipment.
overall = 1.93
volved a complete redesign of the equipment and components due to higher operating pressures. The redesign process resulted in more efficient sys- tems, lesser charge sizes, and lower leakage rates.
“THE QUANTITY OF REFRIGERANT AVAILABLE
FOR RECOVERY IS 945.3 TONNES.”
E CHARGE SIZES
grams remaining in the system; 1.35 kilograms.
stream are reclaimed to new specification by wholesalers then sold back into the market.2G00iven the demand it is reasonable to expect that a sub- stantial amount of recovered R22 is being reu0sed and is thereby not available for collection/return.”
Over time, the percentage of retiring systems containing R22 will diminish with commensu- rate growth for the HFCs; R410A and R32.
Just as R410A has overtaken R22, so will R32 take over from R410A with the potential to make redundant the large bank of that refrigerant.
Without improved rates of recovery, most of that
refrigerant will be emitted; with a global warming
potential of 2088 more than a million tonnes of CO2
e sizes are displayed in Figure 5.
Based on this information the study was able
termining the potential quantity
to quantity the amount of refrigerant available
r recovery at end-of-life.
annually from end of-life split air conditioning systems.
The quantity available for recovery is 945.3
tonnes which is considerably more than what is currently being collected.
“When potential recovery from the mobile air conditioning and refrigeration sectors is included, the current annual recovery of approximately 500 tonnes, while laudable, falls short of ideal. How- ever, the amount being reused is unknown,” the study said.
“The question of reuse is both critical and ecouldbeneedlesslyemittedannually.
problematic. There is no data on the level of reuse by contractors in the marketplace al- though it is understood that demand for R22 rRe1m04Aains strong. R32
“It is known that substantial quantities of R22 entering the recovered refrigerant
near term is as follows, in tonnes:
Projecting forward potential recovery from in the
FIGURE 10: PROJECTED RECOVERY BY SPECIES FROM SINGLE SPLIT AC SYSTEMS
1400 1200 1000
800 600 400 200
Refrigerant Recovery by Type
TOTAL TONNES
HCFC
HFC
KEY DATA POINTS
• Average charge size: 1.93 kilograms
• Average retained charge at EOL:
1.35 kilograms
• Average operating life: 13.7 years
• Average loss through operating life:
30 per cent
• Average annual leakage rate: 2.2 per
cent
• The quantity available for recovery is
945.3 tonnes
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