Page 47 - Climate Control News magazine February 2023

Refrigerants
A-Gas completes US expansion project
AFTER RECENT HEAVY investment in the expansion of its capacity in the United States, A-Gas is completing the construction of its latest refrigerant separation towers at its Rhome, Texas plant, located outside of Dallas/ Fort Worth.
The expansion project represents A-Gas’ con- tinued commitment to delivering cutting-edge technology aimed at substantially increasing the quantity of reclaimed refrigerant gases, bringing new capacity online in 2023 to supply the US.
A-Gas Americas president, Mike Armstrong, said the demand for high-quality reclaimed refrigerants grows yearly, particularly as the US phases down virgin HFCs.
“THE NEW SEPARATORS WILL BE OPERATIONAL IN EARLY 2023 WHICH WILL DOUBLE CAPACITY AT THE CURRENT SITE.”
“Through the utilisation of existing products, we can minimise waste, extend product lifecy- cles, limit emissions, and provide more circular economy solutions to our customers,” he said.
Expanding the recovery and reclaim of refrig- erant gases is essential for the implementation of the production and consumption phase down of HFCs under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act (AIM Act).
The AIM Act, enacted by Congress with broad bipartisan support in 2020, ensures US compliance with the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, capable of avoiding up
ABOVE: The heat pump uses the thermos acoustic effect.
RIGHT: The revolutionary Equium heat pump.
to 0.5°C of projected warming by 2100. In addition to the significant climate benefits of the HFC phase down, recovery and reclaim, along with other refrigerant management prac- tices, could prevent the emissions of 90 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent, according to The 90 Billion Tonne Opportunity: Lifecycle Refrigerant Management, a recent report by a trio of environmental groups – the Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC), the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD) and the Environmental
Investigation Agency (EIA).
“We are encouraged by this latest step by
industry to expand US capacity for lifecycle refrigerant management,” said Alex Hillbrand of the NRDC and a co-
author of the report.
“There are big climate benefits to reclaiming fluorocarbons rather than letting them be emitted into the atmosphere, and we will continue working with industry and govern- ments to ensure greater reductions of
LEFT: A-Gas plant in Texas which is undergoing expansion.
BELOW: A-Gas Americas president, Mike Armstrong.
refrigerant leaks from equipment and further expansion of recovery, reclaim, and appropriate destruction of refrigerant gases.”
A-Gas’ new separators will be operational in early 2023, and will more than double the separa- tion capacity at the current site – addressing criti- cal need highlighted by the NGO report.
A-Gas also added a AHRI-certified labora- tory at the Rhome plant, the company’s second in the US, and allows A-Gas to continue to provide the highest quality of products.
The new separation equipment and AHRI lab will enable the reclamation of mixed refrig- erants received from customers across the US. Even the most complicated mixes of refriger-
ants can be separated into valuable components, and reconstituted into AHRI-700-certified products through this technology.
In bringing this capability online, millions of additional kilo- grams of reclaimed refrigerant can be safely returned to the market- place annually.
Sound wave of power
A NEW FRENCH startup company, Equium, claims it has reinvented the heat pump.
The Acoustic Heat Pump (AHP) uses the thermo-acoustic effect which cor- responds to the propensity of a sound wave to exchange heat
with a solid.
The sound wave of very
high power allows Equium to pump heat very efficiently and to raise the temperature for greater thermal and
ecological comfort.
The thermoacoustic heat pump has a COP of 4 and can generate domestic hot water at tem- peratures of up to 80o.
In low pressure areas of the wave, the gas expands and absorbs heat; in high pressure areas, the gas is compressed and expels the heat. Controlling the sound wave controls where heat is absorbed and released.
The heat pump core is filled with water, which absorbs or releases that heat.
The heat pump has a lifespan of more than 30 years and does not require maintenance, according to the company. ✺
CLIMATE CONTROL NEWS FEBRUARY 2023
47