Industries using imported ozone-depleting HCFC refrigerants face escalating retrofit and recycling costs and should not be tempted to use illegal alternatives, says industrial gases company Afrox.
The South African government has launched a campaign to clamp down on the smuggling of ozone depleting substances (ODSs) into the country and is pouring resources into training and equipping land, air and sea ports of entry to stamp out the trade in illegal refrigerants.
Smugglers use a number of methods including concealing the nature of the material by making false claims on import documents, mis-declaring or hiding ODSs completely. Customs and enforcement officers at sea ports and land border posts have now been trained and equipped with portable ODS detection analysers. Points of entry covered include Durban, Cape Town, East London, Port Elizabeth and Beitbridge.
In 2016, the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) is training more officials to cover OR Tambo International Airport and border points at Lebombo, Kopfontein and Grobblersdal.
The HVAC&R sector is one of the primary consumers of HCFCs in South Africa today and industrial gases company Afrox is a leading solutions provider through its new-generation low GWP Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) offer.
“The HCFC R22 has been the refrigerant of choice for domestic and industrial refrigeration for decades owing to its excellent thermodynamic properties,” explains Afrox product and business development manager chemicals and refrigerants, Nadine Baird. In terms of the Montreal Protocol, of which South Africa is a signatory, local companies which currently import refrigerants containing virgin HCFCs have faced restrictions since 2013.
“Businesses, particularly those who rely on refrigerants for their processes, must face this reality or face escalating costs for retrofitting and recycling. One ready-to-use solution is the Forane 427A, developed by Arkema and distributed by Afrox in South Africa and neighbouring countries.
Refrigerant reclamation
“With the decline in virgin HCFCs being legally imported, South African users must look more closely at retrofitting machines or maintaining them with reclaimed product that has been cleaned to ARI700 specification,” says Baird. “It is acceptable to use recovered and recycled HCFCs like R22 until 2039, while users make the transition to alternative gases.”
“Afrox has geared up to offer a service to purify reclaimed refrigerants by collecting used refrigerant from our clients, supplying them with clean stock and then processing the used refrigerant through our proprietary refrigerant recovery and reclamation system, the ZugiBeast.”
The ZugiBeast is a device that recovers and cleans refrigerant, removing the water, oils, acids, sludge and particulates which build up in refrigeration systems over time.
“With this system we're able to treat all major refrigerants and contaminants,” says Baird. “There is an additional benefit of improved productivity and power savings for our customers, since their machines work better on decontaminated refrigerant and cleaner heat transfer surfaces.”
