The commercial manager of environmental services at A-Gas, Graeme Dewerson, provides an overview of the R22 phase-down in Australia.
The current industry quota for HFCs as stipulated under the Ozone and SGG Act 1989 stands at 40 ODP tonnes per annum. This equates to 720 tonnes of R22 if all quota was used to import this product.
At the end of 2013 and the end of 2015, the quota will decrease to 10 ODP tonnes (or 180 tonnes of R22) and 2.5 ODP tonnes (or 45 tonnes of R22) respectively.
This residual 2.5 ODP tonnes quota will remain available until December 31, 2029.
The reduction in R22 availability at the end of 2013 is likely to cause some supply challenges to the market.
In response, A-Gas has commissioned a recycling facility that enables it to recycle reclaimed R22 to AHRI700 standard, ensuring it is completely safe to use in HVAC systems.
Compliance with this standard is guaranteed due to A-Gas using its in-house laboratory facility to test purity, composition, moisture, acidity, NCG, residue and chlorides against the standard. Reclaimed R22 is not quota controlled, and this in effect increases the availability of R22 to the market.
Currently, businesses with a strategic plan around R22 may be either carrying out retrofits using R407F and R438A, or alternatively if the equipment is at the end of serviceable life, decommissioning and replacing with new equipment.
A-Gas is pleased to be able to offer a further option to the market whereby systems can be retrofitted or decommissioned and the resulting R22 cleaned and banked to service other equipment until it becomes appropriate to switch away from R22.
This service provides R22 users with a longer lead time to consider their options during which period R22 can continue to be used.
A key issue with switching from R22 is understanding whether the common HFCs used today will offer security of supply for the future. Due to the high GWP of most mainstream HFCs, the likelihood of government legislation being implemented to phase down usage remains high.
Due to the growing international demand for lower GWP refrigerants, and imminent legislation to enforce this change in Europe, low GWP solutions are not far away.
In fact, globally manufacturers have been working on low GWP HFO-based alternative refrigerants for some years.
These products will use the new refrigerants R1234yf and R1234ze blended with R134a and other low GWP HFCs such as R32 and R152a to produce blends with much reduced GWP compared to those in use at present.
Testing of these new products has been conducted through the AHRI Alternative Refrigerants Evaluation Program (AREP), with several products earmarked as R22 alternatives.
While there is a degree of uncertainty regarding exactly when low GWP products will become available in Australia, sound advice for large-scale users of R22 may be to consider the option of continuing to use R22, recycled or virgin, until new products hit the market and low-GWP, long-term replacements can be found.
By concentrating on maintenance to minimise the overall amount of R22 required, or by considering the use of recycled R22, a needless switch to an interim solution may be avoidable. This may significantly reduce overall costs.
Contact A-Gas to discuss how we or our partners can help your business make the right decision for your circumstances. Vist www.agas.com