An online environmental publication has given recognition to Midwest Refrigerants LLC for its method for the disposal of unwanted refrigerants.

ClimateWire (www.climatewire.net) quoted Midwest President Lewis Steinberg in a Jan. 18, 2010 posting in its daily updates.

In commenting on the coverage, Steinberg noted that while CFCs are no longer used and efforts are underway to phase out HCFCs, many old pieces of equipment still have such re- frigerants. And while recovery and reclaim can be used, there are instances when those processes can’t be done. Steinberg said one option is to use large kilns or incinerators.

The Midwest Refrigerants approach - the basis of the ClimateWire posting - concerns using a technology that doesn’t require a big industrial facility, Steinberg said. The resulting byproducts can also be resold as raw materials to manufacture chemicals, aluminum, and electronics and for use in other industrial processes, he said.

“We can take unwanted refrigerants and make them into something useful,” he said.

Steinberg also noted the technology is awaiting approval from a technical advisory panel of the Montreal Protocol, after which it could be used in the United States.

For more information, visit www.midwestrefrigerants.com.

Publication date: 06/07/2010