Refrigerant reclaimers have always played a pivotal role in the HVACR industry, ensuring that recovered refrigerant is certified to meet the AHRI 700 purity standard, so that it can be used again in existing (and new) equipment. Their role is gaining even more prominence as the EPA, under the AIM Act, is in the process of phasing down the production of HFCs. As supplies of virgin refrigerant dwindle, EPA is counting on the availability of reclaimed refrigerant to service existing equipment in future years.
However, the big problem is that the quantity of refrigerants being recovered is not sufficient to meet demand. In fact, since 2017, the overall reclamation rate of HFCs has increased only 6% (see Figure 1), and just 1.6% of the HFCs that were sold in 2020 were placed back on the market through reclamation (see Table 1).