The executive committee of the Montreal Protocol’s Multilateral Fund has agreed to provide China, the largest producer and consumer of HCFCs, an amount up to $385 million for the complete elimination of its production of HCFCs by the year 2030.
The European Commission (EC), the executive body of the 25 member countries of the European Union (EU) responsible for proposing legislation, is continuing its efforts to phase down — and in some applications phase out — use of HFC refrigerants in much of Europe.
It’s important for readers within the refrigeration industry to be aware of what’s being talked about in Europe, especially from a regulatory standpoint. There is talk of a phaseout of virgin HFC refrigerant production rather than a phasedown.
In response to the accelerated phaseout of HCFCs, Indianapolis-based refrigerant producer ICOR International has expanded its refrigerant reclamation operations.
Amidst all the talk about refrigerants such as HCs, HFOs, and CO2, the vast majority of contractors are still working on HFC and HCFC systems. With that in mind, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, contractor Brian Baker of Custom Vac Ltd., offers some perspectives on the familiar refrigerants of R-410A and R-22.
Whether we like it or not, R-22 is going away, and technicians need to look at their best options and solutions to work with the phaseout. One option available to all competent service technicians is to recover and recycle refrigerant.
How much HCFC-22 will be available to contractors in 2012 is an unanswered question as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers a faster phaseout of HCFCs. The EPA began the year by issuing a proposal called Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Adjustments to the Allowance System for Controlling HCFC Production, Import, and Export.