Refrigerants Explained
Chlorofluorocarbons - CFC's
Current legislation banned the production of CFC's for use in the European Union from the end of 1994 with exemptions for essential use, which are mainly pharmaceutical applications. The existing European Regulation No. 3093/94, dated 15th December 1994, did not contain controls on stockpiles or supplies of CFC's from recycling and reclamation.
The latest proposal seeks to ban the sale of CFC's (R12 & R11) with effect from the end of 1999 , so that from this date it will be illegal to Sell any and all types of CFC's, whether virgin or recovered. In this way, no distinction is made between recovered and new material which are treated in the same way.
The use of CFC's will continue to be allowed for a further 12 months after the ban on their sale, so that use will be allowed until the end of 2000. Use is effectively the topping up of refrigeration and air conditioning systems so that CFC's obtained during 1999 can be stored for use in 2000.
Toll cleaning of recovered refrigerants, which are returned to the original user, will be permitted in 2000 but prohibited from the end of that year.
Hydrochlorofluorocarbons - HCFC's
Control of HCFC's is more complex than of CFC's. The current regulation puts a cap on consumption which is based on the consumption of HCFC's in 1989 plus 2.6% of the CFC usage in that year. In addition, controls on some applications were added.
The main elements of the new proposal to control HCFC's are:
Consumption: the cap is reduced to 2.0% of CFC's used in 1989 which reduces the availability of HCFC's by 17% from the end of 2000.
Cutback Schedule: in comparison to the current regulation and based on a freeze in 1995, deeper and earlier cutbacks will be made according to the following timetable:-
Year %Cutback
1995 Freeze
2001= 17%
2002 = 30%
2003 = 63%
2004 = 75%
2008 = 79%
2010 = 100% phase out
Production: for the first time, the new proposal introduces controls on the production of HCFC's which are excluded both from the Monreal Protocol and the existing European Regulation.
Use: the main element of this new proposal is to prohibit the use of HCFC's in new equipment effective from 2001. There are exceptions here for fixed air conditioning systems less than 100kW cooling capacity until 2003 & reversible air conditioning/ heat pump systems until 2004.
Servicing: Virgin HCFC's will be banned for servicing of plant and equipment in 2010 . The use of recovered and recycled material will be permitted.
Recovery & Recycling: CFC's & HCFC's must be recovered from refrigeration, air conditioning & heat pump equipment. Minimum qualification requirements of persons involved in recovery of refrigerants will be defined.
Leakages: all precautionary measures possible must be taken to minimise leakages of CFC's & HCFC's, particularly in fixed euipment with a refrigerant charge of more than 3Kgs which will be check annually for leakages.
Summary
CFC's: trade in CFC's will no longer be permitted after end of 1999 which will make the servicing of equipment thereafter increasingly difficult. CFC's can be stored in 2000 for servicing equipment but this will be prohibited at the end of that year.
HCFC's: severe tightening of current controls, earlier cutbacks, use in new equipment prohibited from the end of 2005 and production controls introduced.
Recycling: no distinction made between virgin and recycled CFC's. On site recycling toll cleaning of CFC's will be permitted until December 2000.
R-22 A Key Refrigerant Until at Least 2005