Recovery, recycling, reclamation and disposal of refrigerants
Four words, four meanings
Examiners test these definitions constantly.
- Recovery: collecting refrigerant from a system into a container, without any processing.
- Recycling: cleaning recovered refrigerant on site or in a workshop - oil separation, moisture and particulate removal - for reuse, usually in the same equipment.
- Reclamation: reprocessing to a specified standard by an approved facility, including chemical analysis and issuing a certificate of analysis. Only reclaimed refrigerant may be transferred to another party for use in different equipment.
- Destruction: incineration or other approved process at an authorised facility, with documentation.
Recovery is always required before dismantling, opening or disposing of equipment - venting is prohibited and is an offence. Recover to below atmospheric pressure and never mix refrigerants: mixing destroys the value of both and prevents reclamation. Recovered gas must be identified, and cylinders labelled.
Cylinders
Use dedicated recovery cylinders with liquid and vapour valves, correct markings and in-date pressure testing. Never fill above the marked fill limit or 80% of capacity by weight - leave a vapour space for expansion. Never refill a disposable (one-way) cylinder, and never overfill when hot ambient temperatures are expected.
Traps
- Thinking "recycled" gas can be sold on for use in another company's equipment - that requires reclaimed gas.
- Recovering R-22 and planning to reuse it: HCFCs recovered before 2015 can no longer be used for maintenance.
- Mixing R-410A and R-32 into one cylinder "to save space".
Worked example
A recovery cylinder has a tare of 11.8 kg and a marked fill capacity of 15 kg. If the cylinder weighs 24.5 kg after recovery, the gas recovered = 24.5 − 11.8 = 12.7 kg, which is within the 15 kg limit - safe to store and hand over with a transfer note.