A-Gas RemTec’s Total Solutions Program Provides Complete Cradle-to-Grave Refrigerant Management

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- 

Founded in 1986, as RemTec International, A-Gas RemTec, has provided products and services involved in managing Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) and substances high in Global Warming Potential (GWP) on a worldwide basis. The Company’s patented and proprietary equipment is used to recover and reclaim Halons and their replacement agents used in the fire protection industry, and also CFCs, HCFCs, and HFCs used in refrigerant and HVAC applications.

A-Gas RemTec’s capabilities represent a complete cradle-to-grave refrigerant management program known as the Total Solutions™ Program. The Total Solutions™ Program provides the only complete cradle-to-grave refrigerant management service under one roof. The total integration of services from beginning to end provides many cost efficiencies that benefit customers.

The Total Solutions™ Program provides customers with access to a full product line of refrigerants, including supplies of R22 that can be provided throughout the transitional industry phase-out.. A-Gas, a market leader in the UK, Australia, South Africa, and now in the U.S., provides a full range of products at competitive prices. In association with their sister company, Coolgas, they have nationwide distribution capabilities for any refrigerants that may be needed.

A-Gas RemTec reclaims used refrigerants using full distillation processing to return mixed refrigerants to AHRI 700-12 standards. This provides greater cost efficiencies to customers by utilizing a higher degree of contaminated refrigerants causing fewer destruction costs and unusable refrigerants. Refrigerants considered un-reclaimable or unusable are accepted and destroyed at no cost. All unusable refrigerants are destroyed on-site at their Bowling Green, Ohio facility. A-Gas RemTec utilizes Plascon, which is plasma arc destruction technology. Competitive compensation is offered for refrigerants of value that meet purity criteria. A-Gas RemTec offers a fleet of cylinders and ISO Tanks that can be shipped to customers to aid in the recovery of refrigerants. Contrastingly, if a customer has a recovery tank that needs to be refurbished or recertified, A-Gas RemTec has a Department of Transportation Certified facility in Bowling Green, Ohio. As an added service, A-Gas RemTec maintains one of only three AHRI-certified laboratories in the U.S., providing one of the most accurate and integrated testing facilities for halocarbons. As an EPA Certified Reclamation Company, a complete disposition report on all materials processed is provided for customers to file with their EPA records.

Total Solutions™ Program offers a complete banking system to securely warehouse and manage the inventory of critical-use gases. A-Gas RemTec has built and managed strategic banking reserves for the U.S. Department of Defense and a major U.S. aircraft manufacturer. The Majority stockholder of A-Gas Group, Lloyds Development Capital (a division of Lloyds Banking Group, the largest financial institution in the UK), enables A-Gas RemTec the financial strength to meet any project requirements.

About A-Gas International
A-Gas is an international group of companies with headquarters in the United Kingdom. A-Gas is a market leader in the supply of refrigerants within its core territories in the U.K., South Africa, and Australia, and has state of the art storage, blending, packaging and reclamation facilities in Bristol, Cape Town, and Melbourne. The company is rapidly growing its market share in Asia and the Americas with sales offices in Singapore, Thailand, China and the USA. For more information, visitwww.agas.com.

About A-Gas RemTec
For more information, visit www.remtec.net.

New Compliance Association Unites California Offset Project Developers

Stemming from the Navigating the American Carbon World conference in 2012, the newly formed Compliance Offset Developers Association (CODA) seeks to unite project developers and to support an effective cap-and-trade program in California. CODA provides a platform for sharing technical knowledge and ideas as they pertain to the Air Resources Board.
1 July 2013 | The latest cap-and-trade development to come out of California is reflective of the Golden State’s reputation as the prevailing leader in domestic climate policy. The newly-minted Compliance Offset Developers Association (CODA) is an alliance of six project developers – A-GAS RemTec, Camco, Coolgas, Inc, Diversified Pure Chem, Environmental Credit Corp, and Terrapass – working together with regulators and other offset stakeholders to support an effective statewide offset market. 

At the 10^th anniversary of the Navigating the American Carbon World conference, North America’s largest carbon event, a number of players in California’s offset market recognized the benefits of exchanging ideas and technical know-how related to the Air Resources Board (ARB). Acknowledging ARB’s impact, their own strength in numbers, and a growing need to respond to future technical processes on a collaborative basis, project developers set out to create a forum for technical discussion and knowledge-sharing regarding ARB protocols and the generation of compliance offsets. 

As reported by CODA, policies regulating offsets, transparency, and the timely review of project documents are critical aspects for project developers in generating and issuing offsets. An anticipated 200 million offsets will be required by California’s cap-and-trade program by 2020, further highlighting the need for increased capacity through collective efforts such as CODA, according to the group’s members. 

Intended to function from a procedural and technical perspective rather than from a political stance, CODA aims to connect project developers to better understand the rules and regulations of the offset market. According to Derek Six, CEO of Environmental Credit Corp, “the project developers involved in CODA face a wide variety of common issues.” The association was formed out of a “desire to see a marketplace that is effective, practical, and efficient,” adds Six. 

While CODA is currently only open to project developers that have at least three registered projects under ozone-depleting substances, forestry, or livestock protocols, there may be potential for including project developers involved in other project types in the future. 

In reference to prospective protocols such as rice cultivation, coal mine methane, and REDD+, Charles Purshouse, CODA’s elected chairperson, stated, “If approved, we would welcome members developing those projects.” However, for the time being, the “focus is on the drawing board,” as lobbying for REDD+ and other potential protocols “doesn’t fall under the group’s remit,” adds Purshouse. 

CODA holds bi-weekly meetings and discussions to formulate strategy. Companies interested in joining CODA can email nick@terrapass.com. 

EPA Warns Against Use of Refrigerant Substitutes That Pose Fire and Explosion Risk

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 1, 2013

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is warning homeowners, propane manufacturers and sellers, home improvement contractors and air conditioning technicians of potential safety hazards related to the use of propane or other unapproved refrigerants in home air conditioning systems.

EPA is currently investigating instances where propane has been marketed and used as a substitute for HCFC-22 (R-22), a refrigerant that is widely used in home air conditioning systems.

Home air conditioning systems are not designed to handle propane or other similar flammable refrigerants. The use of these substances poses a potential fire or explosion hazard for homeowners and service technicians. 

EPA is aware of incidents that have occurred both overseas and in the U.S. where individuals have been injured as a result of the use of propane and other unapproved refrigerants in air conditioning systems. We are investigating and will take enforcement actions where appropriate. Other names for these unapproved refrigerants include R-290, 22a, 22-A, R-22a, HC-22a, and CARE 40.

At this time, EPA has not approved the use of propane refrigerant or other hydrocarbon refrigerants in any type of air conditioner. Homeowners and technicians are strongly recommended to limit use of propane or other hydrocarbons to only those appliances specifically designed for these substances and that are properly marked to alert technicians that the equipment contains a flammable substance. EPA has approved the use of propane as a substitute refrigerant for R-22 in industrial process refrigeration systems and in new, stand-alone retail food refrigerators and freezers that are specifically designed to use flammable hydrocarbon refrigerants.

R-22 is being phased out of production and importation under the Montreal Protocol, an environmental treaty ratified by every country in the world designed to reduce and eventually eliminate the use of ozone depleting substances. EPA’s Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) Program has already listed numerous refrigerants with improved environmental, health and safety profiles and continues to evaluate other refrigerants that can be used to replace R-22 and other ozone-depleting substances.

More information about the EPA’s SNAP program: http://www.epa.gov/ozone/snap/
More information about R-22a and alternatives for air conditioning: http://www.epa.gov/ozone/snap/r22a.html

Thank you for giving your life to protect others

Our thoughts and prayers are with the fire fighters of Arizona and their families. 

Renewed interest in HC heat pumps in Europe – exclusive interview with D. Colbourne

The increasing availability in Europe of optimised R290 compressors for heat pumps is reviving interest in the technology. During the UNIDO ATMOsphere Technology Summit, hydrocarbons21.com interviewed Mr. Daniel Colbourne, Consultant at Re-phridge, about the historical development of hydrocarbon (HC) heat pumps and the current state of play in Europe.

hydrocarbons21.com: In the 1990s there were several hydrocarbon-based heat pump products for domestic application in the EU market, which subsequently disappeared. What in your view might have caused this?

Daniel Colbourne: There were many hydrocarbon (HC) heat pump products on the European market; Austria, Switzerland, Scandinavia and Germany, mainly from small and medium sized producers. But the EU Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) was introduced which basically states that the components and piping in the refrigeration system must be designed, tested and approved for that particular refrigerant (or refrigerant “group”). The PED requirements for flammable refrigerants are one level above those for the non-flammable, low toxicity fluid “group”, which includes refrigerants like R22.

Previously many companies were taking R22 compressors and adapting them for use with R290. So when the PED came into force it essentially meant that they could no longer utilise those R22 compressors; i.e., they could only use R290 compressors for R290. At the time there were no manufacturers producing the right type of R290 compressors and, since in order to certify compressors for R290, additional approval processes are necessary (which in some cases are costly), the size of the market was evidently not sufficient for manufacturers to justify it. For example, the person that is welding the compressors has got to have a higher level of certification, which implies additional investments for the compressor manufacturers.

So the heat pump manufacturers apparently had little choice, all they could do was to switch to an alternative which was not a flammable refrigerant. I would say that was the main reason for the decline. Given the extensive literature demonstrating the comparatively higher efficiency of R290 and the excellent safety record, it was not performance or hazardous aspects that were responsible.

A number of manufacturers continued with some R290 models (and still do today) in particular for smaller capacity units where R290 hermetic compressors normally used for commercial refrigeration are suitable. Nonetheless, this represents a relatively small portion of the market.

hydrocarbons21.com: In terms of performance and reliability, how were these R290 products performing?

Colbourne: With regards to reliability, when R22 compressors were initially used there were some problems. However, a study presented by a major German player on the development of their R290 heat pumps in 1999 stated that after optimisation of the compressor oil, the reliability of their R290 heat pumps was better than that of their R22 heat pumps. Of course, many companies are currently selling R290 heat pumps, which would not be the case were there reliability issues.

Throughout that period there were many studies published on the efficiency of hydrocarbons in heat pumps and most of them said that R290 performance was at least as good, typically much better than the other alternatives (for space heating purposes). Both the large volume of technical literature and publications from different manufacturers support this. Furthermore, when considering the thermophysical properties of HCs, it is fairly obvious; not only do the thermodynamic properties demonstrate this but also the excellent viscosity and thermal conductivity infers better component performance than most other fluorinated alternatives.

hydrocarbons21.com: More recently do you see a renewed interest in the use of hydrocarbons in heat pumps by European manufacturers?

Colbourne: In general we can see increasing pressure to use heat pumps in Europe as they are seen as a means for accelerating CO₂ emission reduction. Within this context it seems rather daft to not use low-GWP refrigerants or particularly natural refrigerants for those types of products where they can be used. There are a fairly large number of manufacturers within Europe (but also Australia and China) that are currently using HCs (as well as other natural refrigerants). In this respect there is increasing interest in some quarters, but of course others are also resisting.

The safety issue is surely already addressed, since relevant safety regulations and standards are available and have been for many years.

hydrocarbons21.com: Heat pump manufacturers often state that the reason they do not offer HC-based heat pumps is that they cannot find optimised HC compressors or other components for the purpose. What would you recommend to the industry for overcoming this barrier?

Colbourne: On the compressor side, at least two major compressor manufacturers are now producing compressors specifically designed and optimised for R290 heat pump systems, implying that this barrier is now becoming resolved. Moreover, there are several companies that make other components, such as controls for hydrocarbons that can be used in heat pumps. These enterprises obviously see that there is a market and they would not invest large sums in the technology unless they had confidence in it.

Beware of Flammable R-22a Refrigerants!

June 12, 2013

With the phaseout of the refrigerant R-22, dangerous replacements are surfacing. Steer clear of purchasing highly flammable products sold that are listed in a form of 22a Refrigerant, as the gas can burn or even explode when in contact with an ignition source.

There is great concern over the flammability of these products, when used as a refrigerant in air conditioning equipment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) that maintains lists of acceptable refrigerants in listed applications. EPA has issued some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) regarding these R-22a products, click here to read these FAQ’s.

These products could pose significant safety risks to homeowners and technicians. Unknowing homeowners who have used this product may have created an exposure to fire or explosion should a leak be present in the home. Technicians that have not been informed of the use of these products face similar risks in that their service equipment is not designed for these products. Inadvertent mixing of recovered gases may contaminate a contractor’s bulk recovery cylinder forcing disposal of the product in place of reclaiming.

There are many approved replacement refrigerants being marketed today; contractors should carefully consider the products they wish to use. For a list of EPA approved alternate refrigerants for residential air conditioning, click here.

Remember, it is illegal for anyone to intentionally mix refrigerants in equipment or to intentionally vent refrigerant to the atmosphere. Use alternate refrigerants wisely; do not top off a system with an alternate refrigerant.

Coming to America

U.K.'s A-Gas Plans Expansion Into North America

A-Gas’s acquisitions in the U.S. will set it up for a significant expansion into North America, including the international rollout of its refrigerant reclamation technology.

This year, A-Gas celebrates its 20th year in business, but no time in those two decades has been quite as busy as last year. The past 12 months have seen intense activity as the Bristol refrigerant distributor and reclaimer bought two U.S. specialists, Coolgas and RemTec, and set up a fully fledged North American division. The firm has transplanted U.K. managing director Ken Logan to oversee the establishment of the U.S. operations for the next two years at least.

The acquisition of the U.S. businesses, plus a further distributor in Australia, Technochem, has seen the A-Gas Intl. group top £100 million turnover for 2012, with a worldwide headcount of 237.

Acquiring Assets

“A-Gas is now the largest independent refrigerant player outside of the U.S.,” said Jon Masters, European managing director. “Our core territories are in the U.K., South Africa, and Australia, in each of which we have a 30-35 percent market share. So we were keen to try and take that offering to the U.S. — it was the right opportunity in terms of the business and the regulatory framework.”

That framework is the U.S. phase out of HCFCs and the probable phase down of HFCs, expected to closely follow the European Commission’s proposed F-Gas model — although progressive states like California are already bringing in more stringent rules.

The particular attraction of RemTec is that its core business is halon reclamation. Although these are largely from fire suppressants, this offers the right range of skills and technology to allow an expansion into refrigerant reclamation. This is where A-Gas brings its own skills to bear, said Masters. “We can bring our reclamation knowhow, and the benefit of the U.K. experience of selling the reclaimed HCFC product. The U.S. market is maybe four or five years behind Europe, but it is rapidly developing, and the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] has announced more cuts in HCFC volume.”

The plan is for the RemTec operation to be brought up to the same standard for refrigerant reclamation as A-Gas’s Bristol facilities by the end of this year.

The commercial implications of the rapid cuts should not be underestimated; in the U.S. over the past year, virgin R-22 has increased in price from $3 per pound to $15 per pound.

Coolgas, by contrast, is a conventional refrigerant distributor, but again the purchase is strategic, providing a foothold in the Southwest, from which A-Gas can build, with a brand name well known to the American market. It also holds all-important import rights to HCFCs.

A foothold in such a large territory is a big deal in its own right, but the potential is far bigger. “The U.S. business is roughly the same size as the U.K. business, but whereas in the U.K. that brings a 30 percent market share, in the U.S. it is only 2 percent of the market. It should be easier to double from 2-4 percent than from 30-60 percent.”

If the plans for reclamation at RemTec go well, it could be joined by other sites. While the U.K. can function well with a single reclamation site, the scale of the U.S. is likely to require a network of two or three more. With reclaimed HCFC expected to be useable in the U.S. beyond 2020, that is an attractive long-term target.

Reclamation Technology

In a relatively short time, refrigerant recovery and reclamation has become a serious business for A-Gas. Its environmental services operations now account for around 20 percent of turnover (refrigerants is the largest proportion at 60 percent).

U.K. business director John Ormerod said, “What we do falls into two areas: cleaning up dirty gas by removing contaminants and separating out gases from refrigerant mixtures.

“We probably lead the world in refrigerant reclamation. There is only one other company in the U.K. and three in the U.S. who can separate refrigerants like we do,” he said.

The separation facilities at Bristol have come on apace since the pioneering days when its technology could be housed in a corner of the warehouse. The original plant is still in situ, but it has been joined by Separator 3, located outside the warehouse and large enough to be able to accommodate tanker-sized volumes of refrigerant, with a capacity to process around 400 tonnes a year.

Although the precise technology is secret, both plants are designed to reclaim refrigerant to Air-Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) 700 standards, as well as being able to split mixed refrigerants into usable batches and to reclaim individual gases from cocktails of recovered refrigerant. The latter is where A-Gas claims distinctiveness, as “the only supplier who has both the technology and the capacity to provide this level of service.”

Content for the European Spotlight is provided courtesy of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Magazine, London. For more information, visit www.racplus.com.

Publication date: 5/20/2013