Handling Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Safely

Health and Safety Issues

Fluorinated greenhouse gases are a group of chemicals that contain fluorine. The most common f-gases across the world are; HFCs for example R404a, R134a and R410A. HFCs are normally energy efficient, ozone friendly refrigerants which are usually non-flammable and have low levels of toxicity (Laube et al., 2015). They, however, have a relatively high GWP something that contributes to their leading to global warming whenever released into the atmosphere. There are quite a number of uses for these gases, their largest being their use as refrigerants. So as to avoid potential hazards, the refrigerants that are normally used in air conditioning systems and refrigeration need to be properly used.

Most of the refrigerants normally have boiling points and as such normally present the dangers of eye damage and frostbite. If not handled properly, refrigerants also have the potential of damaging the environment. Before handling any refrigerant, it is always advisable to check the MSDS and consequently follow all safety requirements (Mota-Babiloni et al., 2016). Continued exposure to concentrations of fluorocarbons that are high can be quite fatal. In concentrations that are high, the vapours can possibly have an aesthetic effect which would consequently lead to shortness of breath, stumbling, irregular pulses and even missing of pulses, convulsions, tremors and in extreme cases death. To safely handle refrigerants;

At all times, employers must always ensure that those individuals who handle refrigerants are highly trained in the safe handling and use of refrigerants, and have further reviewed the MSDS for the refrigerant in use.

Whenever one is servicing a refrigeration system or handling refrigerants, they should always wear safety gloves and goggles.

Inhaling f-gases could in some instances lead to sudden death. When inhaled intentionally so as to act as intoxicants, often leads the heart to stop functioning and is at times fatal.

Fluorocarbon refrigerants at all instances should always be treated as gases that re toxic. Whenever highly concentrated, an anaesthetic effect is brought about by these gases which normally leads to convulsions, shortness of breath and death in extreme cases.

At no instance should refrigerants that are purged be released into the atmosphere. Proper guidelines should be followed to ensure their correct disposal.

Leak Checking Equipment

Use a leak detection spray of choice and spray it directly to the connections and joints of an equipment.

It is always important for one to be methodological when checking leaks in an equipment. There should be no hurry when doing a leak test.

Check to ensure that torch valves are closed and that regulators are set to zero outlet pressure.

Apply the leak detection spray to all connections and joints. In the event there is any leak, bubbles are immediately formed at the point where there is the leak/

It is necessary that leaks are immediately corrected through tightening of the joints.

In the event the leaks persist then that implies that the connection is faulty and as such needs to be corrected.

According to fluorinated Gas (F Gas) Regulation, it is necessary that; 1) It is necessary to leak test all systems that contain between 3 and 30 kilogrammes of HFCs once every year. 2) for those systems that contain more than 30 kilogrammes of HFCs, leak testing should be done twice annually. 3) a permanent leak detection system is necessary for all systems that contain over 300 kilogrammes of HFCs.

In instances where a leak is detected, it should always be fixed and it is further necessary to re-test the system a month after it has been repaired.

After fixing the leak, before refilling the refrigerant, it will first be necessary to remove any refrigerant from the system that was being fixed. To do this, a pump will be connected to the system to pull a vacuum on the system. This will help remove as much moisture, debris, gas and air as possible. For this step, an evacuator pump will be needed. After this has been done, the refrigerant can then be refilled.

Recovered Refrigerants

There is an important role played by refrigerants in the process of heat transfer through which heating systems and air conditioning become possible. The process of refrigerant recover normally happens in two steps (Lundberg et al., 2017). During the first step, the need for using refrigerants that are harmful to the environment is normally reduced then consequently eliminated completely. The second step involves refrigerant reclamation. This is the process through which refrigerants are evacuated from HVAC/R equipment’s. When the refrigerants have been reclaimed they could be recycled, which would imply that debris and oil are removed from the refrigerant to the extent that it is possible to reuse it. Even though it is possible to carry out recycling at the service site, it is always necessary that the refrigerant re-enters the original equipment it was extracted from initially (Lee et al., 2018). In the event that the refrigerant that was recovered is to be used in new equipment, it is necessary to send it offshore to a reclamation facility for purposes of undergoing an EFA-regulated procedure of purification. In instances where the refrigerant recovered is deemed as being too contaminated that it cannot be reclaimed or recycled, a reclaimer certified by EPA disposes it off in strict adherence to federal regulations.

Labelling of Equipment

F-gas regulations require that F-gases are provided in containers that are returnable. As such, containers that are non-refillable for greenhouse gases that are fluorinated for use in service, maintenance, heat-pump equipment or air conditioning are banned. Article 12 of the F-Gas regulation requires specific labelling for the following equipment and products; equipment for refrigeration, heat pumps, air-conditioning equipment, equipment for fire protection, electrical switchgears, aerosol dispensers that have greenhouse gases that are fluorinated in them, all fluorinated greenhouse gas containers and organic rankine cycles.

The information on the label should include; 1) The wording “contains fluorinated greenhouse gases”, 2) The concerned F Gas`s industry designation. In the event no such designation is available, the chemical name should be provided, 3) the quantity expresses in terms of kilograms and tonnes of CO2 equivalent of F-Gases contained in an equipment or product. No equipment that is pre-charged with HFCs can be placed on the market without accounting of the HFCs as per the EU HFC quota system. 4) a reference indicating that the F-Gases are contained equipment’s that are sealed hermetically. Hermetical seals are any types of seals that make given objects airtight (this excludes the passage of any other gases, oxygen or air).these kinds of seals are normally essential to the safe and correct functioning of different healthcare and electronic products. 5) Finally, there should be a display of the F Gas Global warming potential (GWP). This is normally a measure of the amount of heat trapped by a greenhouse gas in the atmosphere up to a time horizon that is specified in relation to carbon dioxide. In this instance, the GWP will be a comparison of the amount of heat that a simple mass of carbon dioxide traps to the amount of heat that would be trapped by a given mass of the F Gas.

For some RACHP equipment that are pre-charged, the equipment manufacturer will provide the label. For all RACHP equipment that are topped up or filled with a refrigerant during installation, it is the installation contractor’s responsibility to ensure that there is a label attached and the label must be suitable. This label should state the total amount of refrigerant to be found in the system.

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It is further required that the information in a label always stands out clearly from the labels background and it is always necessary that the labels size and spacing is such that reading it is easy. A label together with its contents should always be designed so as to ensure that it remains securely in place on the equipment or product and should always be easily legible under the normal conditions of operation, throughout an entire period when an equipment or product contains greenhouse gases that are fluorinated. It is recommended that the label is either placed; 1) Adjacent to charging service ports or 2) whenever possible, adjacent to nameplates that are already in existence or an equipment’s or product with fluorinated greenhouse gases information label.

References

Laube, J.C., Gallacher, E., Oram, D.E., Bönisch, H., Brenninkmeijer, C.A., Fraser, P.J., Röckmann, T. and Sturges, W.T., 2015. April. Fluorinated greenhouse gases in the troposphere and stratosphere. In EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts (Vol. 17).

Lee, J.H., Choi, S.S., Gwak, D.C., Jung, Y.A. and Lee, S.H., 2018. Establishing methodology for evaluating refrigerant recovery and recycling equipment: institutional responses to climate change in South Korea. Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management, pp.1-10.

Lundberg, D.M. and McMasters, M.W., Robert Bosch GmbH, and Bosch Automotive Service Solutions Inc., 2018. System and method for charging refrigerant into a refrigeration circuit. U.S. Patent Application 10/101,068.

Mota-Babiloni, A., Navarro-Esbrí, J., Molés, F., Cervera, Á.B., Peris, B. and Verdú, G., 2016. A review of refrigerant R1234ze (E) recent investigations. Applied Thermal Engineering, 95, pp.211-222.