Recovering, Recycling, and Reclaiming of Refrigerants
EPA regulations (40 CFR Part 82, Subpart F) under Section 608 of the Clean Air Act include reclamation, recovery, and restrictions and requirements of refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment. The definitions of recover, recycle, and reclaim are copied below for reference:
- Recover means to remove refrigerant in any condition from an appliance and to store it in an external container without necessarily testing or processing it in any way
- Recycle, when referring to refrigerant, means to extract refrigerant from an appliance (except MVACs) and clean it for reuse in equipment of the same owner without meeting all of the requirements for reclamation. In general, recycled refrigerant is cleaned using oil separation and single or multiple passes through devices, such as replaceable core filter-driers, which reduce moisture, acidity, and particulate matter.
- Reclaim means to reprocess recovered refrigerant to all of the specifications in appendix A of this subpart (based on AHRI Standard 700–2016, Specifications for Refrigerants) that are applicable to that refrigerant and to verify that the refrigerant meets these specifications using the analytical methodology prescribed in section 5 of appendix A of this subpart.
Learn more by clicking on each link below:
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Recovery and Recycling Equipment Certification
- EPA Approved Testing Organizations
- Certification Information
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Refrigerant Reclamation
- Requirement
- Certification
- Where to Return Used Refrigerants
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Summary of Refrigerant Reclamation Trends
- Refrigerant Trends for 2000–2023