Dubai, UAE, 14 April 2019: Enviroserve has opened a new facility that will allow the company to reclaim 2,400 kilograms of refrigerant gas a day. Eruj Nazar, Refrigerant Operation Manager, Enviroserve, told Climate Control Middle East that the new facility is a much-needed boost for efforts aimed at cutting down losses while reclaiming refrigerants.

Elaborating on the operational methodology, Nazar said that Enviroserve, on receiving a request for reclaim from either a residential or industrial client, would visit the client for a feasibility study to ascertain whether the refrigerant in question can be reclaimed or not. “Mixed refrigerants,” he said, “cannot be reclaimed.” Another way of collecting the refrigerant, Nazar said, is by creating awareness and by training the client on how to store the refrigerant, after which it is delivered to the facility. In most cases, he said, there is a small percentage of refrigerant loss during the recovery phase, owing to poor connection. Ninety per cent of the gas can be reclaimed, he said, while 10% is lost.

Eruj Nazar, Refrigerant Operation Manager, Enviroserve

Nazar said that having trained technicians on the job is key to controlling the volume of refrigerant being lost. Often, technicians are unable to understand a problem due to the lack of training, he said. Another challenge is related to the devices used for reclaiming the refrigerant, he said, adding that it is important that technicians are equipped with the right type of devices, which will help them identify the kind of gas being used and its level of purity.

Yet another challenge, Nazar said, arises out of end-users not wanting to recover and reclaim the refrigerant and instead preferring to cut the line and vent the gas into the air. In such situations, he said, we are helpless. “It takes effort, time and awareness, and hence, we must create awareness that this is wrong,” he said.

Refrigerant gas reclaim facility at Envirosere

Pointing to cost as an influencing factor in the UAE, Nazar said that end-users often turn to the grey market for their refrigeration needs. In the UAE, he said, there is a strict quota for refrigerants, and this means that only a certain volume of gas can be produced. “The problem arises,” he said, “when people resort to unregulated gas from other channels.”