“Price is the driving issue. R-22 will cost an estimated $10 per pound next summer,” Ponder predicts.

According to Ponder, refrigerant reclaimers across the U.S. are taking steps to ensure their voices are heard. For starters, a group of 17 of the largest reclaimers met during the Heating, Airconditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) fall conference, Oct. 27-29, in Phoenix, AZ.

“Because refrigerants have been under such attention, we started to talk more with our reclaimer members,” says Talbot Gee, vice president of HARDI. “We’ve found that oftentimes distributor and reclaimer interests are aligned. We’ve also found there’s been no vehicle for the reclaimers to talk, network, and work together. It seemed like a natural fit for HARDI to be that vehicle,” Gee says.

The distributor/reclaimer meeting helped establish agreement on those things on which distributors and reclaimers have a common interest. Gee says HARDI wants to do all it can to increase refrigerant recovery, and assist in the responsible use and disposal of refrigerant. “Reclaimers are absolutely important to the process,” Gee says.

“Refrigerant reclaimers will be greatly altered by legislation if we don’t do something as a group,” Ponder warns.

“For example, there’s a possibility the Federal government could mandate the use of $90 refillable cylinders, rather than the $9 disposable cylinders we currently use. There’s a myth that disposable cylinders end up in landfills, which isn’t true; they’re recycled,” Ponder says.

The need to reclaim refrigerant is receiving increased attention as an important part of managing refrigerants, says Craig Thomas, marketing manager of refrigerants for Arkema, Philadelphia, PA.

“Contractors are exploring their options for the R-22 phasedown, and are going with R-410A for new air conditioning systems, or implementing retrofits using products such as Arkema’s R- 427A,” Thomas says. “Arkema believes there is and will continue to be a larger customer need for reclaimed refrigerant. Contractors realize they have to take steps to ensure they have sufficient R-22 to meet customers’ demands.”

Thomas tells Contracting Business that Arkema is developing a program that will make refrigerant reclamation a good value. It will be easy, dependable, and contractors will be able to work through a full-service wholesaler.

“In the past, reclamation wasn’t easy for wholesalers, therefore they in turn didn’t market it heavily to contractors. There were hidden fees and miscellaneous costs,” Thomas explains. “Contractors and wholesalers want a dependable program.”

Alternatives: Ammonia & CO₂

Bruce Badger, president of the International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration, Arlington, VA touts the value of ammonia as a refrigerant. He believes ammonia could go a long way in serving the commercial supermarket industry, but it’s a hard sell due to existing attitudes and technical challenges.

“Unlike Europe where there’s been fairly significant activity, we haven’t seen a great deal of interest in the U.S. regarding the use of ammonia in supermarkets,” Badger says.

According to an IIAR white paper, since ammonia is a common, naturally occurring compound in the environment and can be naturally broken down into harmless hydrogen and nitrogen molecules (the atmosphere consists of nearly 80% nitrogen), it’s often referred to as a “natural refrigerant”

“When it escapes into the atmosphere, it does no harm to the ozone layer and doesn’t contribute to global warming, unlike the synthetics,” Badger says, and believes there’s a way to reconcile the benefits of ammonia with its perceived risks.

“Natural gas is dangerous, yet we willingly pipe it into our homes. We know gasoline is explosive, yet we drive around with it in the back of our cars. It’s a question of understanding the risks and benefits, and being careful,” Badger says.

Badger says carbon dioxide (CO₂) and ammonia have been combined in some supermarket applications in the U.S., and worked extremely well. However, because of a lack of trained operators, the ammonia systems were reverted back to synthetic refrigerants.

“This lack of training in ammonia is going to have to change soon, because of the elimination of R-22, and the significant cost of the synthetics and oil they must use with them,” Badger says. “It’s a cost issue, and it’s a question of when rather than if.”

The first CO₂ cascade system for low temperature refrigeration to be installed in North America is now hard at work at the Price Chopper supermarket in Saratoga, NY.

The system was designed by Hill Phoenix, Conyers, GA. CO₂ is condensed by a medium-temperature refrigeration system using R-404A, which also chills propylene glycol for the store’s dairy and beverage departments. The technology is used in the store’s new frozen food and ice cream departments.

Hill Phoenix sources say a major advantage to using the CO₂ in a cascade system is reduced cost of refrigerant. CO₂ is a mere $.50 per pound compared to $7 or $8 per pound for HFCs. Other advantages include smaller line sizes, reduced copper piping, and increased system efficiency.

Options Abound: Pick One or Fail
By now, the R-22 conundrum and its solutions should be common knowledge to the vast majority of commercial refrigeration contractors in the U.S.

Now, it’s up to you. If you’ve taken steps to educate customers and technicians in the business and technical ramifications, congratulations. If you’ve improved your leak detection and prevention program, and are reclaiming R-22 more aggressively, bully for you. If you’ve explored alternatives and are going to give them a try, we wish you much success.

If you plan to do nothing, do the industry a favor and close up shop.