Waste Management Strategies to Mitigate the Effects of Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases on Climate Change

Abstract

Fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) are used for various applications, such as in refrigeration and air conditioning, as substitutes of the ozone-depleting substances. Their utilization has increased drastically over the last few decades, with serious consequences for global warming. The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol and several national and international legislations, such as the 2014 EU F-gas Regulation, aim to control the utilization and emissions of these gases. In the EU, the phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) is underway, with successive reductions in quotas up to 2050. Under this scenario, efficient strategies for managing the produced and already existing F-gases are of vital importance to guarantee that their effect on the environment is mitigated. Up to now, most of the F-gases recovered from end-of-life equipment or when retrofitting systems are either released into the atmosphere or destroyed. However, in order to put forward a cost-efficient adaptation to the F-gas phase-down, increasing separation and recycling efforts must be made. This critical review aims at providing a revision of the current F-gas management problems and strategies and providing an overview on the innovative strategies that can be applied to contribute to build a sustainable market under circular economy principles.

Life Cycle Assessment of the Separation and Recycling of Fluorinated Gases Using Ionic Liquids in a Circular Economy Framework

“… 3 While incineration stands as an effective process for the destruction of HFCs, the release of CO 2 and generation of byproducts, such as trifluoroacetate, may cause atmospheric and ecosystem damage. 3 …”

“…Indeed, most refrigeration blends are removed from the cooling circuit at the EoL of the equipment and transported to be incinerated. 3 While incineration stands as an effective process for the destruction of HFCs, the release of CO 2 and generation of byproducts, such as trifluoroacetate, may cause atmospheric and ecosystem damage. 3 The separation of azeotropic mixtures of HFCs forming current refrigeration blends, for further reuse of the individual compounds, is a difficult task.…”

“…3 While incineration stands as an effective process for the destruction of HFCs, the release of CO 2 and generation of byproducts, such as trifluoroacetate, may cause atmospheric and ecosystem damage. 3 The separation of azeotropic mixtures of HFCs forming current refrigeration blends, for further reuse of the individual compounds, is a difficult task. Consequently, it is essential to explore new key-enabling technologies (KETs) for the sustainable recovery of F-gases to evolve toward a context of circular economy, where the recovered HFCs can be used to formulate new refrigerant blends, mixed with either hydrofluoroolefins (HFO) 5−8 or hydrofluoroethers (HFE), 9−11 with lower GWP and null ozone depleting potential (ODP).…”

“…To achieve these goals, a progressive phase-down of high GWP F-gases has been set up by prohibiting the use of nonrecycled high GWP compounds, as well as establishing yearly decreasing quotas of produced and imported HFCs. Additional regulatory rules include a rigorous control of the equipment maintenance and of the F-gas recovery, recycle, or destruction at the equipment end-of-life (EoL) to avoid fugitive emissions . This strict regulation is pushing the market to find innovative solutions, as many current commercial blends, such as R-410A (GWP = 2255.5) and R-407F (GWP = 1965.3), which include at least one high GWP refrigerant (pentafluoroethane, R-125, GWP= 3740), will be phased out in the coming years.…”

An analysis of the spatial and temporal changes on the Jakobshavn Glacier (Greenland) using remote sensing data

“…However, the hole in the ozone layer which has been observed in the high parts of the atmosphere, especially over the Arctic, has a decreasing effect on temperature (Arthus-Bertrand 2021). Moreover, the negative effects from the fluorinated greenhouse gases on climate change have been discussed in an article (Castro et al 2021) where waste management strategies to mitigate the impact of these gases are considered.…”