Waste Refrigerants Flows: A Case Study of Domestic Refrigeration in Ukraine

Industrialization and advancement of living standards are increased rapidly driving the refrigerants market. In many countries, old-type refrigerants (including those not accepted in new equipment) are still in wide use. For domestic refrigeration, R134a and R600a are mainly used, their share is around 26% of total refrigerants amount. The purpose of this research is to assess the recovery potential and contribution of refrigerants to global warming through the calculation of their residual volumes in old equipment using household fridges as a case study. A comprehensive analysis of old household fridges in Ukraine was conducted: 42 household fridges (in use) were studied. Apart of R600a and R134a refrigerants as the most widely used, some very old household fridges contain R12 refrigerant. Generally, refrigerant content ranges from 0.032 to 0.175 kg per item with average value 0.075 kg. The average R134a content is higher comparing to R600a: 0.115 and 0.058 kg per item, respectively. The residual weight of R134a and R600a refrigerants in one fridge was estimated at 0.058 and 0.029 kg, respectively. Taking into account the number of waste household fridges, the average annual amount of residual R600a refrigerant is higher (1.4 tonnes) comparing to R134a (about 1 tonne). Total refrigerant recovery potential for domestic refrigeration was estimated at 2 tonnes per year (counting 80% recycling rate). Due to the lack of separate collection of waste electrical and electronic equipment in Ukraine, both the residual refrigerant and its loss contribute to greenhouse gas emission, which was estimated at about 2652 tonnes of CO2-equivalent/year with R134a refrigerant as the main contributor. This data can be used for improvement of waste household fridges and residual refrigerant management.