Gazechim expands refrigerant reclaim facilities

FRANCE: Gazechim has expanded its refrigerant recovery, purification and regeneration capacity with a second refrigerant distillation unit in France and now plans a similar plant in the UK.

The investment by the industrial gas and composite raw materials distribution company is to support the development of its CoolGreenCycle programme across key European markets. The technology is designed to handle a broad range of commonly used refrigerants, including HFCs, HFOs and HFC/HFO blends.

Gazechim’s first industrial-scale installation, built at a cost of €1.5m has been operating at its La Bazouge-du-Désert, Brittany, site for the last two years. That plant has the treatment capacity to avoid emissions of around 2,000 tonnes of CO2e per year. The technology also utilises heat pumps that significantly reduce its energy consumption.

The new projects will build on the operational experience gained through this first installation, as well as on the technological developments achieved since its commissioning. 

The next planned installation is in the UK at the Harp International site in Pontypridd. No timescale has been given.  

Additional potential locations are said to be currently being assessed in several European countries, but the number of future installations, as well as the pace of deployment, will depend largely on demand and Gazechim’s ability to collect sufficient volumes of used refrigerants.

Explaining that the investment in this latest unit reflects the company’s anticipation of regulatory developments and providing its customers with sustainable solutions, Gazechim Group’s Refrigeration Division general manager, Gilles Minier, said: “The regeneration of refrigerants is a key lever for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and supporting the transition towards a circular economy. Our ambition now is to build on this expertise to progressively develop new regeneration capacities as close as possible to the needs of our European customers.”