8.5.3
Tscherning
Tscherning is a company that specializes in demolition and environmental sanitation. Therefore, they
do not receive waste containing CFC., but they do find it during demolition activities. According to
Rasmus Krag, Development Manager at Tscherning, the waste is classified as hazardous and most
likely sent to Fortum (the same company that receives CFC gas from H. J. Hansen), who can dispose
of it (For reference, see mail reply in figure 27 in the appendix).
Bachelor thesis
9
9.1
Technical University of Denmark - DTU
Germany
Ozone-depleting substances in Germany
A report by the German environmental department (”Umweltbundesamt” or UBA for short) in 2012
estimated the ODS bank in insulation materials for German buildings and other constructions. The
study focused on rigid XPS (extruded polystyrene) foam and rigid PU (polyurethane) foam. It took
into consideration the following aspects: density, annual foam use (volume), market shares of the
blowing agents, blowing agent amount in the insulation foams and loss of the blowing agents due to
dispersion to the surroundings.
In Germany, XPS foam was typically used in construction under the floor in buildings, in the basement
floor and roof insulation. Figure 28 in the appendix, shows that from 1980-1989 CFC-12 was
estimated to be the only blowing agent used in XPS foam, while towards 2005 other alternatives
became more present. Figure 29 in the appendix, shows the development of the ODS bank (in ODP
tonnes) in XPS insulation foam from 1965 to 2010. The increase in the ODS bank is caused by CFC
being used as the only blowing agent from 1980-1989, while the stagnation towards the beginning
of 1990 is caused by more ozone-friendly blowing agents being applied.
The primary applications of rigid PU foam in Germany were district heating pipes and in the walls of
buildings. Figure 30 in the appendix show that CFC-11 was the sole blowing agent used from 19801994, but since then other blowing agents became more present. Figure 31, shows a similar pattern
as seen in figure 29, where the ODS bank increases from the mid 1960s and stagnates in the
beginning of 1990, but in much greater quantities.
It was estimated that the ODS bank in XPS insulation foams was approximately 43.7 kt ODS or
15,000 tonnes ODP in 2009 and the ODS bank for PUR foam was 117.5 kt ODS or 105,000 tonnes
ODP. In total, the ODS bank in insulation foams was equivalent to 120,000 tonnes ODP
(Umweltbundesamt, 2012). This means that PUR foam contain approximately 86% of all the ODS in
ODP tonnes, while the rest can be expected to be contained in XPS foam. This means that the largest
recovery potential lies within the PUR foam. Since the data was from 2009, the ODS bank can
assumed to be lower in 2019, due to constant demolition and recovery of ODS-containing foam in
Germany.
Although the use of CFCs have been banned since 1995 in Germany, a report by LAGA (The German
Working Group on Waste) in 2018 estimated that still half of the refrigerators in Germany contained
substances with an ODP and a GWP. In Germany, the Clean Air Act regulates how refrigerators
containing
ozone-depleting
substances
should
be
treated
through
two
steps
(Bund/L¨anderArbeitsgemeinschaft Abfall (LAGA), 2018).
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Step 1:
•
Manual removal of certain components (this could refer to cables and wires)
•
Removal of the refrigerant from the cooling circuit
•
Degassing of the extracted refrigerant to separate oil and gas.
•
Oil and gas are placed in separate closed containers.
•
Removing the extracted compressors
•
Treatment of the gas Step 2:
•
Shredding of the refrigerator in a closed system
•
Recovery of the blowing agents from the insulation foam
•
Sorting of metal and plastic fractions
These steps are very similar with H. J. Hansen’s procedure of handling CFC-containing refrigerators.
First, components are removed from the refrigerators (could be cables and wires as in seen in H. J.
Hansen). Then, the refrigerant is removed from the cooling system and degassed in order to separate
the oil and gas. Like at H. J. Hansen, the oil and gas are placed in separate containers, the compressors
are removed and lastly, the gas is incinerated according to Regulation (EC) no. 1005/2009. After
extracting the oil and gas from the compressors, the refrigerator is shredded in a closed system in
order to prevent CFC emissions to the atmosphere, which is required by law through the Clean Air
Act. Metal and plastic are recovered and recycled at the end (Bund/La¨nderArbeitsgemeinschaft
Abfall (LAGA), 2018).
9.2
Ozone protection regulation in Germany
Germany’s national regulation from 1991 was the first to regulate the use of ODS. It was banned from
1995 to use CFC-11 and CFC-12 in insulation foams, release the substances to the environment and
place them on the market. HCFC-22 was also banned by the beginning of 2000, whereas other HCFCs
were not affected by this regulation. In 2006, this regulation was repealed and replaced by the
Chemical Ozone Layer Ordinance (Chemikalien-Ozonschichtverordnung). The Chemical Ozone Layer
Ordinance was made in order to comply with Regulation (EC) No. 2037/2000 and as of today, the
Chemical Ozone Layer Ordinance in in compliance with current ODS regulation in the EU: Regulation
(EC) No 1005/2009. The regulation covers the handling and recovery of waste containing ODS. In
Germany, the owner of insulation foams containing controlled substances are responsible for the
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Technical University of Denmark - DTU
recovery of them, however they may transfer the waste to third parties who can handle them.
Manufacturers and distributors of the regulated substances are obliged to take them back after use
or to take them to a third party appointed by them. Lastly, the Chemical Ozone Layer Ordinance also
requires that recovery facilities report to the German EPA on the amounts and types of ODS they
receive (Umweltbundesamt, 2012).
In Germany, an act called ElektroG (Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act) holds manufactures and
importers responsible for the handling and treatment of appliances containing ODS (ICF
International, 2010).
Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Flanders (Belgium) have all enabled a ban on landfilling
construction and demolition waste, which means that PUR/PIR (polyisocyanurate) insulation foam
is separated from other fractions during demolition and the foam is sent for incineration at either
municipal solid waste or hazardous waste incinerators. Recycling rates of PUR/PIR insulation foam
in Germany is thus extremely low (ICF International, 2010).
The German air pollution legislation that was mentioned earlier, Clean Air Act, requires a recycling
rate of 90% at minimum for coolants in the cooling circuit, but does not provide any standards
regarding the recovery of blowing agents used in foams. In practice, over 80% of ODS refrigeration
and insulation foam are properly recovered from collected appliances (ICF International, 2010).
10
Austria
Currently, there is no treatment of CFC gases in Austria. Fluorinated and non-fluorinated substances
from coolants in refrigerators, coolants from air conditioners (R404a, R410a etc.) and CFCs are
exported to Germany for destruction or used in the production of hydrochloric acid and/or
hydrofluoric acid. An estimated amount of 15-30 tonnes/year are exported to Germany annually (For
reference, see mail reply in figure 32 in the appendix).
10.1
Ozone protection regulation in Austria
Austria announced early on to their industry that HCFCs were only a temporary replacement for CFCs
and provided incentives for producers to adopt alternatives and therefore preventing a double
phase-out of first phasing out CFCs and then implementing HCFCs and then phasing them out again
for another alternative (European Commission, 2007).
Towards the beginning of 1990, CFC was used as blowing agent in XPS foam, where HCFCs shortly
replaced CFC until it was replaced by HFCs and CO2 as the blowing agents in the mid-90s
(Eibensteiner, 2016). Austria was one of the first EU Member States to begin the phase-out of HCFCs.
In 1995, the Austrian government put forward a legislation that banned the use of HCFCs in solvents
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and in the production of insulation foam from the year 2000. However, the use of HCFCs in newly
produced non-commercial refrigerators were banned from 1996 and from 2002 for commercial
equipment.
The regulation was stricter than the EU Regulation in several areas, specifically on the sale of
products containing HCFCs. Furthermore, the Austrian government also banned the use of HCFCs for
specific applications, although these are not mentioned (European Commission, 2007).
Waste management regulations in Austria classify insulation foam containing CFC and HCFC in XPS
and PU recovered during demolition as hazardous, which means that the foam must be treated
according to Directive 2008/98/EC as shown in section 6.2.3 (ICF International, 2010).
Along with Denmark and Luxembourg, Austria has set a minimum requirement of 90% for the
recovery of ODS in refrigeration and foam in different appliances. For Austria, this requires that at
least 115 gram of refrigerant per appliance and at least 240 gram of CFC-11 blowing are recovered
per appliance during the recovery processes (ICF International, 2010).
Due to a maximum TOC (Total Organic Carbon) content of 5% for the waste being landfilled in
Austria, the landfilling of XPS insulation foam is banned (For reference, see mail reply in figure 32 in
the appendix).
10.2
Ozone-depleting substances in Austria
In 2006, Austria had collected and processed approximately 400,000 refrigerators containing ODS in
closed systems so that the substances were not emitted to the atmosphere. Since 2004, the amount
of collected and treated ODS refrigerators have been increasing, which is partially due to a legislation
requiring refrigerators to be collected and treated at their end-of-life. The collection is free of charge
and the substances in the insulation foam and coolants are extracted and destroyed in an
environmentally safe manner. To ensure that the Austrian waste management companies are
capable of properly handling the ODS-containing refrigerators their treatment processes must be
tested on at least 1,000 devices. At least 90% of the CFC in the refrigerators must recovered during
processing and the CFC content for recovered insulation foam has to be below 0.2% and below 0.1%
for the compressor oil (European Commission, 2007).
In 2013, the XPS that was used as insulation foam in the construction sector reached 24,000
tonnes/year. In 2015, around 2,000 tonnes of XPS was recovered. The recovery of installed XPS and
EPS (expanded polystyrene) is expected to continue towards the end of this century, where in 2045
7,500 tonnes of XPS is expected to be recovered, which will also be the maximum amount. After
application, the insulation foam contains between 6-11% CFC by mass. However, due to diffusion of
the CFC, the concentrations might change over time. Different sources show discrepancy between
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Technical University of Denmark - DTU
the retention time of the CFC. A XPS manufacturer estimated that the time is between 10-30 years,
while another study stated that the retention time is between 50-200 years. If the latter is the case,
then that would mean that the majority (or all) of the CFC would still be present at EOL (end-of-life)
of the waste.
At EOL, if the concentration of CFC, HCFC and HFC is higher than 0.1% then the XPS must be separated
when reaching the destruction phase and treated as hazardous waste. E.g. in 2018 approximately
100 tones were incinerated (For reference see mail reply in figure 32 in the appendix).
11
Discussion
In this section, the efforts associated with the recovery and destruction of ODS in different sectors as
well as the recovery potential of ODS are examined. Additionally, the potential emissions savings (in
ODP tonnes and KTCO2-eq.) through complete recovery and destruction is also investigated, as well
as the costs (e/TCO2-eq. and e/ODP Tonnes) associated with the recovery and destruction of ODS in
different sectors. Lastly, the destruction capacity of ODS is examined and whether or not the
European Union does enough for the treatment of waste containing ODS. The majority of the data in
this section comes from a report by ICF International in 2010: Identifying and Assessing Policy Options
for Promoting the Recovery and Destruction of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) and Certain
Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases (F-Gases) Banked In Products and Equipment. ICF International is a
global technology and consulting company.
11.1
Technical feasibility on the recovery of ODS
Technical feasibility refers to the ability of recovering ODS/HFCs at a reasonable level of effort and
cost. When technical feasibility is assessed, two aspects are taken into consideration: the amount of
ODS/HFCs remaining at EOL in the waste (also here considering diffusion of the ODS/HFCs over
time), and also the amount of ODS/HFCs that is technically recoverable at EOL (also here considering
any loses that might occur during recovery/separation and transport).
Table 5 shows the amount of effort that is associated with the recovery of the ODS in a certain type
of sector. The effort ranges from low to medium in the refrigeration sector, while in the construction
sector, the efforts are generally high. This is because PU foams are sprayed onto the walls and have
natural adhesive property, thus making it difficult to separate the foam from the walls during
demolition. Furthermore, it is also possible that part of the ODS in the foam is released during
separation, if more force is required to separate the foam and if the foam is damaged, then some of
the gases might get emitted. These factors increase the effort level when recovering construction
foam and ultimately reduces the amount of ODS recovered (ICF International, 2010). As described in
section 8.3.1, the processes for the recovery of the ODS in refrigerators are relatively simple.
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Technical University of Denmark - DTU
Due to the high efforts associated with the recovery of ODS in the construction sector, the recovery
potential can be expected to be lower than the refrigeration sector. This also means that in the future
the effort level might decrease for the construction sector and the amount of insulation foam
containing CFCs to be treated might increase over the decades due to technological development or
alterations in current EU regulations regarding C&D waste.
Table 5: Effort required to manage the banks containing ODS (ICF International, 2010). Two crosses
in e.g. ’low effort’ and ’medium effort’ means that the effort required ranges from low to medium.
Sector
Low effort Medium effort
High effort
Domestic Refrigeration – Refrigerant
X
X
Domestic Refrigeration – Blowing Agent
X
X
Commercial Refrigeration – Refrigerant
X
X
Commercial Refrigeration – Blowing Agent
X
X
Transport Refrigeration – Refrigerant
X
Transport Refrigeration – Blowing Agent
X
Industrial Refrigeration – Refrigerant
X
Stationary Air Conditioning – Refrigerant
X
X
Other Stationary Air Conditioning – Refrigerant
X
X
Mobile Air Conditioning – Refrigerant
X
X
Steel-faced Panels – Blowing Agent
X
XPS Foams – Blowing Agent
X
PU Boardstock – Blowing Agent
X
PU Spray – Blowing Agent
X
PU Block – Pipe
X
X
PU Block – Slab
X
X
Other PU Foams – Blowing Agent
Halon – Fire Suppression
X
X
X
To improve the recovery potential of construction foam, a so-called” vacuum” technology could be
utilized in the future. The technology has been used for removing asbestos-containing insulation
foam from buildings, as the high-powered suction effectively detached the foam from walls. Due to
the adhesive nature of PU foams, the technology might not be as effective as it is against asbestos
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Technical University of Denmark - DTU
foam. Furthermore, if the vacuum technology were to be used, it is also important that the ODS from
the insulation foam are not released during the detachment and, lastly, that the insulation foam is
incinerated (ICF International, 2010).
Table 6 shows estimates on how much blowing agent (on average) still remaining at EOL for
construction foam, how much of the blowing agent that is technically recoverable at EOL and the
total potential recovery at EOL. As seen in the table, sandwich panels and boardstock foam have the
highest recovery potential at EOL, while spray foam and XPS foam boards have a total recovery
potential of respectively 15.6% and 6.4% at EOL and therefore the recovery feasibility of those can
be deemed low (ICF International, 2010).
Table 6: Recovery potential of construction insulation foam (ICF International, 2010). The first
column was calculated by multiplying the estimated original content of the ODS by the lifetime
diffusion. The second column was based on assumptions of the blowing agent loses that occur during
separation at EOL. The third column was calculated by multiplying column 1 & 2.
Average Blowing
Agent Remaining
at EOL
End-Use
PU Rigid: Sandwich Panels – Continuous
PU Rigid: Sandwich Panels – Discontinuous
PU & PIR Rigid: Boardstock (FFL)
PU Rigid: Spray foam
XPS Foam Boards
11.1.1
70.5%
66.5%
57.25%
31.1%
12.75%
Blowing Agent
Technically
Recoverable at
EOL
90%
90%
70%
50%
50%
Total Potentially
Recovered at EOL
63.5%
59.9%
40.1%
15.6%
6.4%
Recovery potential of all sectors
Table 7 shows estimates on the recovery of refrigerants and blowing agents in different sub-sectors
for EU-15 countries and EU-12 countries as well as how feasible it is to recover either the
refrigerant/blowing agent ranked from high to low.
Table 7: Recovery potential for refrigerants in cooling circuits and blowing agent in foams at EOL
(ICF International, 2010).
Total Potentially
Sub-sector
Recovered at EOL in EU
EU-15
EU-12
End-Use
Feasibility to
Recover
Refrigeration/AC
Mobile AC
Stationary AC
Refrigeration
Passenger Cars
Buses
Small Stationary
Large Stationary (Chillers)
Domestic Refrigerators & Freezers
Small Commercial
Medium/ Large Commercial
54%
54%
81%
76%
NA
81%
67%
45%
45%
72%
67%
NA
72%
57%
High
High
High
High
High
High
High
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Technical University of Denmark - DTU
Refrigerated Transport - Land
Refrigerated Transport - Ships
Industrial Refrigeration
63%
57%
57%
54%
48%
48%
High
High
High
Foams
Appliances
Construction
PU Rigid: Domestic Refrigerators/Freezers
PU Rigid: Commercial Refrigeration
PU Rigid: Sandwich Panels – Continuous
PU Rigid: Sandwich Panels – Discontinuous
PU & PIR Rigid: Boardstock (FFL)
PU Rigid: Spray foam
XPS Foam Boards
88%
79%
63%
60%
40%
16%
6%
High
High
Medium
Medium
Medium
Low
Low
EU-15 are the 15 ”old” Member States: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and UK (Jovi´c, 2012). EU-12
are composed of the ”newer” Member States and primarily Eastern Europe: Bulgaria, Czech Republic,
Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia (Jovi´c,
2012).
The recovery potential for EU-15 countries have been deemed higher than EU-12, which is because
it is believed that the EU-15 countries, in general, have more improved treatment technologies than
EU-12 countries (ICF International, 2010).
For all refrigeration and AC, the feasibility to recover the refrigerants are deemed high due to three
factors: the recovery requires low effort, recovery of refrigerants have been practiced over long time
and there are several facilities in the EU that treat them (ICF International, 2010). Insulation foams
in appliances like domestic refrigerators/freezers and commercial refrigerators also have a high
feasibility to recover, due to existing infrastructure being in place that can recover the foam.
However, as mentioned earlier, construction foam has several challenges when it comes to
recovering the ODS at EOL: the effort level is high, lacking infrastructure to treat the construction
foams and the recoverable blowing agent at EOL is relatively low (6-64%). This means that the
feasibility to recover construction foam ranges from medium to low.
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11.2
Technical University of Denmark - DTU
Recovery potential of ODS in banks from 2010-2050
The ICF International have also made some estimates on how much ODS and HFC in refrigeration/AC
and in foams (tonnes) were expected to be technically recoverable by 2010, 2020 and 2050 in the
EU-27. This is shown in table 8.
Table 8: Recovery potential of different ODS in refrigeration/AC and insulation foams (tonnes) from
2010-2050 in the EU-27 (ICF International, 2010).
2010
2020
2050
Sector/Sub-sector
Mobile AC: Passenger cars
Mobile AC: Buses
Small Stationary AC
Large Stationary AC
Refrigerators/ Freezers
Small Commercial Refrigeration
Medium & Large Commercial
Refrigeration
Refrigerated Transport (Land)
Refrigerated Transport (Ships)
Industrial Refrigeration
Subtotal
PU Rigid: Domestic Refrigerators/
Freezers
PU Rigid: Commercial
Refrigeration
PU Rigid:Sandwich Panels –
Continuous
PU Rigid: Sandwich Panels –
Discontinuous
PU & PIR Rigid: Boardstock (FFL)
PU Rigid: Spray foam
XPS Foam Boards
Subtotal
TOTAL
CFC
HCFC
HFC
CFC
Refrigeration/AC
HCFC
98
3
0
60
276
18
0
0
2,667
451
0
122
4,144
132
12,173
1,526
84
366
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
267
1,520
0
11
0
0
466
35
766
556
4,864
182
111
2,439
22,676
Foams
2,935
258
574
HFC
CFC
HCFC
HFC
4,040
156
26,472
3,449
20
608
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
32,858
5,837
0
500
0
2,323
0
0
1,853
0
0
0
0
22
730
98
850
380
274
3,111
40,834
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
632
615
2,224
44,519
0
1,507
133
0
204
18
0
261
373
295
134
462
40
18
63
868
557
86
711
456
166
390
250
91
421
296
115
345
242
161
189
133
89
987
106
256
6,147
6,613
242
77
134
1,826
6,690
6
79
39
698
23,375
808
87
209
3,962
3,962
198
63
110
1,336
2,186
13
148
58
1,009
41,843
444
48
115
1,429
1,429
109
35
60
623
623
7
81
32
363
44,881
Regarding CFC, 466 tonnes CFC in the refrigeration sector was expected to be recovered in 2010,
while in 2020 and 2050 zero tonnes are expected to be treated, which is due to refrigerators and
freezers having a short life time (10-15 years can be assumed). However, as pointed out in section
8.3.1, H. J. Hansen receive between 900-1000 refrigerators daily as of 2019 and regarding table 4,
the tapped amount of CFC-12 from the cooling circuit in 2016 was over 4 tonnes. Over the past years,
40% of the refrigerators they received still contained CFC (Personal communication with Trine
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Technical University of Denmark - DTU
Andersen at H. J. Hansen). Therefore, a recovery potential of zero for refrigeration in 2020 does not
seem entirely realistic.
Insulation foam in the construction industry is expected to take the longest time before there is no
CFC present in the waste. This is due to buildings having a much longer lifetime than e.g.
refrigerators. Furthermore, the amount of HFC recovered in refrigeration is expected to increase
throughout the years, which is due to HCFCs being replaced with HFC as put forward in the Montreal
Protocol (ICF International, 2010). Since table 8 is from 2010, it does not take into consideration the
2016 Kigali Amendment that was implemented to the Montreal Protocol regarding the phase-out of
HFC. Non-Article 5 parties, including the European Union, must by 2036, meet an 85% reduction in
the production and consumption of HFCs. Therefore, the recovery potential of HFCs in 2050 is likely
to be much lower than presented in the table.
The values in table 8 should also be seen in terms of how much effort is required to recover the
refrigerant and blowing agents, as described in section 11.1.
11.2.1
Potential emission savings (ODP tonnes and KTCO2-eq.) by end-use
The ICF International has also made estimations based on table 7 and table 8 to calculate the
emissions that can potentially be saved by end-use in the different sub-sectors for 2010, 2020 and
2050. Table 9 shows the potential emission savings on an ODP-basis, while table 10 shows the
potential emission savings on a GWP-basis.
Table 9 shows that in 2010 over 14,000 ODP tonnes were technically avoidable by
recovery/destruction of ODS waste at EOL in the EU-27. By 2020, the avoidable emissions have been
reduced to less than one third of the 2010 saved emissions, while in 2050 the saved emissions are
expected to be just 1/10th of 2010. The decreases can be explained by the increasing use of
substances with an ODP of zero such as HFCs and cyclopentane, which are used as refrigerants (GE
Appliances, 2011). In the future, it can be expected that the foam sector, both appliance and
construction, will still contain ODS.
Table 9: Potential emission savings (ODP tonnes) by end-use in different sub-sectors (ICF
International, 2010). - means the value is 0.
Sub-Sector
Mobile AC
Refrigeration
End-Use
Passenger Cars
Buses
Domestic Refrigerators/Freezers
Small Commercial
Medium/Large Commercial
Emissions Savings Potential (ODP tonnes)
2010
2020
2050
98
3
276
25
15
-
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Stationary AC
Appliance Foam
Construction Foam
Fire Protection
TOTAL
Technical University of Denmark - DTU
Refrigerated Transport—Land
Refrigerated Transport—Ships
Industrial Refrigeration
Small Stationary
Large Stationary (Chillers)
PU Rigid: Domestic Refrigerators/Freezers
PU Rigid: Commercial Refrigeration
PU Rigid: Sandwich Panels – Continuous
PU Rigid: Sandwich Panels – Discontinuous
PU & PIR Rigid: Boardstock (FFL)
PU Rigid: Spray Foam
XPS: Foam Boards
Fire Protection
13
42
31
147
85
2,957
596
910
454
1,004
115
264
7,047
14,082
1
40
5
1,518
306
745
371
822
94
216
4,118
205
41
409
204
451
52
119
1,481
Table 10 instead shows potential emission savings (KTCO2-eq.) through recovery/destruction of
different end-uses at EOL. In 2010, over 101,000 KTCO2-eq. were expected to be avoided, while
avoided GHG emissions increase in 2020 to 109,000 and decreases again in 2050 to 100,000. If
recovery of all end-uses is completed, including of those with low recovery feasibility (e.g. PU Rigid:
Spray foam and XPS Foam Boards as presented in table 7). In 2010, the construction foam sector
accounted for approximately 16% of the potentially saved emissions on a GWP-basis, while in 2050
it is expected to only account for 7%. The major constituent is stationary AC, which consists
30% of possible saved emissions in 2010 and increases drastically to 70% in 2050 (ICF International,
2010). This means that in the future, the stationary AC sub-sector is the most important when it
comes to reducing possible GHG emissions, although since the Kigali Amendment was not made until
6 years later after the report it makes the estimates more uncertain.
Table 10: Potential emission savings (KTCO2-eq.) by end-use in different sub-sectors (ICF
International, 2010). - means the value is 0.
Sub-Sector
Mobile AC
Refrigeration
Stationary AC
Appliance Foam
Construction Foam
Fire Protection
End-Use
Passenger Cars
Buses
Domestic Refrigerators/Freezers
Small Commercial
Medium/Large Commercial
Refrigerated Transport—Land
Refrigerated Transport—Ships
Industrial Refrigeration
Small Stationary
Large Stationary (Chillers)
PU Rigid: Domestic Refrigerators/Freezers
PU Rigid: Commercial Refrigeration
PU Rigid: Sandwich Panels – Continuous
PU Rigid: Sandwich Panels – Discontinuous
PU & PIR Rigid: Boardstock (FFL)
PU Rigid: Spray Foam
XPS: Foam Boards
Fire Protection
Emissions Savings Potential (KTCO2-eq.)
2010
2020
2050
6,423
5,251
202
203
3,034
26
1,209
1,349
1,110
5,765
8,117
6,473
583
882
1,402
1,608
1,997
1,698
8,597
9,930
6,980
26,613
48,014
59,596
3,729
5,665
9,588
13,844
7,108
962
3,570
2,259
306
4,953
4,206
2,308
2,324
2,009
1,102
4,901
4,024
2,209
543
445
244
3,008
2,463
1,352
10,405
5,541
4,901
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Bachelor thesis
TOTAL
Technical University of Denmark - DTU
101,311
109,489
100,230
The recovery potentials of ODS and HFCs (both in KTCO2-eq and ODP-tonnes) in the EU are shown
visually in figure 14, 15, 16 and 17. Note that the axis have been scaled for the EU-12 values for better
readability.
Figure 14 and 15 show estimates on the amount of recoverable ODS and HFC waste at EOL, in a
greenhouse gas perspective, for EU-15 and EU-12 in 2010, 2030 and 2050. The figures show that
stationary AC consists of the largest recoverable bank (in KTCO2-eq) for both EU-15 and EU-12
(although for EU-15 the recoverable bank is close to 5 times greater than EU-12’s). R410A is typically
used in smaller stationary AC and has a GWP of 2088 (Linde Gas, 2019) and since the recovery
potential of HFC in small stationary AC in 2020 is expected to be over 26,000 tonnes, then that could
explain the high values seen here. The refrigerant sector and construction are also important when
considering the GWP in EU-15.
Figure 16 and 17 instead show the estimated amount of recoverable ODS waste in ODP-tonnes at
EOL from the same years. The ODS that were typically used in fire protection equipment were halons,
who have the highest ODP compared to the other ODS as seen in table 13. This means that back in
2010, fire protection had the highest recoverable amount in terms of ODP tonnes, while in 2030 and
2050 construction foam is expected to contain the largest amount of recoverable ODP tonnes.
Again, figure 14 and 15 do not take into consideration the Kigali Amendment. Therefore, the values
for the figures can be expected to lower than presented. However, the figures showing the recovery
potential in ODP tonnes, should be accurate, as HFCs have an ODP of zero.
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Bachelor thesis
Technical University of Denmark - DTU
Figure 14: Estimates on the amount of
recoverable ODS & HFC containing waste at
EOL (KTCO2-eq) from 2010-2050 in EU-15
(ICF
International, 2010).
Figure 15: Estimates on the amount of
recoverable ODS & HFC containing waste at
EOL (KTCO2-eq) from 2010-2050 in EU-12
(ICF
International, 2010).
Figure 17: Estimates on the amount of
recoverable ODS containing waste at EOL
(ODPtonnes) from 2010-2050 in EU-12 (ICF
International, 2010).
Figure 16: Estimates on the amount of
recoverable ODS containing waste at EOL
(ODPtonnes) from 2010-2050 in EU-15 (ICF
International, 2010).
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11.3
Technical University of Denmark - DTU
Costs of recovery and destruction of ODS
The ICF report mentioned earlier also calculated potential costs associated with the
recovery and the subsequent destruction of CFCs, HCFCs, HFCs and halons in different
areas, such as refrigeration and construction, which is seen in table 11. The costs are
given in e per tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent or e/ODP tonnes for the different
substances. The table shows that the recovery and destruction cost for CFCs per tonnes
CO2-eq for refrigeration are relatively small - less than e1.5/TCO2-eq and no more than
e11/TCO2-eq for HCFCs and HFCs. The low costs associated with the recovery and
destruction in refrigeration is due to recovering of the substances that are contained in
the refrigeration requires low effort. In contrast, the recovery and destruction costs for
foams in appliances are approximately 5 times higher, while in construction foam the
cost is 13 times higher. For foam in appliances, the costs are higher due to the recovery
of the blowing agent and for buildings, there is a much greater effort for the dismantling
of the insulation foam (ICF International, 2010).
It was also assumed that the recovery/destruction costs do not change over time, but,
the costs are likely to decrease in the future due to new technologies presumably being
developed, plus more experience is gained in the field, especially for the construction
foam sector.
The high costs associated with the recovery/destruction of the substances in ODP tonnes is
because they have a much ODP than GWP.
Table 11: Costs associated with the recovery and destruction of ODS in different sectors (ICF
International, 2010). N/A = Not Available.
e/TCO2-eq.
e/ODP Tonnes
End-Use
CFC
HCFC
HFC
Halon CFC
HCFC
HFC
Halon
Mobile AC
Passenger Cars
Buses
Domestic
Refrigerators/
Freezers
Small Commercial
Medium/Large
Commercial
1.33
1.33
N/A
N/A
10.85 N/A
10.85 N/A
Refrigeration
14,100 N/A
14,100 N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
1.33
N/A
10.85 N/A
14,100 N/A
N/A
N/A
1.33
8.29
6.35
N/A
14,100 256,364
N/A
N/A
N/A
4.26
2.07
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
131,733
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Bachelor thesis
Refrigerated
Transport - Land
Refrigerated
Transport - Ships
Industrial
Refrigeration
Technical University of Denmark - DTU
1.33
8.29
6.35
N/A
14,100 256,364
N/A
N/A
N/A
4.12
2.56
N/A
N/A
127,193
N/A
N/A
N/A
4.35
2.35
N/A
N/A
134,581
N/A
N/A
Stationary AC
Small Stationary
Large Stationary
(Chillers)
N/A
8.29
7.77
N/A
N/A
256,364
N/A
N/A
0.95
4.20
4.40
N/A
7,206
129,918
N/A
N/A
Appliance Foam
PU Rigid:
Domestic R&F
PU Rigid:
Commercial
Refrigeration
7.17
25.06
N/A
N/A
33,000 392,079
N/A
N/A
7.17
25.06
20.99 N/A
33,000 392,079
N/A
N/A
Construction Foam
PU Rigid:
Sandwich Panels Continuous
PU Rigid:
Sandwich Panels Discontinuous
PU & PIR Rigid:
Boardstock (FFL)
18.04 55.96
52.78 N/A
83,000 1,106,667 N/A
N/A
18.04 118.57
52.78 N/A
83,000 754,545
N/A
N/A
18.04 57.24
52.78 N/A
83,000 1,207,273 N/A
N/A
N/A
865.73
Fire Protection
Fire protection
11.4
N/A
6.74
0.47
1.69
N/A
N/A
ODS destruction capacity in the EU
The active commercial and non-commercial ODS destruction facilities in 2010 can be
seen in table 12. As shown, not all Member States have ODS destruction facilities. In fact,
only 12 out of the 27 member states (44%) have ODS destruction facilities, but it is also
important to note that it is not necessary for every country to have an ODS destruction
facility. The current number of facilities are, in fact not running at full capacity, so
constructing more ODS destruction facilities would most likely be redundant.
Additionally, many of the companies that manufacture refrigerators have sister
facilities in other European countries, where the ODS/F-gases can later be sent for
incineration. Lastly, there is also public mentality of ’Not in my back yard’ (NIMBY) as
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Bachelor thesis
Technical University of Denmark - DTU
people are in general opposed to having incinerators built in the vicinity (ICF
International, 2010).
14 out of the 25 ODS destruction facilities have reported their destruction capacity,
which in total corresponds to 130,000 tonnes annually. However, there are large
differences between the facilities in the Member States. For example, SARPI Dorog
Environmental, Limited has a destruction capacity of 20 tonnes/year, while Veolia in
the UK has a destruction capacity of 66,667 tonnes/year. The low destruction capacity
can be explained by the lack of other waste types being sent to the incinerator, as ODS
are incinerated together with other waste types (for example there are regulations that
says that 1% of the overall waste capacity can be ODS). See table 15 in the appendix for
an overview of the different facilities ODS destruction capacity.
The median of the destruction capacity for the 14 facilities is 1,300 tonnes/year while
the average is 9,350 tonnes/year. Considering the median and average, the ODS/F-gas
destruction capacity for all destruction facilities in the EU has been estimated to be
between 145,000 tonnes/years and 225,000 tonnes/year. With regards to figure 8, it
can therefore be assumed with certainty that the current capacity is more than
sufficient, as for 2020 the total ODS in both refrigeration and foams is expected to be
approximately 42,000 tonnes (ICF International, 2010).
Lastly, there also exist a significant number of reclamation facilities across the EU (56 across
17 Member States as of 2010), who deal with used ODS/F-gases (ICF International, 2010).
Table 12 also shows the Danish company Uniscrap A/S. Back in 2009, the company had
a facility that dismantled appliances and destroyed refrigerants onsite, but they did not
accept ODS and F-gases from outside sources for the sole purpose of destruction.
Table 12: Overview of the commercial and non-commercial ODS destruction facilities in
the EU. Commercial ODS destruction facilities receive ODS/F-gases from outside
sources, while non-commercial facilities do not receive outside sources of ODS/F-gases
for the destruction of them (ICF International, 2010).
Member state
Facility
Commercial Destruction Facilities
Austria
Fernw¨arme Wien GmbH – EBS
Belgium
Indaver Poldervlietweg
Czech Republic SPOVO A/S
Fortum A/S
Denmark
Fjernvarme Fyn A/S
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Bachelor thesis
Technical University of Denmark - DTU
Finland
Ekokem Oy Ab
SIAP
France
Tredi-Groupe
CURRENTA GmbH & Co. OHG
HIM GmbH
GSB – Sonderabfall-Entsorgung Bayern GmbH
Pfahler Mu¨llabfuhr GmbH
Germany
REMONDIS Industrie Service GmbH
REMONDIS SAVA GmbH
REMONDIS TRV GmbH & Co. KG
Solvay Fluor (ODS/F-gas collected by RCN Chemie GmbH)
Ecomissio Kft.
Eszak-Magyarorsza´gi K¨ornyezetv´edelmi Kft.´
Hungary
Gyo˜ri Hullad´ek´eget˜o Kft. (Waste Incinerator Ltd, Gy˜or)
SARPI Dorog Environmental, Limited (previously ONYX Magyarorsza´g)
Poland
SARPI Dabrowa Gornicza Sp. z.o.o.
Spain
Kimikal S.L
Slovakia
Fecupral, Ltd. spol sro
Pyros Environmental Ltd
UK
Veolia
Non-Commercial Destruction Facilities
Denmark
Uniscrap A/S
Germany
Deuna Zement GmbH
The large majority of ODS destruction facilities in the EU uses high temperature incineration
in rotary kilns, which has a destruction efficiency of 99.999% (ICF International, 2010).
The destruction cost of CFCs, HCFCs and HFCs ranges from e1.00-e10.00 per kg of bulk
ODS/Fgases in the EU. The price variation is due to gas type, volume and if the costumer
is short-term or long-term. Long-term customers who are regularly shipping large
quantities of ODS/F-gases for destruction are generally charged less than short-term
customers (ICF International, 2010).
11.5
Do we do enough?
As presented, the treatment of waste containing CFC presents several challenges - for
some greater than others. The refrigeration sector requires the least effort with respect
to recovering and destroying the ODS and therefore, has lowest costs - ranging from
1.33 e/TCO2-eq. to under 11 e/TCO2-eq. depending on the substance that was used as
presented in table 11. This means that the recovery potential of CFCs in refrigeration is
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Bachelor thesis
Technical University of Denmark - DTU
slowly reaching zero over time as more and more of the ODS is collected and destroyed.
In return, this has resulted in an increase in the use of HFC as shown in table 8.
However, the insulation foam in the construction sector requires much more effort. Due
to the adhesive property, it makes it much more difficult to separate during demolition
and furthermore, not all of the blowing agent will remain in the foam at EOL - some XPS
foam boards only have under 13% of the blowing agent left, which in the end means
that 6.4% of the blowing agent is recoverable at EOL. The costs for the recovery and
destruction of construction foam is therefore much higher than refrigeration - ranging
from 18.04 e/TCO2-eq. to 52.78 e/TCO2-eq. depending on the blowing agent used. In the
future, the construction foam sector is expected to contain the greatest amount of ODP
tonnes, as most of the ODS in the refrigeration sector is assumed to be recovered. In fact
54.5% of potentially saved ODP emissions origin from construction foam, while 44%
origins from appliance foam in domestic and commercial refrigeration.
Overall, this means that the European Union are making great effort towards recovering
CFC waste from the refrigeration/AC sector, but are moving slowly towards recovering
CFC in the foam sector, specifically in the construction sector.
12
Conclusion
(Ideas for further studies as well)
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Technical University of Denmark - DTU
Page 20