We at Refrigerant Services are determined to work toward creating a greener and cleaner planet. Part of our main thrust is to recover and replace any old, contaminated, and non-EPA compliant refrigerants you may have lying around your workplace.
However, our plea to recycle old refrigerants will fall on deaf ears if not everyone understood what refrigerants are.
This article aims to explain what refrigerants are, where they can be found, how they work, and most importantly, why you must ensure that your company used only non-toxic and EPA-approved refrigerants.
The Cooling System
To know how refrigerants work, we must first understand how a cooling system works. A cooling system is simply the mechanism that powers any cooling device, from refrigerators to air conditioners.
Every refrigerator powers up a refrigeration cycle. The five main components of a refrigeration cycle include the following:
1) fluid refrigerant
2) compressor
3) condenser coils
4) evaporator coils
5) expansion device
The refrigerant is the substance that undergoes phase transitions (liquid to gas, and gas to liquid again) so it can move freely inside the cooling system. The refrigerant passes through the compressor and the coils to allow the machine to fulfill its function of producing cool air.
The compressor is the device that controls the flow of the refrigerant. It dictates how much refrigerant is released and how fast or how slow, depending on your desired settings.
So here is how the cooling system works: the compressor increases the pressure of the refrigerant vapor and pushes them toward the condenser coils, which are located outside of the refrigerator.
When the hot vapor mixes with the cooler air from outside, it once again takes the form of a liquid. At this stage, the liquid undergoes cooling and it flows inside the evaporator coils, which are located inside the freezer or fridge.
In this form, the refrigerant absorbs all the heat inside the refrigerator, and sends out cool air. This is the air that cools the food and beverages inside your freezer and fridge.
At the last stage, the refrigerant once again evaporates into a gas. In this form, it can flow back into the compressor, and that is where the cooling cycle begins again.
The refrigerant is the main player in the evaporation and condensation processes integral to the cooling system. Without the refrigerant, the entire process would not be possible.
Unsafe Refrigerants
As important as refrigerants are to the cooling process, not all of them are safe to use. This is why the EPA is cracking down on the use of unsafe refrigerants that are detrimental not only to the environment, but most especially to the people exposed to your cooling systems in your workplace.
Refrigerants that are toxic or outdated can cause severe skin diseases, including skin cancer. When an employee comes in direct contact with a toxic refrigerant, he or she may also suffer from blindness, or worse—death.
The EPA was created to ensure that no more toxic refrigerants are used. This is because it has been proven that the emissions from these toxic chemicals are harming the earth’s natural protection, the ozone layer. If your company fails to comply with EPA policies, you could lose your license to operate, pay a hefty amount of fees, and gain a negative reputation for being involved in the destruction of the environment.
Do not wait until any of these unfortunate events happen to you. Get in touch with our professional team that offers EPA-certified recovery services. At Refrigerant Services, we come to you to perform on-site recovery of old, burnt and contaminated refrigerants. You can leave all the work to us—from pick-up to all the necessary paperwork.
If you need to schedule a pick-up, call us at 844-PURECFC (787-3232) and just let us know when you want us to visit your location.
