Presented by: Senior Vice President ConGlobal Industries May 1, 2012

Transcription

1 Rfi Refrigerated tdclid Cylinder Testing Procedures Presented by: Rene Etcharren Senior Vice President ConGlobal Industries May 1,

2 Halide Flame Testing of New/Recycled Refrigerated Gas from Cylinders Purpose to be used as an added safeguard to the refrigerant supply chain with the aim of eliminating refrigerant gasses that contain chlorinated products from being used to service refrigerated containers. Halide Flame Test Effectiveness chloride detection at >300 ppm¹. Halide Testing is quick, low cost, and effective in detecting chlorine in refrigerant stock. Note (1): The Halide Flame test method has been recommended by Maersk, StarCool, Cambridge Refrigeration Technology (CRT) and others. 2

3 Concerns & Risks of Halide Flame Testing Environmental Concerns American EPA and Air Quality Boards European F Gas Regulations Workplace Sft Safety Concerns poisonous gas (Phosgene) resulting from the burning of refrigerant containing chloride and can pose serious worker safety concerns. Training is necessary for both safe extraction of gas and conducting an effective flame test 3

4 Vent Hood Technical Description Made from 20 gauge galvanized steel, with two 8 x 17 filters, a.43 amp exhaust motor, 115 VAC Provides 270 cfm of air flow Exhaust is in the rear of the unit, through a 4 rigid duct Details available at 4

5 Air Quality Worker Safety Test An Air Quality Safety Test was conducted by a certified and independent industrial hygienist to ensure level of phosgene gas is not dangerous to the testing ti technician i and other personnel The test also included examination of the vent hood assembly and test procedures The air sampling/test was done at multiple location points before and after the halide test to compare air results The hygiene test samples were submitted to a laboratory accredited by the American Industrial Hygiene Association using proper chain of custody procedures Six burns of R22 gas cylinders were performed during a four hour period Each burn lasted about ten seconds except one burn lasted one minute 5

6 Air Monitoring Results for Phosgene Air Monitoring Results for Phosgene Sample Location Time Results (ppm) Cal OSHA PEL (ppm) Comment Background location ppm Operator breathing zone Operator breathing zone ppm ppm Collected while refrigerant test was performed with contaminated refrigerant (R22). Collected while refrigerant test was performed with contaminated refrigerant (R22). Inside the exhaust duct ppm 1 minute continuous test, collected while running a modified test with contaminated refrigerant (R22). 6

7 Air Sampling Results for Phosgene Air Sampling Results for Phosgene Sample Number Sample Location Results (ppm) Cal OSHA PEL (ppm) 1 Hood Exhaust Duct < ppm Comment Collected while refrigerant test was performed with known contaminated refrigerant (R22). Collected while refrigerant test 2 Front of Hood < ppm was performed with ihknown contaminated refrigerant (R22). 3 Background < ppm 4 Analyst Breathing Zone < ppm 5 Blank < 2 micrograms NA Collected while refrigerant test was performed with known contaminated refrigerant (R22). 7

8 Worker Safety Air Quality Conclusions Results show the airborne concentrations of phosgene do not exceed the Cal OSHA permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 0.1 part per million The concentration levels were 1/100 th of PEL level, making it nearly undetectable Halide testing can be done safely! l! 8

9 ConGlobal Gas Extraction and Analysis Recovery System (C GEARS) Available from McCampbell Analytical Labs 9

10 Conducting a Halide Test Light torch and heat copper reactor plate for 2 3 minutes flame should be blue. Center of flame tip should be adjusted dto touch the copper reactor plate. 10

11 Conducting Halide Test (cont) Capture the gas to be tested in a gauge set or device similar to the one pictured earlier Slowly release minute quantities of gas into a small container of water until a few bubbles bbl result. Pass the Halide exploration hose over the water surface and test gas will be drawn into the flame by venturni effect. If flame turns green chlorinated products are present in the sample gas at 300 ppm or above and bottle should not be used for service. Note: Purge lines with compressed air or nitrogen between tests particularly after positive chlorine test is found. 11

12 Flame Color Change Contaminated R134a Refrigerant Uncontaminated dr134a Refrigerant A video demonstration of a halide flame test can be viewed at 12

13 Labeling and Tracking Results Create an auditable process to document results of cylinders tested When a cylinder is tested, it is labeled with the following information Depot location, cylinder number, testing date, test results, and technician signature Currently, cylinders do not have unique serial numbers. Depots need to create one. Example format: CGISEA001 CGI = Depot Name (ConGlobal Industries) SEA = Testing location (Seattle, WA) 001 = Sequential number 13

14 Example of Testing Log REFRIGERATED CONTAINER GAS CYLINDER HALIDE TESTING LOG DEPOT ConGlobal Industries ConGlobal Industries ConGlobal Industries ConGlobal Industries ConGlobal Industries LOCATION CYLINDER NUMBER HALIDE FLAME TEST DATE PASS/FAIL TESTER NAME COMMENTS Seattle, WA CGISEA001 1/18/2012 Pass John Smith Seattle, WA Seattle, WA Seattle, WA Seattle, WA CGISEA002 CGISEA003 CGISEA004 CGISEA005 14

15 THANK YOU 15