Assessment of refrigerant emissions from air conditioners in Brazil

Abstract

Refrigerant fluids have a high global warming potential and consequently contributes to maintaining high levels of radiative forcing into the atmosphere. This paper aims to present knowledge regarding the conditions of refrigerant emissions from leakage and disposal of air conditioners in the Brazilian household sector. There is a significant grow in the ownership of air conditioners and it represents an increase in emissions of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) that are used in air conditioners that operate in the country. A methodological approach is developed and applied to estimate the current emissions and to simulate scenarios where each refrigerant and its respective global warming potential is accounted. Additionally, the impacts of the Kigali amendment and the current regulations are assessed. The main finding is that the ratification of the Kigali amendment should reduce the refrigerant emissions from 2.8 million tons of CO_2e in 2024 to 1.2 million tons of CO_2e in 2050. Moreover, is also verified the need of further developments in promoting training, certifications and regulations in order to promote a more effective reverse logistic to recover and recycle refrigerants in servicing and disposal of air conditioners. New surveys and scientific researches also are recommended to tackle the lack of data and statistics related to refrigerants leakage in Brazil and to provide innovative solutions to minimize this source of emissions.