Implementation

Overview

Proposal

The main application of the project is in real-world bioremediation. This can be achieved only by developing an optimized bioreactor where the actual degradation occurs.

Motivation

Annual Indian Consumption 


Mapping Halocarbon emissions in India (Source: Green Cooling Initiative)


India has been putting in efforts to decrease consumption and ensure efficient recovery of Halocarbons. This includes:

  • Phaseout of HCFC 141b from all sectors by giving special training/funds to MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises).
  • Proposed training of around 30,000 technicians on how to dispose of refrigerants safely.
  • Setting up 18 mini reclamation centres which can handle CFCs, HCFCs, HFCs, etc. They can supposedly reclaim 26kg of refrigerants from each unit on average (from India Cooling Action Plan).
  • Some efforts regarding building more efficient fridges and spreading stricter guidelines about maintenance and use of devices, so fewer ODPs are leaked/wasted.
(Figures cited from The Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation and Control) Amendment Rules, 2014)

However, little effort is being made to develop destruction facilities that address the halocarbon banks and stockpiles. Most of the present technologies were approved in the fifteenth meeting of the Montreal Protocol (2003) and are based on either incineration or catalytic degradation.

These technologies are energy, and cost-intensive. Some of them require temperatures as high as 5000 ℃. In catalytic degradation methods, fluorination and deactivation of the catalyst may occur during the catalytic degradation due to the production of highly corrosive substances, such as HF and HCl.

In the process of harmless disposal of CFCs, HF and HCl generation are inevitable, which inactivate the catalyst and corrode the equipment. (Yongliang Zhang, 2022)

Most Article-5 countries, like India, barely have regulations for halocarbon destruction. The existing technologies might take years of financing and management to get set up and be able to destroy the gases. The need for a more sustainable and cost-effective technology is urgent.

The main application of the project is in real-world bioremediation. This can be achieved only by developing an optimized device where the actual degradation can occur.