Challenges in recovery and recycling of refrigerants from Indian refrigeration and air-conditioning service sector

India is a large producer and user of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the refrigeration and air-conditioning (RAC) sector. Government of India has taken several steps to restrict the production and consumption of CFCs. Refrigerant conservation through recovery, recycling (R&R) and reclamation is one way of reducing emissions and encouraging timely phase out of CFCs in developing countries. CFC recovery, recycling and reclamation have been mandated in many developed countries. However, this practice is yet to make an impact in India although it is practiced in MAC sector to some extent. India is planning for the final phase out of CFCs in the RAC service sector, in which R&R will be one of the components. A model has been developed to assess the economics of R&R for some typical parameters in developing counties like India. The model suggests that the enterprises recycling 1500 kg/a will break even within 1 year for all scenarios. However, R&R may not be cost effective for small workshops and low volume refrigerant vendors until either the price of CFC goes up or the cost of R&R unit is subsidized. A nationwide survey on RAC service sector revealed that in India, there are very few enterprises handling more than 500 kg/a. Therefore, there is a need to provide the RAC service sector with adequate and innovative financial incentives. This paper attempts to study the issues related to R&R for various sub-sectors of RAC in developing countries with an emphasis on cost effectiveness. India is used as a model for this study.