What Is a Refrigerant Recovery Machine?
A refrigerant recovery machine is a device that recovers freon gas into containers such as cylinders.
Freon, chemically known as fluorocarbons, is used as a refrigerant in air conditioning, refrigeration, and cooling systems. Although freon gas is chemically stable, its leakage contributes to the destruction of the ozone layer and the acceleration of global warming, necessitating its recovery rather than release into the atmosphere.
There are broadly two methods of recovery: the gas compression method and the gasification recovery method. The gas compression method involves sucking in the freon, compressing it, and then cooling and liquefying the compressed gas before putting it into a cylinder. On the other hand, the gasification recovery method continuously vaporizes only freon using the adiabatic compression heat of the compressor, allowing for efficient recovery in a short time without being affected by external temperatures. This method also recovers flammable refrigerants dissolved in liquid, gas, and refrigeration oil, allowing for safe discharge.
Refrigerant recovery machines are classified based on the presence or absence of refrigerant regeneration functions, oil-less or oil-in systems, portable or mobile types, and the presence or absence of a function to discharge residual gas in the device.