Andritz MeWa offers new Diabon reactor on its refrigerator recycling plants

Andritz MeWa, based in Gechingen, Germany, which supplies refrigerator recycling plants, is now able to equip its refrigerator recycling plants with a process for quickly and safely treating chlorofluorocarbons (CFC).  

The company reports that its plants now feature the new Diabon porous reactor, which are capable of destroying CFCs directly at the customer’s site. The solution was developed by SGL Group of Wiesbaden, Germany, an international manufacturer of carbon-based products. 

 

Andritz MeWa has been supplying refrigerator recycling plants according to the latest European environmental standards for many years, the company says. Traditionally, CFCs are collected, removed by suction and liquefied in a fully enclosed system. Finally, the material is filled into containers and transported to specialized disposal companies.

 

With the new process, the chemical compounds undergo thermal cracking at temperatures high enough to render them harmless, Andritz says. The products of the reaction can either be neutralized or converted into dilute acid, depending on requirements.

 

The company says key advantages of the Diabon porous reactor is the even temperature distribution in the reactor chamber and the fact that it is made of specialty graphite that is resistant to corrosion. As a result, the plant can be started up or shut down within a few minutes.

 

According to Andritz, because the CFCs are destroyed on the spot, the customer does not incur any costs for organizing, forwarding and transporting the tanks with the harmful gases, significantly increasing the economic efficiency of the recycling plant. In addition, voluntary CO2 certificates can be traded after a comprehensive certification process by a suitable institution such as VCS (Verified Carbon Standard).

 

Andritz MeWa is a part of the Andritz Group, a supplier of plants, equipment and services for hydropower stations, the pulp and paper industry, the metalworking and steel industries. The company also provides solid/liquid waste separation in the municipal and industrial sectors.