A proposed factory will destroy climate-damaging gases – here’s how

Gases used in fridges, heat pumps and vehicle ACs would potently cook the planet if they ever leaked into the air. A proposed factory intends to destroy these substances before they get the chance.

Fluorinated gases are common to heating and cooling systems in homes, dairy farms and factories. Yet few people are aware that many appliances surrounding them contain the most powerful greenhouse gases on the planet, said waste expert Janine Brinsdon​.

If a molecule of fluorinated gas escaped into the atmosphere, it could do up to 25,000 times the damage relative to one molecule of carbon dioxide.

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Manufacturers are switching to climate-friendlier refrigerating substances, Brinsdon said. But she doesn’t think we’d want to live without them entirely. “Modern life as we know it would be compromised.”

Fluorinated gases are already in our homes and businesses, and more arrive in appliances and vehicles each day. The gases might leak out of poorly serviced whiteware or equipment, or be released when a car crash damages the air conditioning unit. But they’re especially likely to escape when an appliance is disposed of by an amateur.

The mission of the Trust for the Destruction of Synthetic Refrigerants – led by chief executive Brinsdon – is to ensure fluorinated gases distributed across the country are properly captured and destroyed.

Technicians extract the gases from heat pumps, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, industrial chillers and even MRI machines at the end of their lives. Currently, the gases are sent over to Australia to be destroyed.

But from 2024, the trust intends to undertake this process itself. It plans to build a multi-million-dollar factory in Kawerau. Using plasma arc technology, the plant will heat the gases to thousands of degrees Celsius.

This process will transform the gases into an inert, solid substance. Brinsdon is hoping this now-safe leftover material might even be put to good use. “We’ll be working with industry and community to try to find a circular solution.”

The factory will be powered by electricity and steam, she added. “We’re trying to make it as environmentally friendly as we can… looking at minimising our carbon footprint.”

The trust hopes to begin the construction in the next few months. The facility will take between 12 and 14 months to complete and create three to four jobs, Brinsdon estimated.

Overall, the new factory should reduce shipping emissions and will allow the country to take better responsibility for our gases, she said. “It helps us deliver on our global environmental commitments by dealing with our waste onshore.”

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