Cuban plans for HCFC phase-out

Over 130 tons or R12 and R22 stored in Cuba will be destroyed thanks to the establishment of a refrigerant treatment plant in the second half of 2012. Located at Sibanicu Cement Factory in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba, the plant is to use Japanese ultra-high temperature molecule-separation technology for the destruction of harmful refrigerants. According to the Director of the Ozone-Layer Technology Office, Cuba will be the first Central American country to set up such a plant.

The Cuban HCFC Phase out Management Plan (HPMP) governs HCFC22 phase-out operations from industrial cooling and its replacement by hydrocarbons, and Cuba is to launch incentives for the conversion of RAC equipment to HCFC-free alternatives.

Cuba has a relatively long hydrocarbon-refrigerant history: Cuban researchers developed LB-12, a low-cost hydrocarbon mixture, in the early 1990s as a result of the US-trade embargo. Over 600 000 domestic refrigerators and 10 000 small commercial systems were converted to the blend, which uses propane, isobutane and n-butane and can be used to substitute CFCs, CFC-12 in particular.

JARN, November 25, 2011