| 摘要 |
A portable refrigerant recovery and recycling apparatus (60) and method for removing and recycling chlorofluorocarbon (CFC), hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) and hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) refrigerants from refrigeration systems (10) through a closed loop connection (41, 49) which prevents the release of refrigerant to the atmosphere. A refrigerant is drawn by suction through a filter (6) in its liquid state and transferred to a storage tank (20). When all liquid refrigerant has been so transferred, a refrigerant vapor recovery process automatically engages, retrieves and condenses the remaining refrigerant vapors, thus completing evacuation of the closed loop refrigeration system (10) until the refrigeration system (10) is evacuated to a pressure of approximately 73.66 centimeters (29 inches) Hg absolute for low pressure refrigeration systems and 50.80 centimeters (20 inches) Hg absolute for high pressure refrigeration systems, at which time the present invention (60) automatically shuts off. By re-configuring connections to the refrigeration and storage system (10), the stored refrigerant may be recycled through a distillation process which removes oil, water, acids and other solid particles. The distilled refrigerant is then recondensed and passed through high efficiency filters (6a) which further remove moisture and acids, thus rendering the referigerant suitable for reuse. |
