Vapor Recovery

When Harry Hartigan founded his company in the late 1970s, MSC’s primary specialty was process cooling for vapor recovery systems used in the petrochemical industry. MSC continues to be active in vapor recovery cooling, and our technicians frequently use the technology to recover refrigerant.

Vapor recovery is the process of extracing vapors formed inside a sealed tank so they don’t escape into the atmosphere. Depending on the application, the recovered vapors can be returned to the process for reuse, collected for sale, or destroyed. There are three basic types of vapor recovery units (VRUs): adsorption, and absorption, and condensation, which requires cooling to cryogenic temperatures as low as -200F in order to effectively condense vapor into liquid.
Refrigerants, whether they are CFCs, HCFCs or newer HFCs, are extremely harmful to the environment, and they are highly regulated under the Montreal Protocol and the Clean Air Act to prevent release into the atmosphere. In fact, the EPA can assess fines up to $37,500 per day for violations. HVAC and process cooling maintenance, repair, and system conversion often requires the recovery of refrigerant.

There are three basic types of refrigerant recovery methods: push-pull, liquid recovery, and vapor recovery. Systems that recover refrigerant in liquid form are fastest, and ideal for recovering large amounts of refrigerant, but they can leave vapor in the system. The push-pull method has a numerous limitations and is not widely used. Vapor recovery systems, the most common, are considerably slower than liquid recovery systems, but they are capable of removing all of the refrigerant. Vapor recovery systems use compressors to draw vapor into the VRU’s condenser, where it is cooled and turned into liquid refrigerant.  The liquid is then transferred to a cylinder for reuse, recycling, or disposal.

About MSC - The Go To Guys

We are a service sub-specialist in the technical intricacies of HVAC, process cooling, and building automation systems in commercial, industrial, and institutional environments. MSC is recognized as the leading industry expert in solving elusive problems and attaining peak performance from clients’ mechanical equipment and overall systems.

Located in northern New Jersey, MSC is the only specialized contractor of our kind in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. We are MSCA STAR-qualified, NEBB-certified, fully-licensed in electrical, plumbing and HVAC, and our engineers and technicians are the most knowledgeable in our field.

Mechanical Service Corp.
41 South Jefferson Road
Whippany, NJ 07981
732-884-5000
http://www.mscnj.com