Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Systems
Mark Bennett
Container Owners Association - COA
Triton Container International
1
Introduction
3
Agenda
1. Refrigerated Containers
4. The Future
4
1. Refrigerated Containers
8
Refrigerated Containers
9
Montreal Protocol - Actions
10
2. Fake Refrigerants & Explosions
11
Fake Refrigerants & Explosions
13
Vietnam incidents…
• Authorities sealed
off the terminal
• Initial conclusion:
possible leak testing
with Oxygen
14
US West Coast incident
15
US West Coast incident - 2
17
China incident
• Similar damage to
Vietnam explosions
• White Aluminium
Oxide visible
• Technician moved
away from machine
to take a phone call
18
China incident - 2
• Corrosion to
stainless steel lining
19
Other Industries
• 2009: public transport company in Greece
– Passengers: several injuries (poisoning)
– Workshop staff: several injuries
(poisoning/explosion)
– AC rubber hoses and seals disintegrated
• 2009: fridges, Germany
– Product recall
• 2010: vehicles
– Reports of poisoning from methyl chloride leaks in
passenger compartment
20
Other Industries
21
Fake Refrigerant
22
Fake Refrigerant 2
23
DuPont – Fake Gas Tank
ORIGINAL FAKE
DuPont R134a Dupont R134a
• chloromethane + aluminium →
trimethyl aluminium (TMA) + aluminium chloride
26
Possible Cause of Explosion
• New R134a added or circulated on startup may react
strongly with TMA in compressor possibly causing a
hydrogen fluoride reaction
• Air entering the system may react with TMA:
Al2(CH3)6 + 24O2 → AL2O3 + 6CO2 + 9H20
Less likely and doesn’t explain stainless steel corrosion
• Chemistry is complex
• Why no recent explosions?
27
3. Shipping Industry Response
28
Shipping Industry Response
• October 17 – news of Qingdao explosion
• All 5 units serviced at Cat Lai terminal, Ho Chi
Minh and the US West Coast incident
• Shipping lines quarantine units serviced at Cat Lai
• November – COA conference at European
Intermodal
• Saigon Newport circulate c.1200 serial numbers
• ILWU trade union injunction on handling Vietnam
serviced refrigerated containers.
29
Testing Options
• Search for suitable test methods
• Methyl chloride/R40 difficult to test for
• Flame Halide Lamp Test detects chloride
contamination
• Industry resistance to Flame Halide Test
• Other methods inaccurate or too costly
• 3 conferences held to review and demonstrate
test methods – London, Singapore, Antwerp
30
Current Test Programme
1. Testing gas bottles on ships and in depots
2. Focus on high risk units serviced in Vietnam
• 15,000 refrigerated containers serviced per day
• Big terminals can service 100+ units per day
• Samples extracted with care and tested with
flame halide lamp
• Where positive, sample sent for Gas
Chromatograph testing using Mass Spectrometry
method.
31
Test Programme – Issues/Challenges
• Training depots – resistance and time: risk of
testing versus risk of not testing
• Time, availability and cost of GC MS testing
• Contamination with CFC/HCFC also gives flame
test fail
• Still no safe way to neutralize methyl chloride
contaminated units
• Repair is uneconomic due to system damage
• c.100 main service depots and c.500 independent
service companies worldwide.
32
Flame Halide Lamp
33
Environmental Issues
35
4. The Future
36
Future Challenges – System Design
37
Future Design Options & Requirements
• Improved insulation efficiency – new blowing
agents?
• Hydocarbons – Propane
– Dismissed due to flammability issue on ships
• CO2 systems:
– complete system change
– can it meet range of performance requirements?
– can power consumption match R134a
performance?
38
Future Design Options & Requirements
• HFOs – 1234yf
– use similar system design
– retrofit to R134a systems?
– higher cost than R134a will encourage use of fakes
– future legislative issues?
39
Conclusion
• Fake/contaminated refrigerants caught the industry
by surprise.
• Risk of injury or death to staff
• Ongoing big cost and service disruption implications
• Shipping is a highly competitive and cyclical business
• Many players globally
40
Conclusion
• COA’s challenge is to provide coordination on this
project with the support of other organizations
• Ships are isolated at sea and restricted access in port
• Relatively small global service network
• We have some confidence that the inadvertent use
of contaminated and banned refrigerants in the
shipping industry can be brought under control
Thank you
41