SOURCE CATEGORY 2E – PRODUCTION OF HALOCARBONS AND SF

4.21.1 Source Category Description

Emissions arise from the UK manufacture of HFCs, PFCs and HCFC 22. HFC 23 is a by- product of HCFC 22 manufacture. There are two single manufacturers of HFCs and PFCs

Industrial Processes (CRF Sector 2)

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respectively in the UK, and two companies were operating HCFC 22 plants, one of which closed in 2008, and the second closed at the end of 2009. Data from these sectors have been aggregated to protect commercial confidentiality.

There is no UK production of SF6.

In terms of their global warming impact (expressed as kt CO2 eq.), HFC 23 emissions are

responsible for the substantial majority of emissions from this manufacturing sector. It has a high GWP, and traditionally is emitted at levels of 3-5% of the amount of HCFC 22 produced. The market for HCFC 22 is presently made up of three elements:

• End user markets, refrigerants for refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment (subject to phasing out under the Montreal Protocol);

• Export markets; and

• Feedstock for production of certain plastic products, especially PTFE.

4.21.2 Methodological Issues

A full description of the emission model and associated methodology used for this sector is contained in AEA (2008). Within the model, manufacturing emissions from UK production of HFCs, PFCs and HFC 23 (by-product of HCFC 22 manufacture) are estimated from reported data from the respective manufacturers. Manufacturers have reported both production and emissions data, but only for certain years, and for a different range of years for different manufacturers. Therefore the emissions model is based on implied emission factors, and production estimates are used to calculate emissions in those years for which reported data was not available. Two of the three manufacturers were members of the UK greenhouse gas Emissions Trading Systems. As a requirement of participation in the scheme, their reported emissions are verified annually via external and independent auditors. All three now report their emissions to the Environment Agency’s Pollution Inventory and these reported emissions have been used to calculate total emissions in later years for two of the operating plant, whereas full speciated emissions data were provided by one of the operators for most of the time series.

All emissions from the production of HFCs, PFCs and HCFC-22 are reported in CRF category 2.E.2. The categories are aggregated at the request of the operators, to protect commercially confidential information. In previous submissions, emissions were reported under category 2E1.2, however a technical problem with the CRF means that these data were then not reported in Table2(II).E, leading to an internal consistency problem in the CRF (although the emissions were still included in the UK’s total, so this did not lead to an under estimate). This reallocation has been made in response to a recommendation from the UNFCCC’s review of the UK’s inventory in 2011.15

4.21.3 Uncertainties and Time-Series Consistency

The Approach 1 (error propagation) uncertainty analysis in Annex 7, shown in Section A7.6, provides estimates of uncertainty according to IPCC source category and fuel type.

There is a significant decrease in HFC emissions in 1998/1999. This step-change in emissions is due to the installation of thermal oxidiser pollution abatement equipment at one of the UK manufacturing sites. Fugitive HFC emissions from both an HCFC22 plant and

15 _{Note that in the EUMM version of the CRF, emissions are still included in category 2E1.2. This will} be changed for the 2013 submission. All emissions are included in the totals.

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HFC manufacturing plant (run by the same operator) are treated using the same thermal oxidiser unit. Emissions also decrease in 2004, reflecting the installation of a thermal oxidiser at the second of the UK’s HCFC22 manufacturing sites. This was installed in late 2003, and became fully operational in 2004.

A significant increase in PFC emissions from the production of halocarbons is observed from 1992 to 1996 (with the trend changing after 1996). The increase in emissions was due to increasing production levels at the single UK manufacturing plant during this period. Since 1996, the level of emissions have changed each year which broadly reflects the demand (and hence production levels) for PFCs. In 2004 and 2005, emissions reported by the company increased compared with the preceding 3 years of fairly stable emission levels 2001-2003. Emissions declined sharply in 2007 and 2008.

4.21.4 Source Specific QA/QC and Verification

This source category is covered by the general QA/QC of the greenhouse gas inventory in

Section 1.6, and details of verification of emissions are given in Annex 10. Additionally, as described above in Section 4.21.2, two of the UK manufacturing plants also had their emissions externally validated as part of the requirements of the UK Emissions Trading System

.

Trilateral F-gas Peer Review

A trilateral meeting of F-gas sector experts from the UK, Austria and Germany was held in Vienna, February 2011. Although not a formal review, each country reviewed the completeness, consistency and transparency of the parts of the NIRs reporting F-gases. Some of the improvements that could be made to the transparency and completeness of the UK NIR identified in that review have been incorporated in this NIR, and others will be considered for future implementation.

4.21.5 Source Specific Recalculations

Emissions of HFCs for 2009 have been revised as the value used in the previous inventory was a projection based on consultation with the operator. There have been no other recalculations to emissions from this sector.

4.21.6 Source Specific Planned Improvements

The F-gas inventory was reviewed and updated in 2008 (AEA, 2008). Emission factors and activity data are kept under review.

4.22

SOURCE CATEGORY 2F1 – REFRIGERATION AND AIR