This agreement provides funding under the inflation reduction act (IRA) to the university of california, riverside for hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) reclaim and innovative destruction

This Project Grant award from the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) Reclaim and Innovative Destruction Grants program (CFDA 66.047) provides $3,180,000 in funding to the Regents of the University of California, Riverside (UC Riverside). The objective is to reduce HFC emissions, which are potent greenhouse gases, through the development and implementation of a cost-effective metal oxide catalyst that facilitates the hydrolysis of HFC molecules. The project involves short-term laboratory experiments, intermediate-term scaling up and pilot demonstrations, and long-term efforts to establish the technology as a proven, sustainable solution for HFC destruction. Key deliverables include efficient catalysts, analytical method development, pilot-scale off-gas treatment reactors, and assessments of the technology's impacts on climate change mitigation, air quality, and regulatory compliance. The project aims to demonstrate a measurable (>90%) reduction in HFC emissions and near-complete conversion efficiency (~100%) of the catalytic and chemical-biological treatment process.

Description

This agreement provides funding under the inflation reduction act (IRA) to the university of california, riverside for hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) reclaim and innovative destruction. The recipient will address a critical environmental concern tied to the emissions of hfcs, potent greenhouse gases widely used in refrigeration and air conditioning. The core objective is to reduce HFC emissions through the use of a cost-effective metal oxide catalyst. This catalyst facilitates the hydrolysis of HFC molecules (using HFC-134A as an example), and the resulting fluorine-containing compounds can be fully removed by subsequent liquid absorption and destructive treatment using chemical and biological modules. The chemical and biological transformations will convert hfcs into environmentally benign products, thereby mitigating their impact on the climate and the overall environmental quality and public health.activities:the activities includes initiating laboratory-scale experiments and chemical/biological treatment validation in the short term, followed by the scaling up of technology for pilot demonstrations in the intermediate term. The implementation of the technologies at the selected validation site (UC riverside campus) and their evaluation for environmental and public health impacts will be intermediate-term activities. The long-term activities include establishing the technologies as a proven solution, promoting widespread adoption, contributing to industry standards and regulations, and evaluating long-term environmental, economic, and social impacts. By undertaking these comprehensive activities and achieving the outlined outcomes, the catalytic hydrolysis and assisting technology project aims to position itself as a validated, sustainable, and ready-to-deploy solution for reducing HFC emissions beyond laboratory settings in disadvantaged communities.subrecipient:no subawards are included in this assistance agreement.outcomes:the anticipated deliverables include: more efficient catalysts for HFC hydrolysis and CO oxidation in lab scale and application scale, analytical method development and validation, detailed composition in the off-gas of the gas-phase catalytic HFC hydrolysis treatment, near-complete conversion and mineralization with off-gas collection and treatment in liquid phase using chemical and/or biological methods, develop pilot scale off-gas treatment reactors, install assisting low temperature CO oxidation reactor, implement continuous monitoring of emissions and conversion efficiency, assess the transferability of the technology to diverse applications, prepare a technology transferability report, assess the technology's positive impact on climate change mitigation, improvements in air quality, regulatory compliance with environmental standards, assess the overall sustainability of the catalytic hydrolysis and assisting technology for HFC destruction, secure necessary permits and approvals for expanded deployment, and implement full-scale deployment at selected sites monitor technology performance in real-world settings. The expected outcomes include: quantitatively, the project aims to demonstrate a measurable (GT; 90%) reduction in HFC emissions within the studied community, with specific metrics in metric tons of CO2 equivalent. Furthermore, the overall HFC conversion efficiency (~100%) of the catalytic process and chemical-biological post-treatment modules will be a key quantitative outcome, measured as a percentage of successful conversion. The project plans to identify and establish a specific site (e.g., the HVAC system at the UC riverside campus) for the validation and demonstration phase, showcasing the real-world applicability of the proposed technologies. Qualitatively, the project will assess its impact on climate change mitigation, emphasizing the positive contribution to greenhouse gas reduction goals. Air quality improvement, a critical qualitative outcome, will be evaluated for