What does 'reclaim' mean, and what verification step distinguishes it from recycling?
Not quite. The answer is D: Reclaiming reprocesses refrigerant to the purity level of new (virgin) product, verified through chemical analysis against a recognized purity standard (such as AHRI Standard 700), and is typically performed off-site at a dedicated reclamation facility so it can be legally resold as new refrigerant
The chemical analysis step is what makes reclamation different in kind, not just degree, from recycling — it's the documentation that lets reclaimed refrigerant be sold to anyone, since the buyer has no way of knowing the refrigerant's service history otherwise. Recycled refrigerant skips that verification and, correspondingly, skips the ability to be resold as equivalent to new product.
Reference: 40 CFR Part 82 § 82.152 (Definition of 'reclaim')
Checked against the official text
Read the eCFR text current through 2026-10-30 of § 82.152. Definition: reprocess to all specifications in appendix A (based on AHRI 700-2016) and verify by the prescribed analytical methodology. § 82.164 requires reclaimers to be EPA-certified.
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