Cleaning refrigerants to ARI 700 standards is called:

• A. Recovery
• B. Reclaiming
• C. Reusing
• D. Recycling

Answer: (B)

The main idea is purity and purification of used refrigerants. ARI 700 sets the specifications for how pure a recovered refrigerant must be. Cleaning refrigerants to meet that standard is called reclaiming. It goes beyond basic recovery or simple cleaning by restoring the refrigerant to virgin-like purity, typically using processes such as distillation, filtration, and drying to remove moisture, acids, and other contaminants.

In contrast, recovery is just removing the refrigerant from equipment and storing it in a container. Recycling involves cleaning the refrigerant to a usable level but not necessarily to ARI 700 purity. Reusing implies putting the recovered refrigerant back into service, often without thorough purification. Reclaiming is the specific term for cleaning to ARI 700 standards.