Honeywell has started commercial operations at its new manufacturing plant in Geismar, Louisiana to meet growing global demand for hydrofluoroolefin (HFO)-1234yf, a next-generation mobile air conditioning refrigerant. According to Honeywell, with this start-up, the plant has become the world's largest site for producing HFO-1234yf, which is sold commercially as Solstice^® yf.

HFO-1234yf was developed by Honeywell to replace R-134a, in automobile applications. It has a global-warming-potential (GWP) of less than 1, compared to a GWP of 1,300 for R-134a. In addition, R-134a is a hydrofluorocarbon (HFC), which many governments and industries have begun phasing out.

 "Solstice yf is a breakthrough innovation that is helping the auto industry transition to more environmentally preferable technologies without sacrificing performance," said Ken Gayer, vice president and general manager of Honeywell Fluorine Products. "Honeywell invested significantly in research and development for more than a decade to enable our award-winning scientists to create new, near drop-in alternatives to meet the rising demand to replace HFCs. Solstice yf is one of the best solutions available to meet global requirements because it is safe for intended use and is capable of addressing both fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions."

Honeywell said with this investment, Geismar has become one of the company’s most advanced production sites. It is part of a central hub Honeywell has created in Louisiana to manufacture its full portfolio of next-generation Solstice products. For more information, visit www.honeywell-refrigerants.com.

Publication date: 6/5/2017

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