With HFC refrigerants secure for the foreseeable future, it is still interesting to take a look from time to time at phase down talk and how the industry may adjust should that become a reality.

A hot topic in the world of refrigeration and air conditioning continues to swirl around refrigerants and what refrigerants will take hold and be used now, besides HFCs, and what will supplant HFCs in the future.

British-based Klima-Therm has installed what it said was the world’s first Turbomiser chillers equipped with Turbocor compressor HFO refrigerant. HFOs are being promoted by some f-gas manufacturers as the next generation of refrigerants beyond HFCs.

Two recent refrigerant developments focus on CO2 and HFOs. One relates to CO2 in refrigeration; the other is an announcement of an HFO in air conditioning.

My column in the Nov. 12 issue of The NEWS focused on HFCs, especially low GWP HFCs as retrofits for R-22 systems. This column will focus on what I used to call “beyond HFC” refrigerants, although these days, the term might be “other than HFC” refrigerants.

Honeywell has announced that it has begun shipping additional quantities of HFO-1234yf, which it markets as Solstice™ yf. The refrigerant is targeted for the automotive market, although other HFO configurations are being developed for stationary applications.

This past fall, the automobile manufacturer Daimler came out saying it was holding off using HFO-1234yf for auto air conditioning even though a directive from the European Union was calling for moving away from HFC-134a. Some saw that as a question about how much traction HFOs were getting as long-term alternatives to HFCs.

Honeywell has announced the availability of an HFO refrigerant, which it trademarks as Solstice™ L-41 low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerant, designed as a lower GWP alternative to R-410A.  

When it comes to R-744 (CO2) as a refrigeration refrigerant, things seem to be more stable in stationary usage than in transportation applications. In the latter, the European automotive sector is looking beyond HFC for refrigerants in air conditioning.