HCFC-22 may not have been historically a refrigeration refrigerant, but it sure has been high on the minds of those wholesalers who deal with a lot of refrigeration products.

Imagine my surprise when I saw the December 2011 bulletin of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) with this giant headline on the cover: “How Air Conditioning, Cable News, and Thomas Jefferson Created the Mess in Washington.”

No technology has been generating more attention in recent months than the use of R-744 (CO2) as a refrigerant. Here are some of the latest announcements from a variety of sources.

Uses of so-called natural refrigerants such as HCs, CO2, and ammonia are being advocated as ways to positively deal with issues of climate change, greenhouse effect, and global warming. That was the primary perspective of an extended report from Eurammon, a joint European initiative of companies, institutions, and individuals who advocate an increased use of natural refrigerants.

The world of so-called natural refrigerants, particularly hydrocarbons (HCs), has gotten a lot more interesting recently. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has given Significant New Alternatives Program (SNAP) approval to three HCs.

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) is moving forward with an ambitious project to identify low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants. What does that mean?

When The NEWS accepts nominations for its Best Contractor to Work For contest, applicants are asked to include answers to 23 “yes” or “no” questions that have been developed as a way to measure what makes a contractor the best. When the application for Casteel Heating and Cooling came in, 22 of the 23 questions were answered with “yeses.”

About this time of year, editors and columnists in the HVACR industry do editorials and columns encouraging attendance at the annual International Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigerating Exposition (AHR Expo), this year taking place Jan. 23-25 in Chicago. It’s on the ‘R’ that I want to focus.

The long-term availability of HFCs survived another effort at phase-down during the 23rd Meeting of the Parties (MOP23) to the Montreal Protocol held in November 2011. Participants did not reach agreement on taking any action to control HFCs.

Midwest Refrigerants’ approach to the destruction of unwanted refrigerants has gained approval that will now allow startup of the process in the United States in mid-2012. What is the company's process?