British refrigeration manufacturer Precision has announced that, following extensive testing, it will phase out use of R-404A refrigerant in the next few weeks, and move to the HFO blend R-448A, Honeywell’s Solstice N40, for all its freezer and blast chiller products.
R-404A is the market’s standard refrigerant for freezers and blast chillers, but has a high global warming potential (GWP) of 3,922. The new R-448A refrigerant’s GWP of 1,386 is almost two-thirds lower. It is also non-toxic and non-flammable and more energy efficient than R-404A, the firm noted.