The attention being paid to so-called natural refrigerants is showing a shift toward hydrocarbon refrigerants, even as CO2 gains a stronger foothold and ammonia maintains a high profile. But, whether or not there will be a dominant natural choice remains unclear even in Europe, much less North America.
A-Gas’s acquisitions in the U.S. will set it up for a significant expansion into North America, including the international rollout of its refrigerant reclamation technology
The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute has issued a white paper titled “Reports of R-134a Contaminated with R-40 and Other Refrigerants.” That paper is featured here.
DuPont Refrigerants and EOS Climate have announced a program to stimulate the return of recovered CFC refrigerants. The new CFC BuyBack Program gives DuPont distributors access to a streamlined process and gives contractors and business owners the same economic benefit for both small and large quantities of CFCs.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it is reducing the amount of HCFC-22 that can be produced or imported to 62.8 million pounds in 2013.
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.