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About
Refrigerant
A refrigerant is a compound used in a heat cycle that undergoes
a
phase
change from a gas to a liquid and back. The two main
uses of refrigerants are refrigerators/freezers and air
conditioners. Generally refrigerant is a useful compound,
but when mishandled or misused it can cause injuries and/or
fatalities. The use of refrigerant has been increasingly
generating concerns since it was discovered in the 1980s that
the most widely used refrigerants were the cause of ozone
depletion.
Uses
CFC's or chlorofluorocarbons are used as refrigerants in some
commercial air conditioning and refrigeration systems. CFC's are
considered to be 100% ozone depleting, meaning that they are the
standard for efficiency in the catalytic breakdown of ozone. In
most residential air conditioners and many refrigeration systems
it is R-22 or Freon which is a hydrochlorofluorocarbon or HCFC.
HCFC's are considered to be 5% ozone depleting and are less of a
danger to the Earth's vital ozone layer. However, non-ozone
layer depleting refrigerants are the most desirable.
Emissions from automotive air-conditioning are a growing concern
because of their impact on climate change. From 2011 on, the
European Union will phase out refrigerants with a global warming
potential (GWP) of more than 150 in automotive air conditioning
(GWP = 100 year warming potential of one kilogram of a gas
relative to one kilogram of CO2). This will ban
potent greenhouse gases such as the refrigerant HFC-134a—which
has a GWP of 1410—to promote safe and energy-efficient
refrigerants. One of the most promising alternatives is the
natural refrigerant CO2 (R-744). Carbon dioxide is
non-flammable, non-ozone depleting, has a global warming
potential of 1, but is toxic and potentially lethal in
concentrations above 5% by volume. R-744 can be used as a
working fluid in climate control systems for cars, residential
air conditioning, hot water pumps, commercial refrigeration, and
vending machines.
Disposal
As of July 1, 1992 it is illegal to release refrigerants into
the atmosphere (intentional or accidental) because they can
cause severe damage to the ozone layer. When CFCs are removed
they should be recycled to clean out any contaminants and return
it to a usable condition. Refrigerants should never be mixed
together. Some CFCs must be managed as hazardous waste even if
recycled and special precautions are required for their
transport, depending on the legislation of the country's
government. |
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