Refrigerant - Uses

Uses

Refrigerants such as ammonia, carbon dioxide and non-halogenated hydrocarbons preserve the ozone layer and have no (ammonia) or only a low (carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons) global warming potential. They are used in air-conditioning systems for buildings, in sport and leisure facilities, in the chemical/pharmaceutical industry, in the automotive industry and above all in the food industry (production, storage, retailing). New applications are opening up for non-halogenated refrigerants; for example, in vehicle air-conditioning.

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 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. R12 is compatible with mineral oil, while R134a is compatible with synthetic oil that contains esters. GM has announced that it will start using Hydrofluoroolefin, HFO-1234yf, in all of its brands by 2013. Dimethyl ether (DME) is also gaining popularity as a refrigerant, but like propane, it is also dangerously flammable.

Some refrigerants are seeing rising use as recreational drugs, leading to an extremely dangerous phenomenon known as inhalant abuse.