Honeywell and Dupont have formed a joint venture to manufacture a new refrigerant for use in automotive air-conditioning systems.
Dupont and Honeywell will share financial and technological resources with the intent to jointly design, construct and operate a manufacturing facility for the refrigerant, known as HFO-1234yf.
The product meets EU regulatory requirements for lower Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerants for automobile air-conditioning systems. Dupont and Honeywell developed the product jointly but will market and sell it separately.
The venture follows an earlier joint-development agreement under which the two companies developed the product. The joint venture is designed to provide Dupont and Honeywell with a source of supply to meet the growing demand faster than would be possible through either company’s individual efforts.
Today’s automotive air conditioners use hydrofluorocarbon HFC-134a, which has a GWP of 1430. The EU’s Mobile Air Conditioning Directive requires that, starting in 2011, all new vehicle models use a refrigerant with a GWP below 150 and, by 2017, all new automobiles sold in Europe will be required to use a low-GWP refrigerant.
The refrigerant, developed by Dupont and Honeywell, has a GWP of four, which is 97 per cent less GWP than the new regulation requires.
Prior to construction of a world-scale plant, the joint venture will begin supplying the refrigerant in the fourth quarter of 2011, in time to meet the EU regulatory requirement.
Honeywell and Dupont introduced HFO-1234yf to the automotive industry in 2007 and since then it has undergone extensive testing for safety and efficacy by independent testing groups such as the SAE International Cooperative Research Program, in which leading automakers participate.
According to industry estimates, there are more than 400m cars with air-conditioning systems globally, with each system using between one half and one kilogram of refrigerant.
Why not use CO2 in liquid and gas phases? It has GWP of 1.0.
It is beginning to be used in air source heat pumps.
Is the new refrigerant suitable for use in existing systems? The last gas change required hardware modifications (compressor seals etc.). 400 million systems all needing an upgrade? Money for someone.
Unfortunately CO2 has NO liquid phase !!
It sublimes from solid to gas !!
The need for air conditioning happens because UV and solar interaction with materials inside the vehicle generate heat. UV resistant glass would not allow the heat to be generated inside the vehicle.
Why do you need to be refrigerated inside your vehicle? Stop generating the heat inside the vehicle and eliminate these emissions associated with air conditioning immediately. Here is a link to show you extensive work we did to see solar interaction with building materials and it promises to shock you, we just couldn’t see it before.
http://www.thermoguy.com/urbanheat.html
why not use vapour compression refrigeration , using the heat of the engine to drive the cycle. and put a minimum comfort level temperature of 28 degrees celcius all across the world.
Incorporating UV resistant glass and utilizing the heat of the engine to drive the refrigeration cycle would definitely reduce air conditioning dependency thus reducing a PWP.
I think developing new refrigerant is more economic driven then ecologically driven.
A CO2 system for A/C is already in use at US Army, see
http://www.modine.com/v2portal/page/portal/modine/modineTechnologyDefault/modine_com/technology/level_2_content_007.htm
To Jim Gray,
At atmospheric pressure, this is true. However,
CO2 does exist as a liquid, but it has to be under pressure, such as in a refrigeration system.
Wouldn’t it be better to go totally green and grow creepers on a trellis frame built outside the walls of buildings to combat UHI effects. The savings will be on capital, maintenance/running costs involved with air conditioning v/s creepers.