Hydrocarbon Refrigerants Opportunities for Industry and the Environment www.hychill.com.au

Hydrocarbon Refrigerants: High Performance, High Efficiency Refrigerant for Air Conditioning and Refrigeration

Overview History of hydrocarbon refrigerants Refrigerant properties HC refrigerant applications Mobile refrigeration and air conditioning Fixed refrigeration and air conditioning The future for hydrocarbon refrigerants Non-HCFC Refrigerants Seminar of Taiwan Taiwan, 12 July 2004

Brief History of Hydrocarbon Refrigerants 1866: Hydrocarbon Refrigerants Invented 1920’s onwards: HC refrigerants marketed successfully and used widely for Refrigeration (Linde) 1930s: CFC’s developed Promoted heavily as superior to hydrocarbons, primarily because these CFC’s were non-flammable Through successful marketing, CFC’s became the dominant refrigerant in many sectors Non-HCFC Refrigerants Seminar of Taiwan Taiwan, 12 July 2004

Brief History of Hydrocarbon Refrigerants Later: Environmental impact of CFC’s discovered Ozone Depletion Greenhouse Gas Emissions HCFC’s and HFC’s were then developed, but most are still potent Global Warming gases. Non-HCFC Refrigerants Seminar of Taiwan Taiwan, 12 July 2004

Brief History of Hydrocarbon Refrigerants Late 1980’s: Hydrocarbons redeveloped NOT Ozone Depleting Virtually no global warming impact - GWP 3 (100yrs) Not difficult to adapt most fluorocarbon systems to hydrocarbons 1992: First domestic refrigerators enter commercial production 1993: Hydrocarbon refrigerants enter the motor vehicle air conditioning market 1994: The originators of HyChill begin commercial production of HC refrigerants Non-HCFC Refrigerants Seminar of Taiwan Taiwan, 12 July 2004

Brief History of Hydrocarbon Refrigerants Early 1990’s: Fluorocarbon industry continues to promote HCFCs and HFCs as suitable alternatives to CFC’s Late 1990’s/early 2000: Further research sheds more light on the serious environmental damage caused by HCFCs and HFCs 2001: IPCC Reports that HFC concentrations in the atmosphere are now growing exponentially Non-HCFC Refrigerants Seminar of Taiwan Taiwan, 12 July 2004

Brief History of Hydrocarbon Refrigerants Taiwanese production of fluorocarbons: R-22, R-141b and R-142b Taiwanese use of fluorocarbons: Broad range, including above and R-134a, R-123, R- 407 series blends, R-500 series blends etc. High-purity hydrocarbons (and associated blends) are available as alternatives to many common fluorocarbons Non-HCFC Refrigerants Seminar of Taiwan Taiwan, 12 July 2004

Key environmental properties Refrigerant Type ODP GWP (100 years) R-290/R-600a/R-170 HC (blended or pure) 3 R-12 CFC 1.0 8500 R-22 HCFC 0.055 1700 R-123 0.02-0.06 120 R-141b 0.11 700 R-142b 0.065 2400 R-134a HFC 1300 R-152a R-407c HFC blend 1653 R-408a HCFC/HFC blend 0.026 3015 R-410a 1975 R-507a 3850 Non-HCFC Refrigerants Seminar of Taiwan Taiwan, 12 July 2004

Key physical properties Refrigerant Molecular Mass [g/mol] Boiling point [°C] Critical Temperature HyChill Minus 30 (HC blend)* 48.8 -31.1 111.0 HyChill Minus 50 (HC blend)* 43.3 -46.5 93.0 HyChill Minus 10 (HC R-600a) 58.12 -11.61 134.70 HyChill Minus 40 (HC R-290) 44.10 -42.09 96.70 R-12 120.91 -29.75 111.97 R-22 86.47 -40.81 96.15 R-123 152.93 27.82 183.68 R-141b 116.95 32.05 204.20 R-142b 100.50 -9.00 137.10 R-134a 102.03 -26.07 101.06 Non-HCFC Refrigerants Seminar of Taiwan Taiwan, 12 July 2004

Key physical properties cntd Refrigerant Molecular Mass [g/mol] Boiling point [°C] Critical Temperature HyChill Minus 30 (HC blend)* 48.8 -31.1 111.0 HyChill Minus 50 (HC blend)* 43.3 -46.5 93.0 HyChill Minus 10 (HC R-600a) 58.12 -11.61 134.70 HyChill Minus 40 (HC R-290) 44.10 -42.09 96.70 R-152a 66.05 -24.02 113.26 R-407c* 86.20 -40.3 86.05 R-408a* 87.01 -45.2 83.34 R-410a* 72.59 -51.6 70.17 R-507a* 98.86 -47.1 70.75 Non-HCFC Refrigerants Seminar of Taiwan Taiwan, 12 July 2004

Refrigerant Properties Further benefits of hydrocarbon refrigerants: Excellent material compatibility profile Compatible with existing seals, lubricants, wetted parts/surfaces Excellent chemical stability Does not break down in the presence of moisture Excellent stability when heated By contrast, R-134a: Compatible with only a limited range of lubricants Forms potentially toxic/corrosive compounds when exposed to moisture Non-HCFC Refrigerants Seminar of Taiwan Taiwan, 12 July 2004

Refrigerant Properties Further benefits of hydrocarbon refrigerants: High performance Proven in theory, and Proven in the field Promotes longer system life, through Higher chemical stability Lower ‘high side’ pressures Able to use more stable lubricants Recovery of hydrocarbons not necessary Non-HCFC Refrigerants Seminar of Taiwan Taiwan, 12 July 2004

Refrigerant Properties SAFETY ALL refrigerants present safety risks Toxicity Direct inhalation Inhalation of byproducts Asphyxiation Flammability Standard lubricants E.g. Hydrocarbons, R-152a, compressed R-134a/air mixtures Always remember the lubricant safety risks! Non-HCFC Refrigerants Seminar of Taiwan Taiwan, 12 July 2004

Refrigerant Properties SAFETY cntd TOTAL SYSTEM SAFETY ASSESSMENT Consider all factors: Toxicity, Inhalation, Flammability Consider all fluids: Refrigerant AND lubricant Consider all scenarios: Under what conditions will the incident occur? What is the probability of the incident occurring? Consider relative and absolute risk Assess total risk of existing systems and compare Non-HCFC Refrigerants Seminar of Taiwan Taiwan, 12 July 2004

Refrigerant Properties Flammability (of refrigerant) (typical refrigerant/oil mix) Potential chemical risksa (Asphyxiant, toxic direct inhalation, toxic products of heating, toxic products of combustion) R-12 Non-flammable Not assessed Non-toxic R-134a Flammableb Potential risk (albeit low)c R-152a Flammable R-290/R-600a Risk appears to be lower than for R-134a or R-152ac,d Non-HCFC Refrigerants Seminar of Taiwan Taiwan, 12 July 2004

Hydrocarbon Refrigerant Applications - Mobile Recent peer-reviewed research published in the International Journal of Refrigeration: At the end of 2002, the number of motor vehicles using hydrocarbon refrigerant reached 5,000,000 across the USA and Australia Over 18,000,000 car-user-years of safe use as a drop-in replacement for R-12 or R-134a Non-HCFC Refrigerants Seminar of Taiwan Taiwan, 12 July 2004

Hydrocarbon Refrigerant Applications - Mobile Current HC use motor vehicle AC Used as drop-in replacement to existing R-12 and R-134a systems. NO modifications to AC system Excellent safety record proves hydrocarbons are a safe alternative for motor vehicle AC Non-HCFC Refrigerants Seminar of Taiwan Taiwan, 12 July 2004

Hydrocarbon Refrigerant Applications - Mobile Other mobile applications Trucks, buses Refrigerated transport Off-road farming equipment Off-road mining equipment Excellent safety record proves hydrocarbons are a safe alternative for motor vehicle AC Non-HCFC Refrigerants Seminar of Taiwan Taiwan, 12 July 2004

Hydrocarbon Refrigerant Applications - Fixed Domestic refrigeration – where it all began >120 Million HC refrigerators produced to date Significant Energy savings realised In the range of 20% is realistic, but may be higher or lower depending on system design. Non-HCFC Refrigerants Seminar of Taiwan Taiwan, 12 July 2004

Hydrocarbon Refrigerant Applications - Fixed Commercial refrigeration – domestic and industrial AC and refrigeration From small domestic air conditioners… DeLonghi: >100,000 AC systems (at end of 1998) To small and large industrial refrigerators Unilever to replace it’s 1.8 million cabinets over the next 10 years To small and large industrial chillers… Used at OEM and retrofit levels Non-HCFC Refrigerants Seminar of Taiwan Taiwan, 12 July 2004

Companies using HCs Non-HCFC Refrigerants Seminar of Taiwan Taiwan, 12 July 2004

Hydrocarbon Refrigerants: The Future Excellent credentials Zero ODP, Negligible GWP 99% lower GWP than R-134a Excellent performance Minimal system design changes required to transition from most fluorocarbons Widespread use across the world, across all major refrigeration and air conditioning sectors World-wide use growing rapidly Non-HCFC Refrigerants Seminar of Taiwan Taiwan, 12 July 2004

Hydrocarbon Refrigerants: The Future Specific benefits for Taiwan Potential for massive reduction in consumption of ozone depleting and globally warming fluorocarbon gases Potential for significant reduction in ongoing release of fluorocarbons to the atmosphere Potential for significant energy savings Good for the environment Good for the economy Non-HCFC Refrigerants Seminar of Taiwan Taiwan, 12 July 2004

Hydrocarbon Refrigerants: The Future Proven track record >10 years of safe and effective commercial production and use Theoretical and real-world safety and performance data now on the public record Excellent environmental, performance and efficiency credentials HCs are a most worthy candidate for consideration at government, industry and private levels Non-HCFC Refrigerants Seminar of Taiwan Taiwan, 12 July 2004

Hydrocarbon Refrigerants Opportunities for Industry and the Environment www.hychill.com.au