Update on alternative technologies in the RAC sector

9th April 2014

Suriname

Daniel Colbourne RE – PHRIDGE

d.colbourne@re-phridge.co.uk

Introduction

Focus on refrigerants

―Other cooling technologies (still) not at sufficient commercial

scale

―Consideration of various alternatives (new and old)

Main topics

―Driving forces to use lower GWP alternatives

―Overview of refrigerant situation

―Summary of pure and mixture alternatives

―What can be used and where

Final remarks

Global warming potential of alternatives

Refrigerant ODP

(R11=1)

Atmospheric lifetime

(y)

GWP(100) (kgCO2 kg-1)

HCFC R22 0.055 12 1780

HFC R134a 0 14 1410

HFC 404A 0 14 – 52 3862

HFC 407C 0 5 – 29 1750

HFC 410A 0 5 – 29 2060

Current HCFC banks and consumption in A5 countries

Comercial

refrig

Transport

refrig

Industrial

refrig

Stationary

a/c

Mobile a/c

Foams

Fire-protect

Solvents

Comercial

refrig

Transport

refrig

Industrial

refrig

Stationary

a/c

Mobile a/c

Foams

Fire-protect

Solvents

DEMAND

(for new usage and servicing) BANK

(in all existing equipment)

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

vehicle air cond

transport refrig

commercial refrig

industrial refrig

air conditioning

foams

Annual leakage rate

Leakage rates vary widely according to equipment type ― Important to target sources with greatest emissions ― Average leak rate for HCFCs in A5 countries ~30% per year

Typical leakage rates by sector

Ought to consider both direct & indirect effects

CO2 emissions from electricity use

High-GWP emissions from

equipment

Contribution depending on many factors ― Country, equipment type, efficiency, refrigerant used, etc

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

low power station

kgCO2/kWh, high

GWP, high leakage

high power station

kgCO2/kWh, low

GWP, low leakage

Total global warming CO2-eq emissions

refrigerant

emissions

electricity

generation

Contribution to TEWI/LCCP/LCWI/etc

New regulations on HFCs

Example of new EU regulation for phase-down of HFCs according to GWP

―Agreed March 2014

Proposals in other countries

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035

Ca

p (

CO

2-e

q)

equiv. sector average GWP

< 200

In the past…

Historically, small number of refrigerant options

― R12, R22, R502…

Environmental and efficiency issues of negligible importance

Equipment and component manufacturers, contractors, service companies, etc, chose established options

―Matched to equipment type and application

Everything was nice and easy…

― But phase-out of CFCs and HCFCs opened up vast commercial opportunities

How many refrigerants…?

Now there are several hundred to choose from ―Approximately 100 fluids with R-numbers designated

―Hundreds of commercial blends being sold around the world

R11 R134a RC318 R407B R414B R422D R433C R509A

R12 R142b R400 R407C R415A R423A R434A R510A

R13 R143a R401A R407D R415B R424A R435A R600

R22 R152a R401B R407E R416A R425A R436A R600a

R23 R161 R401C R408A R417A R426A R436B R601

R32 R170 R402A R409A R418A R427A R437A R601a

R113 RE170 R402B R409B R419A R428A R438A R717

R114 R218 R403A R410A R420A R429A R500 R744

R115 R227ea R403B R411A R421A R430A R502 R1150

R116 R236ea R404A R411B R421B R431A R503 R1234yf

R123 R236fa R405A R412A R422A R432A R507A R1234ze

R124 R245fa R406A R413A R422B R433A R508A R1243zf

R125 R290 R407A R414A R422C R433B R508B R1270

Identification of different refrigerants by type

Pure and mixed refrigerants

R407A

R407B

R407C

R407D

R407E

R408A

R409A

R409B

R410A

R411A

R411B

R500

R502

R503

R507A

R508A

R508B

R509A

R510A

ZeotropicAzeotropic

Single-

component

Multi-

component

Refrigerants

R11

R22

R316

R125

R1234yf

RE245cb

RE170

R170

R1270

R717

R744

temperature glide and/or

fractionation

mixtures but behave

as pure

Mixtures may be two or more (up to seven in

some cases)

The letter (R507A, R411B, etc)

represent different compositions of

same mixture

Plus, a load of HC blends… too many to mention them all!

R290 R170 (ethane)

R1270 R600 (n-butane)

RE-170 (DME)

R600a (iso-butane)

50% R290 + 50% R600a

94% R290 + 6% R170

To mimic R22, R502

To mimic R12, R134a

Various HC refrigerant mixtures

New “lower GWP” refrigerant mixtures

HCs R1234ze

R152a R1243zf

R32 R1234yf

Recently, many new mixtures with medium and low GWP proposed

―Blends of unsaturated HFCs, HFCs and others

Un-saturated

HFCs (“HFOs”)

R161

R744 (CO2)

Saturated HFCs

PRIMARY STAGE SELECTION:

FN { PROPERTIES }

SECONDARY STAGE SELECTION:

FN { MARKET }

Environmental Safety Chemical Thermodynamic

ODP

GWP

etc

flammability

toxicity

reactivity

adsorbtivity

etc etc etc

vapour pressure

latent heat

Availability

refrigerant

components

etc

Costs Know-how Verbal

refrigerant

components

training

literature

etc etc etc

reccommendation

instruction

Aspects affecting refrigerant choice

Reasons for mixing…

Cooling (heating) capacity

Toxicity

Flammability

Cost (system/ equipment)

Cost (refrigerant)

Oil solubility/ miscibility

Material compatibility

Global Warming Potential

Temperature glide

(minimisation)

Efficiency (COP)

Pressure (matching)

Saturated HFCs with medium and lower GWP

Fluid GWP NBP LFL (%) Safety group

R32 717 -52°C 14,4 A2L

R41 96 -78°C 7,1 A3

R152a 124 -24°C 4,8 A2

R161 12 -38°C 3,8 A3

Mainly HFC-32 and HFC-152a being used in new mixtures

Unsaturated HFCs (and HCFCs)

• GWP varies from 0 to around 10 … essentially negligible

• Main options are R1234yf and R1234ze(E); but some still undergoing R&D investigations

Also unsaturated HCFCs under discussion:

• HCFC-1233yd, 1233zb, 1233xe, 1233xc, 1233ye, 1233yc

• HCFC-1233zd and HCFC-1233xf most promising

HC refrigerants

Refrigerant Chemical or composition * Critical temp (C) NBP (C) Press at 30 C (kPa)

R1150 ethylene (C2H4) 9.2 -103.8 [above critical]

R1270 propylene (C3H6) 91.1 -47.6 1321

R170 ethane (C2H6) 32.2 -88.6 4704

R290 propane (C3H8) 96.7 -42.1 1092

R433A R1270/R290 (30%/70%) 94.2 -44.5 1178

R433B R1270/R290 (5%/95%) 96.3 -42.6 1108

R433C R1270/R290 (25%/75%) 94.6 -44.2 1165

R436A R290/R600a (56%/44%) 115.9 -34.3 768

R436B R290/R600a (52%/48%) 117.4 -33.4 741

R290/R600a (50%/50%) 120.7 -31.0 814

R290/R170 (94%/6%) 94.2 -49.0 1393

R50 methane (CH4) -82.6 -161.5 [above critical]

R600 butane (C4H10) 152 -0.5 288

R600a isobutane (C4H10) 134.7 -11.7 410

R601 pentane (C5H12) 196.6 36.1 83

R601a isopentane (C5H12) 187.2 27.8 111

GWP of natural refrigerants

Direct GWP (100 y) Indirect GWP (100 y)

R600a 0.1 4.0

R290 0.2 3.3

R1270 0.1 1.8

R744 (CO2) 1.0 0

R717 (NH3) 0.0 0.0

Low GWP HFC mixtures: R134a alternatives

Company Name Composition Safety GWP

Arkema

ARM41a R-32/R-134a/R-1234ze(E) (7/40/53) A1 943

ARM42a R1234yf/R152a/R134a 82%/11%/7% A2L 117

ARM-J8 ??????? A1 ~350

Deikin D4Y R-134a/R-1234yf (40/60) A1 574

Dupont XP10 R-134a/R-1234yf (44/56) A1 631

Honeywell N13a

R-134a/R-1234yf/R-1234ze(E) (42/18/40)

A1 604

N13b R-134a/R-1234ze(E) (42/58) A1 604

Mexichem

AC5X R-32/R-134a/R-1234ze(E) (7/40/53) A1 622

AC5 (R-444A) R-32/R-152a/R-1234ze(E) 12%/5%/83% A2L 92

AC6 (R-445A) R-744/R-134a/R-1234ze(E) 6%/9%/85% A1 130

National LGA8 R1234ze(E)/R32/R152a 83%/12%/5% A2L 100

Low GWP HFC mixtures: R22/R404A/R407C alternatives

Company Name Composition Safety GWP

Arkema ARM31a R-32/R-134a/R-1234yf (28/21/51) A2L 491

ARM30a R1234yf/R32 (71/29) A2L 199

Deikin D2Y-65 R-32/R-1234yf (35/65) A2L 239

D52Y R-32/R-125/R-1234yf (15/25/60) A2L ???

Dupont DR-7 R1234yf /R32 (64/36) A2L 246

Honeywell

N20 R-32/R-125/R-134a/R-1234yf/R-1234ze(E)

(12.5/12.5/31.5/13.5/30) A1 975

L40 R32/R1234ze(E)/R1234yf/R152a (40/30/20/10) A2L 285

L20 R32/R1234ze(E)/R152a (45/35/20) A2L 331

Mexichem LTR4X R-32/R-125/R-134a/R-1234ze(E) (28/25/16/31) A1 ???

LTR6A R1234ze(E)/R32/R744 (63/30/7) A2L 206

National LGA26 R1234yf/R32/R134a (51/28/21) A2L ~500

LGA29 R1234yf/R32 (65/35) A2L ~250

Low GWP HFC mixtures: R410A alternatives

Company Name Composition Safety GWP

Arkema ARM70a R32/R1234yf/R134a (50/40/10) A2L 482

GECA-Max ??? A2L ~5

Deikin D2Y-60 R-32/R-1234yf (40/60) A2L 272

Dupont DR-5 R32/R1234yf (72.5/27.5) A2L 490

DR-4 ??? A2L 300

Honeywell L41a R32/R1234yf/R1234ze(E) (73/15/12) A2L 494

L41b R32/R1234ze(E) (73/27) A2L 494

Mexichem HPR1D R32/R1234ze(E)/R744 (60/34/6) A2L 407

National LGA40 R1234yf/R32 (60/40) A2L 300

HFC-1234yfHFC-1234ze

“DR-5”“L-41a”, “L-41b”

“L-20”“L-40”

“DR-4”“DR-7”

“AC-5”“AC-6”

HFC-1233zd

mature trialling in development

“GECA-max”“ARC-1”“LGA8”

“ARM-42”“ARM-J8

“ARM-30a”“LTR6A”“LGA29”

“LGA26”“HPR1D”“LGA40”

“ARM-70a”“ARM-31”

0G

WP

~50

0

HC-290HC-1270

R-744R-717

Overview of alternatives with GWP <500

All shown have been

tested in AC&R systems

Current and feasible usage

GWP

0

1

3 – 5

4

4

6

6

29

0

33

0

49

0

49

0

60

0

63

0

71

6

13

30

14

10

R-7

17

R-7

44

HC

-29

0, H

C-1

27

0

HC

-60

0a

HFC

-12

34

yf

HFC

-12

34

ze(E)

HC

FC-1

23

3zd

(E)

“L-40

”

“L-20

”

“L-41

”

“DR

-5”

“N-1

3”

“XP

-10

”

HFC

-32

“N-4

0”

“DR

-33

”

Domestic refrigeration C F F F

Commercial refrigeration

— Stand alone C C C L F F F F F F F F L F

— Condensing units L L F F F F F F F F F L F

— Centralised systems L C L F F F F F F L F L F

Transport refrigeration C C F F F F F F F F F F

Large size refrigeration C C L F F F F F F F F F F

Air conds and heat pumps

— Small self contained L C F F F F F F L F F

— Mini-split L C F L F F F C F F

— Multi-split L F L F F F L F F

— Split (ducted) F F F F F F F L F F

— Ducted F L F F F F F L F F

Chillers

— Positive displacement C C C L L F F L F L L L F F

— Centrifugal L L L L

Mobile air conditioning

— Cars F F C F F

— Public transport F L F F

Possible penetration rates

R-7

17

R-7

44

HC

-29

0, H

C-1

27

0

HC

-60

0a

HFC

-12

34

yf

HFC

-12

34

ze(E)

HC

FC-1

23

3zd

(E)

“L-40

”

“L-20

”

“L-41

”

“DR

-5”

“N-1

3”

“XP

-10

”

HFC

-32

Domestic refrigeration D D D D

Commercial refrigeration

— Stand alone equipment D D D D D D D D D D D D

— Condensing units C C L D D D D D D D D

— Centralised systems [D] D [D] [D] [D] [D] [D] [D] D D [D]

Transport refrigeration D C D D D D D D D D

Large size refrigeration D D C L D D D D D D D

Air conds and heat pumps

— Small self contained L D D D D D D D D

— Mini-split (non-ducted) L D C D D D D D D

— Multi-split L C D D D D D D

— Split (ducted) L L C D D D D D D

— Ducted L L C D D D M M D

Chillers — Positive displacement C C D D D D D D D D D D

— Centrifugal L D D D

Mobile air conditioning

— Cars D L D D D

— Public transport C D D D D

Rapid warming effect immediately following release

Effect disguised by 100 year ITH

Short term warming effect up to 3½ the GWP100

Implications of near-term warming

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

1 10 100

Time horizon (y)

GW

P (

kgC

O2e

q/k

g)

HC-290

HCFC-22

HFC-134a

HFC-32

HFC-152a

Important to consider shorter-term warming impact of refrigerants (as well as 100-year GWP)

Source: Data from

IPCC AR4

Implications of near-term warming

Preferred properties ―Low liquid and

vapour viscosities

―High liquid specific heat

―High liquid and vapour thermal conductivities

―High latent heat

―Small temperature glide

Considerations for efficiency

Extensive testing ongoing

0.8

0.9

1.0

1.1

1.2

1.3

0.85 0.90 0.95 1.00 1.05 1.10 1.15 1.20

Qe_alt/Qe_b

CO

P_

alt/

CO

P_

b

test data

normalised for equal capacity

Comparing R290 and R1270 against R22 in ACs

Extensive testing ongoing

AHRI low GWP AREP programme – testing various lower GWP HFC mixtures in various types of equipment

Extensive testing ongoing

Some comparisons of R410A alternatives

Extensive testing ongoing

Some comparisons of R410A alternatives

NOTE: Viability proportions are

approximate; they will always be subject to

engineering interpretation

Viable currently/in short-term

Not viable due to cost, safety or performance

limitations

Viable if obstructive standards are

remedied

fn

(Often, gap can be closed if alternatives system concepts are used, e.g., chiller instead

of piped refrigerant)

system and application

characteristics

“Applicability” of alternatives

Factory sealed ACs

LGMs

HCs

Small split systems

LGMs

HCs

Larger split systems

LGMs

HCs

CO2

Ducted systems

LGMs

HCs

CO2

Multi-split systems

LGMs

CO2

Chiller systems

LGMs

HCs

CO2

NH3

Chiller; 20 – 2000 kW, 5 – 500 kg

Domestic refrigerators/freezers

LGMs

HCs

Commercial plug-in cabinets

LGMs

HCs

CO2

Condensing units

LGMs

HCs

CO2

Centralised supermarket systems

LGMs

HCs

CO2

NH3

Larger coldstores

LGMs

HCs

CO2

Levels of difficulty

Portable; Mini-Splits; Through-the-wall; Window; Heat

pumps (water); Chillers

Commercial splits; Rooftop ducted;

Ducted splits; Cabinet

Commercial ducted splits; Central air handling units;

Multi-split; Close control

Corresponding to “ease of application” of alternatives

Assists industry (especially SMEs) with planning/R&D

Removes the “it’s only hassle” factor Time

Dev

elo

pm

ent

Typically 2 – 4 years for majority

So what will happen?

There will be many

more mixtures considered…

Probably, eventually, narrowed down to a handful of preferred

options (again)…

Thank you for your attention!