REFRIGERANTS
Are we replacing our higher GWP refrigerants fast enough?
Simon Ravenscroft, Northern regional sales manager at National Refrigerants looks at where we are now in the face of all the changes we're going through.
I
n 2012, all EU Countries agreed to measures introduced to tackle the ongoing battle of climate change by agreeing to the F-Gas legislation introduced three years later. 2015 was also a milestone in the right direction as all EU members also outlawed the use of all ozone depleting gases and initiated the subsequent ban on reclaimed R22. The beginning of this year has seen the
introduction of the third of six F-Gas quota reductions taking availability down a further 18% from the original baseline, leaving just 45% of what we had in 2015 when this began. Although this year’s headline cut is 18% from the 2015 baseline that is actually equivalent to just under a 30% reduction in what we had in 2020. Now we are in 2021 and Britain has left the EU – however, the F-Gas legislation has been adopted into our law which will lead to significant changes – no more than we are no longer allowed to import refrigerants from the EU without having sufficient GB quota to cover the CO2
equivalent.
The push to move away from higher GWP refrigerants such as R404A is clearly and thankfully underway and there are a number of lower GWP alternatives available such as R448A, R449A for medium- to low-temp refrigeration and R452A for refrigerated transport which are a step in the right direction, but with GWP’s only just under 1,400 for R448A and R449A and over 2,100 for R452A there is still a long way to go.
30 March 2021
We are now five years into a 15-year program to replace all of our current crop of refrigerants with something that is better for our planet. So much so, that in 2017 we saw a complete European ban on using R134A in all new cars driving the change to the ultra-low GWP A2L refrigerant R1234yf, which although has been classified A2L mildly flammable, underwent significant safety testing by the automotive industry which concluded that it is indeed perfectly safe to use in our cars. Further switching to lower GWP refrigerants will be needed urgently in order to fall under the ambitious climate change targets we have agreed too. CO2
has been firmly established in
the majority of new and existing supermarkets for a number of years providing a significant reduction in overall GWP consumption, but design restrictions prohibit this from being a 'one shoe fits all' option. However, there are a number of replacements that are good enough for now, such as R454A, R454C and R455A which are all under 300 GWP – and two are even under 150 GWP, making them candidates for some of the first long-term sustainable R404A replacements. Speaking with manufacturers and contractors, it is clear that highly flammable very low GWP refrigerants like propane (R290) and propylene (R1270) do have a place albeit a very restricted one and are not the solution to mass mainstream commercial refrigeration. However, the new ultra-low A2L GWP alternatives will all require
significant system design changes and extensive retrofitting due to their flammability. We shouldn’t confuse A3 highly flammable refrigerants with A2L mildly refrigerants as they are not alike. The burning velocity of A3 highly flammable refrigerants such as R290 is around 38.7cm per second and can be considered explosive while A2L refrigerants burn slower than 10cm per second – nearly four times slower. Flammable refrigerants (class 2L and above) will not ignite if the concentration level in a room stays below their lower flammability limit (LFL). We now have just under 10 years to make the
change to ultra-low GWP refrigerants and clearly we either have to make new discoveries and find a way to make refrigerants non-flammable, non- toxic, non-ozone depleting and ultra-low GWP or we continue to accept A2L refrigerants as being safe for mass commercial use. We have already seen a significant shift to A2L refrigerant R32 in air-conditioning systems and for years we have accepted the highly flammable refrigerant butane (R600a) in our refrigerators and freezers at home. There is no doubt that building regulators, health and safety boards and manufacturers will continue to work together to make A2L refrigerants an acceptable part of the long-term solution, but the ultimate question we have to ask ourselves is are we replacing the old for the new quick enough? Only time will tell.
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