ABSTRACT

As the primary alternative to ozone-depleting refrigerants, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) have increased in use and emissions in the United States. This increase, and a large portion of total U.S. HFC consumption, is expected due to the use of HFCs in residential air conditioning (RAC). The RAC market primarily relied upon chlorodifluoromethane, a hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) known as HCFC-22, whose consumption is being phased out globally under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and under national regulations such as the Clean Air Act in the United States. The RAC market today relies on HFCs, most often R-410A (a blend of difluoromethane or HFC-32, and pentafluoroethane or HFC-125) for new equipment, but older units using HCFC-22 remain. The RAC industry is investigating multiple alternatives with global warming potentials (GWPs) significantly below that of R-410A. Research has been conducted by chemical producers, air conditioner and component manufacturers, national government laboratories, academia, and consortium efforts. Various low-GWP alternatives have been suggested with GWPs of approximately 750 and below. This paper investigates industry-wide HFC reduction measures in the United States across sectors that have transitioned from ozone-depleting substances to HFCs. Under various scenarios with RAC refrigerants with GWPs in the 150-750 range, this paper shows that future RAC refrigerants will strongly influence industry efforts to reduce U.S. HFC consumption. These reductions are not just reliant on manufacturers introducing new equipment with low-GWP alternatives. The service industries, responsible for repairing leaks and recovering refrigerant, play a vital role in reducing HFC consumption.

摘要

作为消耗臭氧的制冷剂的主要替代品，氢氟碳化合物（HFC）在美国的使用和排放量都有所增加。由于家用空调（RAC）中使用了HFC，因此预计这一增长以及美国HFC消费总量的很大一部分。RAC市场主要依赖于氯二氟甲烷（一种称为HCFC-22的氢氯氟烃（HCFC）），根据《消耗臭氧层物质蒙特利尔议定书》以及美国《清洁空气法》等国家法规，该产品正在全球范围内逐步淘汰。状态。今天的RAC市场依赖于HFC，新设备通常使用R-410A（二氟甲烷或HFC-32和五氟乙烷或HFC-125的混合物），但仍旧使用HCFC-22。RAC行业正在研究多种替代品，这些替代品的全球变暖潜能值（GWP）大大低于R-410A。化学品生产商，空调和部件制造商，国家政府实验室，学术界和财团已进行了研究。已经提出了各种全球升温潜能值低的替代方案，其全球升温潜能值约为750以下。本文研究了从臭氧消耗物质向氢氟碳化合物过渡的各行业在美国的全行业氢氟碳化合物削减措施。在各种全球变暖潜能值在150-750范围内的RAC制冷剂的情况下，本文表明，未来的RAC制冷剂将极大地影响行业为减少美国HFC消耗而做出的努力。这些减少不仅取决于制造商引入具有低全球升温潜能值替代品的新设备。