Refrigerants are chemical products used in air conditioning, ventilating and heating units. Hence, they form an important part of air conditioners, freezers and refrigerators. The gases used as refrigerants have extremely low evaporation points and they are compressed further to condition and cool the air.
Refrigerants play a very important role, and a positive one on society and life in the areas of physical comfort, medicine and nutrition. Although refrigerants have posed health and environmental hazard when improperly disposed, use of efficient gasses and advancements in the way these gases are handled has mitigated almost all chances of a hazard occurring.
TYPES OF REFRIGERANT GASES
Through a process of repeated evaporation and condensation of these gasses, heat is pulled out of the air within a confined space, thus cooling it. There are different types of refrigerants, namely:
- CFC – Chlorofluorocarbon,
- HFC – Hydrofluorocarbon,
- HCFC – Hydrochlorofluorocarbon,
- PFC – Perfluorocarbon,
- Gas blends containing carbon dioxide and ammonia
IMPROVED REFRIGERANT GASSES
The fact that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) pose an environmental threat by destroying the ozone layer thus resulting in global warming, lead to the discovery of better refrigerant alternatives. Although these alternatives too pose environmental concerns, since they have a short life when exposed to the environment they are considered better than CFCs. HCFCs, which are a combination of carbon, fluorine, chlorine and hydrogen, HFCs, which is a refrigerants without chlorine and man-made PFCs, which are a combination of carbon ions and fluorine are a few of the better alternatives to the harmful CFC refrigerant.
However, refrigerant gases manufacturers and researchers across the world continue to find out even better refrigerant gases that can pose no environmental hazard when used. Simultaneously, studies are under way to build better refrigeration units and handling systems so as to completely eliminate any potential environmental hazards.
