As part of our running commentary by refrigerant industry leaders, we asked Joyce Wallace, North American Marketing Manager for DuPont Refrigerants, to provide insight into DuPont's view of refrigeration, today and tomorrow.
2010-2014 an Important Timeframe
"The key area of focus for contractors now is the R-22 phaseout and the significant reduction in R-22 supply from 2010 to 2014. Contractors need to take action now, and prepare for this phaseout by getting experience with R-22 alternatives.
Feedback from contractors indicated that dealing with POE oil in a retrofit (and the multiple flushes involved) added time and cost.
"DuPont commercialized a new R-22 replacement in Spring 2009 which is called DuPont™ ISCEON® MO99™. MO99™ provides the closest match to R-22 with similar pressure enthalpy characteristics and mineral oil compatibility. Feedback from contractors indicated that dealing with POE oil in a retrofit (and the multiple flushes involved) added time and cost. MO99™ provides a Quick Switch and versatile alternative for R-22, and can be used across evaporator temperatures, in low, medium and high temperature applications.
Developments Continue
"It is widely known that HFO-1234yf has been selected to replace R-134a in automobiles, in response to the EU MAC directive. DuPont recently made an announcement to manufacture HFO-1234yf to help the auto OEMs meet the MAC Directive. Low global warming potential refrigerants are also being developed and tested for use in stationary refrigeration applications. We anticipate next generation refrigerants in stationary applications to be widely available closer to a 2020 timeframe.
"The bottom line is that the current HFC's are going to be viable options for many years to come. Visit refrigerants.dupont.com for updates on the development of stationary next gen applications and regulatory updates."