Overview of low GWP mixtures for the replacement of HFC refrigerants: R134a, R404A and R410A

Abstract

The current European F-gas regulation establishes restrictions in the use of fluoride refrigerants with a high global warming potential (GWP) in applications of refrigeration and air conditioning (RAC) systems. Moreover, a gradual limitation on the GWP weight of the fluoride refrigerants placed on the market is ongoing and will end with approximately one-fifth of today's offer. In this context, many of the RAC systems operate with refrigerants R134a, R404A, and R410A that have GWP values of 1300, 3943 and 2088, respectively, are being forced to be replaced by environmentally friendly alternatives, like hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) refrigerants and their mixtures with hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), which can be designed to present intermediate characteristics and become the ideal candidate many RAC applications. This work presents the most recent HFC/HFO/HC/R744 refrigerant mixture options for an alternative to the refrigerants mentiond above and compares their energetic and performance with the early developed mixture prototypes.