Profil Title	‘Green’ refrigerant blend for heat pump and room air conditioning equipment.
Reference Nr.	12 GB 4103 3OXO
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Profil Type	Offer
Entry/Update	2012-04-20 / 2012-04-20

Abstract	An East of England based SME offers a novel ‘green’ refrigerant blend for heat pump and room air conditioning equipment. The new blend adheres to forthcoming EU regulation and legislation around global warming potential of new refrigerants and can be used as a ‘drop-in’ replacement for current refrigerant blends being used. They seek ethylene/ethanol producers for manufacturing opportunities and organisations that manufacture heat pump and a/c equipment and compressors for the widely used R410A
Details	There are current legislative and environmental issues that mean that there is an urgent need to move away from the existing Hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) and Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants. The amount of refrigerant in use around the world is 475 Ktonnes. Leakage of refrigerant not only has cost implications but environmental issues regarding global warming. Global refrigerant leakage is 13KTonnes/annum i.e. a global annual leakage rate of 27.8%. The EU has agreed a regulation (Regulation (EC) No 842 /2006) tackling stationary cooling applications, which aims to improve containment. The effectiveness of the regulation will be assessed in 2011, and additional applications for F-gas restrictions will be identified. A likely outcome is the phase-out of refrigerants with a Global Warming Potential (GWP) above 150 in new refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump applications. This would represent the beginning of the end for Hydro Fluorocarbons (HFCs). For some years it has been possible to replace most HFCs with currently available natural refrigerants, in particular hydrocarbon blends – with the notable exception of the high pressure HFC R410A. Before restricting R410A, EU regulators may wish to be convinced that a satisfactory alternative to it exists - hence the importance of the UK SMEs new refrigerant blend. The UK SMEs refrigerant blend provides an excellent alternative to R410A, with a low GWP of around 7. It has a normal boiling point of approximately -49oC. Significantly, this mixture possesses a notably high critical temperature approaching 95oC, which offers a major advantage when used in systems that operate under high ambient temperatures or for heat pump applications. Innovative Aspects: The East of England based SMEs patented green refrigerant offers the following characteristics: •Ozone friendly and reduce global warming •Meets legislative requirements •Low GWP of 7 compared to R410A which has a GWP of 1725 times the effect of carbon dioxide •High critical temperature approaching 95oC – major advantage for heat pump applications. •Achieves an energy efficiency improvement of up to 20% •A ‘drop-in’ replacement for R410A
Technology sector	- Special chemicals, intermediates - Environment
Market application	- Chemicals and Materials - Lubricants and functional fluids - Air filters and air purification and monitoring equipment
Stage of development	Development phase - Laboratory tested
Patent Rights (IPR)	Patent(s) granted
	UK, US and European patents granted
Cooperation type	- License Agreement - Joint Venture Agreement - New way to use an existing production line # Type of partner sought •Existing manufacturers of R410A compressors and equipment. They will then offer the UK SMEs blend as an alternative to R410A. The UK SME will work with industry partners to verify the precise efficiency savings that their blend can deliver so that the benefits are clearly presented to partners. •Biomethanol Producers – they have the capability to produce the blend for them due to the fluorination process and the use of methanol as a chemical feedstock into the process.
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