DuPont Fluorochemicals (DuPont) has announced the introduction of three new refrigerants in its more sustainable DuPont Opteon family.
These refrigerants have a lower global warming potential (GWP) to enable compliance with a growing number of regulations that limit the use of high-GWP refrigerants.
DuPont has developed a full portfolio of low-GWP, high-performance refrigerants for a wide variety of applications which are based on hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) technology.
There are more than a dozen products in development or already commercialized. DuPont is introducing three new low GWP products for commercial refrigeration under the names Opteon XP40, Opteon XP44 and Opteon XP10.
Opteon XP40 is a flagship refrigerant that can effectively replace the refrigerant R-404A, which has one of the highest GWPs of the common HFCs and is used in commercial refrigeration.
In addition to providing more than 60 per cent reduction in GWP, extensive testing has shown that Opteon XP40 delivers superior energy efficiency compared with R-404A.
Opteon XP44 is a lower GWP replacement for the refrigerant R-404A and has been designed specifically for transport refrigeration. Meanwhile, Opteon XP10 is a lower GWP replacement for R-134a for refrigeration and other applications.
DuPont has additional Opteon products in its pipeline, including high-performance fluids for targeted applications such as chillers, high-temperature heat pumps and organic rankine cycles.
The entire Opteon family offers properties and performance that are close to the incumbent HFCs to allow a smooth and efficient transition to more sustainable products, according to Thierry F.J. Vanlancker, president of DuPont Chemicals & Fluoroproducts.
"We anticipate that our new family of products will reduce greenhouse gas content of refrigerants by some 245 million tons CO2 equivalent worldwide by 2025," he said.
"The new Opteon refrigerants enable the industry to meet regulatory demands without giving up efficient, safe and cost-effective refrigeration and air conditioning."
Locally, DuPont Sustainable Systems announced today that its safety and sustainability awards program will be open to Australian and New Zealand companies for the first time.
The Safety and Sustainability Awards will begin in 2015. Dupont's ANZ Business Leader, Rod Nelson said that over the past decade, the DuPont Safety and Sustainability Awards have become widely recognised among industrial companies as a benchmark for workplace safety and sustainability.
"More importantly, they have helped to promote initiatives aimed at saving lives and protecting the environment," he said.
"This region has made impressive progress in safety and sustainability over the past few years, and we’re proud to be showcasing some of our best achievements on a global stage."
The awards were first introduced in 2002.