PHILADELPHIA - Arkema announced that it is making major investments in both advanced refrigerant technology and expansion of its global capacity to meet the current and future needs of the refrigerant market. Arkema said it is meeting the short-term needs of the market with HCFC-22 alternatives, and for longer-term needs, it is investing in HFC production capacity and low global warming potential (GWP) product development.

According to the company, it has expanded its HFC refrigerant line to the HVACR industry with better solutions for retrofitting R-22 systems using Forane®427A and Forane®407A refrigerant. Forane®427A refrigerant is said to have nearly identical operating pressures and similar performance characteristics to HCFC-22 for use in a wide range of air conditioning and refrigeration applications. Arkema’s new Forane®407A refrigerant is said to closely match the cooling capacity and flow rates of R-22, making it particularly well suited for retrofitting supermarket and food storage applications.

Arkema also has invested in manufacturing capacity for all four key HFC components (R-32, R-125, R-134a, R-143a), which may be combined to manufacture all the major HFC blends used in HVACR. As part of this investment, Arkema is starting up its HFC-125 refrigerant production at the world-scale Changshu, China operation, the first of its size in Asia. Together with HFC-32, HFC-125 is an essential component of new generation refrigerant blends, most notably HFC-410A, the replacement refrigerant for HCFC-22.

In addition, Arkema said it is continuing to develop next-generation fluorochemicals to help minimize greenhouse gas emissions. As part of this initiative, Arkema has announced plans to produce R-1234yf on an industrial scale. With negligible GWP, R-1234yf is a substitute for HFC-134a in automotive air conditioning systems. Arkema also said it has initiated further development of low GWP products to replace those with higher GWP in all refrigerant market sectors.

For more information, visit www.forane-us.com.

Publication date:02/01/2010