ATLANTA — Alternative low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants will be presented at the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)/National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 2012 Refrigerants Conference: “Moving toward Sustainability,” Oct. 29-30, 2012, at NIST in Gaithersburg, Md.

According to the organizations, papers from leading global experts will be presented on refrigerant alternatives and technologies, environmental effects of refrigerants, new refrigerant performance considerations, and natural refrigerants.

“The goal of the conference is to provide new information on the technologies, methods, and means that will be used in the future to accommodate the imminent phase-down of high-GWP refrigerants,” said Piotr Domanski, conference co-chair. “International concerns about the impact of refrigerants on climate change inevitably lead to increased focus on refrigerants with a low GWP applied in high-efficiency systems. This includes a new generation of unsaturated fluorochemicals and the expanded use of ‘natural’ refrigerants.”

This is the fourth jointly sponsored refrigerants conference organized by ASHRAE and NIST.

A number of papers address the new generation of low-GWP fluorochemicals, including “Introduction to Alternatives for High-GWP HFC Refrigerants;” “Alternatives to High-GWP HFC Refrigerants” for air conditioning, heating and refrigeration applications, chillers and residential and small commercial unitary; and “AHRI Low-GWP Alternative Refrigerant Evaluation Program,” among others. Information on new low-GWP refrigerants according to ASHRAE designations, including blend compositions, will be presented.

Papers addressing risk assessments for applications with 2L refrigerants will include “Risk Assessment of Residential Heat Pump Systems Using 2L Flammable Refrigerants” and “2L Flammability Investigation and Risk Assessment Enables Automotive Industry Approval of HFO-1234yf.” Papers on specific emerging refrigerants address “Environmental Impacts of HFO-1234yf and Other HFOs,” “Thermal and Chemical Stability of HFOs,” and “Thermophysical Properties, Heat Transfer, and Pressure Drop of HFOs.”

Perspectives on the expanded use of natural refrigerants are addressed in papers titled “Outlook for Natural Refrigerants,” “Application of CO2 in Supermarkets in Europe,” and “Ammonia.”

The three opening keynote speakers are: James Calm, engineering consultant, Great Falls, Va., who will speak on “Refrigerant Transitions…Again”; Drusilla Hufford, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, who will address “Opportunities for Improved Climate Benefit under the Montreal Protocol”; and Dr. Steve Montzka, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), who will address “HFCs in the Atmosphere: Concentrations, Emissions, Impacts.”

Registration closes Oct. 18. For more information or to register, visit www.ashrae.org/refrigerants2012.

Publication date: 10/1/2012