CHICAGO — “Opt for better” was the theme at the Chemours booth, as the company spotlighted its Opteon™ line of low-global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants.
The company was proud to be recognized with the 2018 AHR Expo Innovation Award in the Refrigeration category for its Opteon XP44 (R-452A), a non-ozone-depleting, low-GWP, hydrofluroolefin (HFO)-based refrigerant replacement for R-404A/507.
“Many equipment manufacturers have platforms based on the low discharge temperatures of R-404A, and XP44, more than any other product, provides that close match in discharge temperature,” said Stefanie Kopchick, North American marketing manager for refrigerants. “We’ve seen a great deal of interest in and adoption of XP44 from manufacturers globally in two areas in particular: transport refrigeration and small, low-temperature hermetic systems.”
These types of systems tend to operate at higher condensing temperatures or in small cabinets that don’t typically have the space to add any other means of keeping the compressor from overheating.
“The low discharge temperatures of this refrigerant, combined with the close performance match, allow compressor and system manufacturers to cost-effectively transition their 404A platforms to a lower GWP refrigerant that does not negatively impact the reliability of their systems,” Kopchick added.
In addition, she said Opteon XP40 (R-449A) continues to gain widespread acceptance globally as the “go-to” low-GWP replacement refrigerant in commercial refrigeration applications, such as supermarkets and convenience stores, to replace both R-22 and R-404A/R-507.
Chemours also unveiled a new web-based tool to help contractors, manufacturers, and end users navigate the often confusing world of refrigerants.
The tool, “An Interactive Guide to Global Refrigerants and Solutions,” allows users to click on any country or region in the world. From there, they click on an application, such as air conditioning or refrigeration, and they see all the regulations in place for that region and application. It then provides a list of the refrigerants Chemours currently has available to meet those regulations.
“It also has a refrigerant replacement guide,” Kopchick noted. “If you’re currently using a specific product in an application and you need a replacement solution, there’s a tab to guide you to that information. We expect it to be a very useful tool for our customers and the entire industry.”
Publication date: 2/26/2018
