Commercial refrigeration systems are used to keep goods fresh and deep-frozen, especially foodstuffs, but also flowers and pharmaceutical products. They are installed, for example, in specialist food retailers and in catering applications. Nowadays, climate-friendly solutions with natural refrigerants are available for all system technologies.
Fluorinated gases in the atmosphere form degradation products such as trifluoroacetic acid (TFA). TFA enters the water cycle through precipitation and cannot be removed by proportionate means.
Harmful substances in products are regulated by different legislative texts. These texts address either the substances (chemicals) or the product itself. The legal provisions are therefore classified either into chemicals law or product law, or sometimes waste law when chemicals become relevant at the waste treatment stage only.
An EU directive has banned the use of fluorinated refrigerants with a global warming potential of more than 150 in certain mobile air conditioning systems since Jan. 2011. It requires the previously used refrigerant tetrafluoroethane (R134a) to be replaced. Natural refrigerants are considered the best environmental alternative. Climate-friendly alternatives are also available for buses and trains.
Sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆), which has a very high global warming potential, is used for insulation and arc quenching in switchgear. SF₆ emissions have been successfully reduced thanks to a voluntary industry commitment. Alternative products to substitute SF₆ in various applications have been developed.
Transport of refrigerated and chilled products like food is on the rise worldwide. Whether goods are transported on the road, by train or ship, the cooling temperatures must be maintained exactly. Many transport refrigeration units contain fluorinated refrigerants acting as greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These substances need to be replaced by refrigerants having less impact on the climate.
Buses are eco-friendly means of transport, nevertheless their climate performance can be increased still further. Today’s mobile air conditioning systems in buses still use the refrigerant tetrafluoroethane (R134a), a greenhouse gas with a 1,430 times higher impact to the climate than carbon dioxide. There is a climate friendly alternative: Some city buses already use CO2 air conditioning systems.
It is only recently that air conditioning has become relatively common in German buildings. The high standard of living has ramped up expectations concerning comfort and convenience in the home and particularly at the workplace, and this in turn has increased energy demand. The refrigerants used in more than 95 percent of Germany’s air conditioners strongly affect the climate.
