Japan Will Develop New Refrigerants to Replace Freon Substitutes

According to Japanese media reports, Japan’s METI will start developing new refrigerants for use in air conditioners and refrigerated showcases that can curb global warming.

According to reports, Japan’s METI will commission universities and research institutions to conduct safety investigations on candidate substances as early as the spring of 2018 to replace the current “freon substitutes”. By urging companies to adopt and popularize the new refrigerant, it will help meet the international goal of cutting Freon alternatives by 85% by 2036.

It is reported that Freon substitutes can cause a greenhouse effect more than 700 times that of carbon dioxide, which has become a problem. Through this research, METI Japan will investigate the safety of candidate substances such as fluorine compounds and hydrocarbons, which have a lower greenhouse effect than Freon substitutes, and confirm whether they can be used as refrigerants.

Fluorine compounds and hydrocarbons are regarded as strong candidates to replace Freon substitutes, which can reduce the induced greenhouse effect to less than a tenth of that of Freon substitutes. However, these substances have problems such as easy decomposition and flammability.

To this end, future research by the researcher will focus on preventing decomposition through the mixing of various species or work on the structure of equipment such as air conditioners to solve the flammable problem.

In addition, Japan METI will also request air-conditioning companies to provide assistance in safety testing methods. It will be practical in the five years from 2018 to 2022, urging all parties to reduce the use of Freon substitutes.

According to the Montreal Protocol, which restricts the use of freon alternatives, Japan and other developed countries will reduce freon alternatives by 85% by 2036. Achieving this will require changing the refrigerant for air conditioners, etc.