Review of next generation low GWP refrigerants for chiller products.

Abstract

The recent Kigali amendment to the Montreal Protocol has initiated regulatory and voluntary actions to limit the direct global warming potential (GWP) of refrigerants used in many applications, including chillers. This paper provides an update on the latest low GWP refrigerant technology for chiller applications. Low GWP refrigerant technology continues to evolve and innovation continues with the development of new refrigerants to replace R123, R245fa, R134a and R410A for chillers, many of which are ultra-low GWP (GWP <10). OEM’s continue to expand the introductions of R1233zd(E), R514A, R513A, and R1234ze(E) for large chiller products to replace R123 and R134a. R1224yd(Z) has recently been introduced to replace R245fa. Several flammable R410A replacements, for example R32 and R452B have been previously reviewed, but a new nonflammable refrigerant, R466A, will be compared to the above alternatives for use in R410A chillers.