Decarbonization and Refrigerants
摘要
In the article is presented the national and international strategy regarding Refrigerants in the context of Decarbonization. In the last ten years, a lot of research has been done in the field of refrigerants, at international level, taking into consideration the severe restrictions stipulated by law: Kyoto Protocol, Regulation (EU) 517/2014, Paris Agreement/2015, Kigali Amendment/2016/Montreal Protocol. January 1, 2019 the Kigali Amendment imposed regulations to reduce the production and usage of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC’s), greenhouse gases (temperature increase 0.4 °C) and elimination of up to 80 billion tons of CO2 emissions by 2050. All countries signing the Montreal Protocol agreed to phase out HFC’s by more than 80% over the next 30 years (replacing environmentally friendly alternatives). Significant contribution to the objective of the Paris Agreement was to limit the increase in global average temperature to a maximum of 2 °C. The target of decarbonization is the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by using low-carbon energy sources, resulting in less production of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In this article some study cases are presented by using of low GWP (global warming potential) refrigerants while maintaining energy efficiency, calculated TEWI (Total Equivalent Warming Impact) factor for the refrigeration systems (heat pump). Two of the lowest GWP refrigerants are R-744 (CO2), with a GWP of 1 and R-717 (Ammonia) with a GWP of 0. Ammonia has better efficiency than CO2 so it would use less electrical power to operate.