CFC alternative: recycled refrigerants.More than half the world's nations, including the United States, have agreed to halt their production of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons chlorofluorocarbons (klōr'əfl  r`əkär'bənz, klôr'–) (CFCs), organic compounds that contain carbon, chlorine, and fluorine atoms. , or CFCs, beginning in 1996 (SN: 12/12/92, p.415). Unfortunately, researchers have developed few environmentally friendly replacements for these refrigerants Chemical refrigerants are assigned an R number(sometimes the label replaces it with the word Freon) which is determined systematically according to molecular structure. The following is a list of refrigerants with their R numbers, IUPAC chemical name, molecular formula, and CAS number. . However, CFCs might serve another 20 years if cleaned up and recycled, says Robert E. Kauffman, a chemist at the University of Dayton The University of Dayton is one of the ten largest Catholic schools in the United States and is the largest of the three Marianist universities in the nation. It is also home to one of the largest campus ministry programs in the world. (Ohio) Research Institute. Researchers assumed that recycled refrigerants wouldn't be up to par, but Kauffman's findings suggest otherwise. He studied refrigerants that spent years coursing through air-conditioning systems, picking up oils and acids along the way. He removed the oils and passed the remaining liquid through a filter containing beads of aluminum silicate silicate, chemical compound containing silicon, oxygen, and one or more metals, e.g., aluminum, barium, beryllium, calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, sodium, or zirconium. Silicates may be considered chemically as salts of the various silicic acids. zeolite zeolite Any member of a family of hydrated aluminosilicate minerals that have a framework structure enclosing interconnected cavities occupied by large metal cations (positively charged ions)—generally sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and barium—and water crystals, which act as molecular sieves. The recycled refrigerants performed as well as new, he reported June 29 at a meeting of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers. Moreover, the cleaning reduced their corrosiveness and thus their chance of causing leaks into the atmosphere, he says. |
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