Document pOdXnx7z14xREvzJ3zXY5bLa

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY REPORTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Technology Options for Low Environmental Impact Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Systems Ref. ARreesf.(2A0r2e4s)(26282016228453)4956260-7109747/0449-/22062/046/2024 NOVEMBER 2023 Assessment of the Performance of Hydrofluoroolefins, Hydrochlorofluoroolefins, and Halogen-Free Foam Blowing Agents in Cellular Plastic Foams OVERVIEW Faced with increasing concerns about global warming, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, has assessed the role HFO technology plays in offering low global warming potential (low-GWP) alternatives for use in important commercial applications, including appliances, residential air conditioning, supermarket refrigeration systems, and spray foam insulation. Published in August 2023 and October 2023, the two ORNL assessments take a data-driven approach to comparing and contrasting the energy efficiencies of alternative solutions. The results confirm HFOs represent greater energy efficiency (when compared to CO and propane/ hydrocarbons) and less flammability (when compared to propane/hydrocarbons), both of which represent industrially produced alternatives. REPORT #1: LOW ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OPTIONS FOR AIR CONDITIONING & REFRIGERATION In the study, "Technology Options for Low Environmental to explore whether innovative technologies such as HFOs Impact Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Systems,"1 ORNL can serve as long-term and sustainable replacements for evaluated options for two main applications - residential air legacy refrigerants. conditioning and commercial supermarket refrigeration - ORNL STUDIED HFOs COMPARED TO BOTH PROPANE AND CO IN APPLICATIONS ACROSS THE GLOBE Application System Type US Residential AC Air-Conditioning Commercial Refrigeration Rest of the World Residential AC (Multi Split AC) Supermarket Refrigeration System Refrigerants HFO/HFC: R455A, R454C2 HFO/HFC: R455A, R454C NIK: Propane HFO/HFC: R455A, R454C NIK: Propane, CO Climate Phoenix (Warm) Atlanta (Average) Chicago (Cold) Delhi (Warm) Sao Paulo (Warm) Shanghai (Average) Phoenix (Warm) Shanghai (Average) Atlanta (Average) Rome (Average) Rome (Average) Frankfurt (Cold) Frankfurt (Cold) Chicago (Cold) Oslo (Cold) https://info.ornl.gov/sites/publications/Files/Pub200582.pdf 2 R455A and R454C are low-GWP HFO blend refrigerants, containing more than 75% HFO (1234yf) In its findings, ORNL outlined key issues with alternative industrial refrigerants, including: "Propane is a highly flammable refrigerant." (P. 6) "The reliability of CO systems has historically been an issue. They are typically prone to leaks and very sensitive to charge levels." (P. 26) "The handling of very high-pressure CO will require highly skilled technicians and operators." (P. 25) "Owing to its lower critical temperature, CO has an inherently lower thermodynamic efficiency."3 (P. 25) ORNL FOUND THAT HFOs ARE SAFE FOR INTENDED USE ORNL emphasized the findings from past reports by WMO It also highlighted that global safety standards, including (2022) and the UNEP EEAP (2022), which show increased IEC 60335-240, ISO 5149, and EN378, allow the safe use confidence that TFA produced from the breakdown of new of HFOs for the stationary air-conditioning and refrigeration low-GWP refrigerants will not harm the environment. industries. ORNL FOUND THAT HFOs ARE LOW EMISSION AND ENERGY EFFICIENT ALTERNATIVES Researchers found that HFO mixtures can reduce the total In addition, ORNL has shown that HFO-based blends require lifetime emissions from 2.5% to 3.8%. If HFO blends were the lowest overall energy usage in all cities studied for 100% adopted to replace refrigerants in air conditioning, the commercial refrigeration. best-case scenario can reduce total lifetime greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 12.4% while maintaining the current energy consumption. KEY REPORT FINDING: CO SYSTEMS WILL CONSUME 8% TO 50% HIGHER ENERGY VS. HFO SOLUTIONS OVER THE LIFETIME OF THE SYSTEM (15 YEARS) IN COMMERCIAL REFRIGERATION. Commercial Refrigeration Energy Consumption for 15 years (HFO Solutions vs. CO) % Additional Energy Consumption 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% Fr ankfu rt (Co ld) Chicago (Co ld) Osl o (Co ld) Propane vs R454C At lan ta (Average) Rome (Average) Propane vs R455A Shanghai (Average) Ph oeni x (War m) 3 In thermodynamics, efficiency is one of the most frequently used terms to indicate how well energy is converted into useful work. Generally it is defined as the ratio of desired output to required input KEY REPORT FINDING: PROPANE SYSTEMS WILL CONSUME 5% TO 21% HIGHER ENERGY VS. HFO SOLUTIONS OVER THE LIFETIME OF THE SYSTEM (15 YEARS) IN COMMERCIAL REFRIGERATION. Commercial Refrigeration Energy Consumption for 15 years (HFO Solutions vs. Propane) % Additional Energy Consumption 30.0% 25.0% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0% Fr ankfu rt (Co ld) Chicago (Co ld) Osl o (Co ld) Propane vs R454C At lan ta (Average) Rome (Average) Propane vs R455A Shanghai (Average) Ph oeni x (War m) REPORT #2: ASSESSMENT OF PERFORMANCE FOR SPRAY FOAM INSULATION ALTERNATIVES In the study "Assessment of the Performance of Hydrofluoroolefins, Hydrochlorofluoroolefins, and HalogenFree Foam Blowing Agents in Cellular Plastic Foams,"4 ORNL conducted an extensive literature review to evaluate the publicly available data on HFOs to assess their viability and performance in spray foams, boardstocks, appliances, and panels compared to available alternatives like hydrocarbons, methylal, and CO. Researchers evaluated the performance attributes of HFO blowing agents to evaluate energy efficiency, as well as safety attributes to identify HFOs' flammability characteristics, ultimately concluding HFOs can effectively replace higher GWP solutions, such as HFCs, to reduce emissions and mitigate the use of flammable and explosive materials in high-density, urban areas. The report confirmed that HFO technology is widely used across these applications for commercial and domestic use, with ORNL citing that HFO-based blowing agents are non-ODP, low-GWP, and "have good thermal insulation and physical properties, which are quite important to comply with the energy efficiency standards mandated for these applications." (P. 48) of current HFCs", including suitable boiling point, low vapor conductivity and nonflammability." (P. 3) Low-pressure spray foam: Low-GWP HFO-based low-pressure spray foams are "non-flammable, exhibit adequate compressive strength and are compatible with spray foam processing equipment." (P. 16) Boardstock: "HFO blowing agents are adequate alternatives for PU/PIR foam board applications as they are non-flammable and possess excellent insulation and physical properties." (P. 24) Panels: "Non-flammable HCFOs are practical when setting up manufacturing plants as they do not require safety mitigation." (P. 37) Appliances (Domestic and Commercial): "Foams produced with [HFO and HFO blend] blowing agents have good thermal insulation and physical properties, which are quite important to comply with the energy efficiency standards mandated for these applications." (P. 48) Further findings across individual applications include: High-pressure spray foam: Low-GWP HFO-based highpressure spray foams "provide the desired characteristics 4 https://info.ornl.gov/sites/publications/Files/Pub200858.pdf SUMMARY OF ALTERNATIVE BLOWING AGENTS USED IN COMMERCIAL APPLIANCES (P. 48) Criteria HFOs Commercially adopted Blowing agent flammability Foam thermal insulation performance Foam physical properties Compatibility with foam processing equipment Economically viable Environmental considerations Yes Nonflammable Excellent Excellent Yes Yes None Safety considerations None Overall suitability as a blowing agent in this application Suitable Hydrocarbons Methyl Formate Methylal CO (water) Yes Flammable Yes Flammable Yes Flammable Yes Nonflammable Good Fair Fair Poor Excellent Fair Fair Good Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes VOC by EPA None Yes Yes VOC by EPA None Flammable Flammable Flammable None Suitable Suitable Suitable Suitable where low lambda is not critical CO TDCE No Nonflammable Unknown No Flammable Unknown Unknown Unknown No Yes Unknown Yes None VOC by EPA HP cylinders required Suitable where low lambda is not critical Flammmable, toxicity issues Suitable, but only as an additive ABOUT OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY (ORNL) Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the world's premier research discovery and innovation to realize solutions in energy and institution. Established in 1943 as part of the U.S. national security, as well as provide economic benefit to Department of Energy's Manhattan Project to address the the nation. United States' most urgent R&D needs, ORNL has a legacy of Honeywell Advanced Materials 115 Tabor Road Morris Plains, NJ 07950 honeywell.com/hfofacts