Cooling Down Environmental Impact With R1234yf Refrigerant
In the automotive market, increased focus is being placed on the environmental impact of vehicles. In particular, the impact of refrigerants is fuelling the demand for a more sustainable refrigeration solution that provides experts cooling performance with a less significant environmental impact.
In 2006 the EU Mobile Air-Conditioning systems (MACs) Directive (2006/40) was put in place to limit the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of MAC refrigerant gases used in new car models, certified after January 2013, to 150GWP from January 2011. As of this year, this standard will apply to all new passenger cars.
The revision to the directive – alongside new automotive air conditioning requirements put in place by the Society of Automotive Engineers – will require the market to use more environmentally friendly methods of refrigeration. The R1234yf refrigerant has been developed as the next-generation solution and is an available replacement for the widely used R134a gas. R1234yf has a GWP of 4 compared to that of R134a which is over 1400 and so combines a vastly greater environmentally friendly benefits with an effective and efficient cooling solution.
Another advantage of the R1234yf system is that this refrigerant uses a similar system of materials – pipes, hoses, sealing rings – as the R134a system. This means the gases are relatively interchangeable with minimal systematic and logistical amendments.
However, while the R1234yf has significant environmental benefits and requires limited technical developments, the gas is more flammable than its predecessor. Therefore, the automotive industry must implement additional safeguards in handling, transportation, implementation and servicing.
This new generation coolant requires a unique cap and seal configuration to match the new valves and fittings. As a leading manufacturer and distributor of small, essential components, Essentra Components is one of the first solutions providers to create a specialist range of valve caps and plug solutions to meet the specifications of R1234yf. To ensure the stability of the refrigerant as well as prevent environmentally damaging leakage Essentra Components has developed a custom cap and seal solution.
The unique component has evolved from one of Essentra Components’ standard offerings: charge-port caps designed for the R134a market and is supplied to seven out of eight of the major OEMs via global leading Tier One suppliers of automotive HVAC systems.
Following an investment of nearly half a million-pounds in tooling; Essentra estimates that orders of the new products could be in excess of 10 million units per year by the end of 2018. Significant phasing is already well underway in the automotive industry with a number of the leading car brands in Germany and Japan already using the R1234yf, Mercedes has manufactured its SClass and EClass models in Europe with the more environmentally beneficial gas since 2016. In the US, car manufacturers started incorporating R1234yf in select models from 2013 in order to earn US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) incentive, in the form of credits under the fuel economy standards. In the US the EPA is continuing to drive this transition forward and requires a phase out of the R134a by 2021 for all cars and light trucks.
Although the new gas is still being phased in, there has been a ban put in place on the use of R134a in all new vehicles design since January 1 2017, meaning all new passenger vehicles must convert to the new air-conditioning refrigerant in their systems. Demands for R1234yf refrigerant are therefore growing exponentially and Essentra is seeing a steadily increasing order for its custom cap and seal solutions from air-conditioning OEMs as a result.
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