DuPont’s new low GWP refrigerant trio

USA: DuPont has announced the commercial availability of three more low GWP, HFO-based refrigerants.

Joining DuPont’s Opteon family of new hydrofluoro-olefin technology products are DuPont brands XP10, XP44 and XP40, respectively R513A, R452A and R449A.

DuPont claims to have more than a dozen products at various stages of development, some still at the early stages of laboratory testing. Already available is Opteon YF, the R134a car air conditioning replacement R1234yf.

The new addition XP10 is a low GWP, non-flammable replacement for R134a. A binary mixture of R134a (44%) and R1234yf (56%), it has a GWP of around 630. It replaces R134a in new equipment and, backed by extensive tests, has shown similar capacity and efficiency. Designated as R513A, it carries the ASHRAE safety classification of A1.

DuPont sees XP10 having great potential as a replacement for medium temperature refrigeration applications in the hybrid CO2 cascade systems now commonly used in European supermarkets.

XP44

XP44 is a non-flammable replacement for R404A in transport refrigeration systems. It comprises R32, R125 and R1234yf and offers a GWP of of 2140 – a little over half that of R404A.

Designated by ASHRAE as R452A, XP44 is an A1, non-toxic, non-flammable blend that closely matches the properties and performance of R404A, including a similarly low compressor discharge temperature. It is considered particularly suitable for transport refrigeration where compressor cooling is difficult to manage under a wide range of ambient conditions.

R452A is said to have good miscibility with POE lubricant and test results are said to have shown no significant loss of cooling capacity or increase of input power compared to R404A. Compressor discharge temperatures are only slightly higher.

The refrigerant was recently chosen by transport refrigeration company Thermo King as an option for its customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

XP40

Opteon XP40, aka R449A, is DuPont’s flagship low GWP, non-flammable replacement for R404A and R507A in new and existing stationary commercial refrigeration systems. Its GWP of 1397 is significantly lower than the two refrigerants it is designed to replace.

A blend of R32 (24.3%), R125 (24.7%), R1234yf (25.3%) and R134a (25.7%), it is said to closely match the properties and performance to R404A, and can also replace other HFCs such as R507A, R407A and R407F.

XP40 is reported to have been extensively tested in labs and the field by DuPont as well as major industry players, including compressor OEMs, system engineering companies and supermarket retailers. In those tests DuPont says it has consistently demonstrated between 5 and 10% lower energy consumption compared to R404A after a retrofit.

Related news:

Dutch retailer converts 200 stores to R449A – October 16, 2014
NETHERLANDS: Dutch retailing group Ahold is converting the refrigeration systems in some 200 of its Albert Heijn supermarkets to DuPont’s R404A/R507A replacement refrigerant Opteon XP40, aka R449A. Read more…