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Refrigerants in Transition
Abstract
The massive growth of air conditioning and
refrigeration has been a direct result of the
development of a class of chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons
that were thought to be inert, non-toxic
and friendly, and were inexpensive. Their
use led to advances in nutrition, health and
chemical processes that made vastly improved
standards of living available to millions of
people. Scientists discovered that a fragile
layer of ozone that protects the earth's surface
from bombardment by the sun's ultraviolet radiation
was thinning. Studies conducted in the
1980s showed that chlorine atoms from the breakdown
of chlorofluorocarbons and other chemicals
were causing this loss. The miracle refrigerants
were under attack. International concern became
so great that a meeting was held in 1987 to
address the problem. A treaty was the result of
this meeting. Legislation on the production and
use of these chemicals followed. Industry has
responded by testing replacement refrigerants.
This paper describes some of the issues and
results.
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Citation
Stouppe, D. E. (1991). Refrigerants in Transition. Energy Systems Laboratory (http://esl.eslwin.tamu.edu). Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /92225.