Honeywell (NYSE: HON) announced today that its new low-global-warming-potential product HFO-1234ze has been accepted for use in foam and aerosol applications by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The new product, hydrofluoroolefin HFO-1234ze, is non-flammable, non-ozone depleting and has a global warming potential (GWP) of 6. HFO-1234ze can replace HFC-134a (with a GWP of 1,430) and HFC-152a (with a GWP of 142) in aerosol applications, extruded polystyrene board, rigid polyurethane foam, and one- and two-component insulating and sealant foam.
"End consumers, the environment and our customers all benefit from the U.S. EPA's acceptance of this low-global-warming-potential fluorocarbon," said Terrence Hahn, vice president for Honeywell's Fluorine Products business. "Honeywell continues to lead the way in introducing solutions to ensure energy efficiency and enhance environmental compliance across numerous applications."
Earlier in 2010, Honeywell launched another low-GWP product, HFO-1234yf, for use in automobile air conditioners.
Fluorocarbon technology benefits society through superior energy efficiency performance in cooling and insulating applications. By reducing fuel consumption, fluorocarbons directly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from heating, cooling and electrical power generation, and are cost-effective for the end user compared with fluorocarbon alternatives.
In addition, fluorocarbons are mostly nonflammable and have a low order of toxicity, which makes them significantly safer in use than alternatives such as hydrocarbons and ammonia that are either extremely flammable or highly toxic.
Honeywell has pioneered the development of hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs), which are a family of unique products that offer similar performance properties to today's most widely used refrigerants, blowing agents and aerosol propellants, but with the added benefit of having very low global warming potentials. HFO-1234ze is currently used in Europe and Japan in a variety of foam and aerosol applications.
Source: http://www.honeywellnow.com/