International. In a paper presented during the 5th IIR Conference on Sustainability and the Cold Chain, held in April in Beijing, China, researchers S. Kujak and K. Schulz discussed low GWP refrigerant options and their impact of LCCP (Life Cycle Climate Performance) for refrigerated transport.
R452A has been shown to be an acceptable replacement for R404A in marine and over-the-road refrigeration products, and has been adopted by several transportation refrigeration equipment manufacturers. Acceptable performance and reliability has been observed with R452A units shipped over the past 3 years.
R452A is a mixture of R32/R125/R1234yf at a composition of 11/59/30 percent by weight. It provides specific environmental and safety characteristics, including zero impact on stratospheric ozone, low toxicity and non-flammability (ASHRAE Standard 34 and ISO 817 classified as a Class A1 refrigerant). However, due to its relatively high GWP (1945), although 50% lower than that of R404A, it can be considered as a transitional option.
Other refrigerants, such as R744, have been demonstrated in a number of refrigeration products for transportation, but adoption is limited at this time. In addition, the performance of R744-based equipment is not available for a full LCCP assessment.
Both laboratory research and production tests have shown that R452A has a capacity and efficacy equivalent to R404A. R452A has been shown to have similar material compatibility and chemical stability to R404A and in combination with production experiences to date.
A life cycle climate performance (LCCP) tool was used to assess the total impact of GWP (direct and indirect emissions), expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent mass (kg CO2eq), over the lifetime of a transport application. For this study, both R404A and R452A were analyzed for a typical daily distribution scenario in Phoenix, Arizona, in the United States. Overall, R452A's KG CO2eq emissions decreased approximately 9.1% from R404A.
Source: IIR.
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