Carbon coolers

摘要

Hydrofluorocarbon(HFC) refrigerants used in fridges and air conditioning units could soon be replaced with more environmentally benign CO_2 combined with various sorbents. The technology to achieve this is being developed by UK refrigerant specialist, Thermal Energy Systems (TESL), which has raised ?00,000 from a consortium of investors including NESTA, the Liverpool Seed Fund and Enterprise Ventures. TESL director John Poole and technical director Dick Powell said their concept uses commercially available components, which eliminates the need to retool production facilities with expensive new equipment. 'By using known materials and components that are already proven, we avoid safety problems that would be associated with new compounds,' said Powell.