Search for Alternative Refrigerants: A Molecular Approach

摘要

The impending production limitation on the fully halogenated CFC refrigerants is causing an intense search for possible substitutes. This study reviews the historical development of the CFC refrigerants and the relationship between molecular structure and the ozone depletion and greenhouse warming potentials. It then demonstrates that the halogenated hydrocarbons (a class of compounds that includes the CFCs) remain the most promising candidates for replacements based on both theoretical thermodynamic arguments and an empirical data base search. The inevitable practical tradeoffs among the various candidates are seen to vary in a systematic fashion based on molecular structure.