Retrofitting HFC134a into existing CFC12 systems

The CFC phasing-out regulations call for the phasing out of CFCs before the end of the decade. The process of revision of these regulations continues and the dates for phasing-out may be brought forward even more. After the phasing out of CFCs it will be important for the refrigeration industry to be able to use the existing equipment currently running on CFC12. This paper gives a brief outline of ICI developmental work on the new range of ester oils suitable for the alternative refrigerants. The simple procedure developed to enable the refrigeration industry to convert from CFC12 to HFC134a is described. The flushing procedure and the determination of residual mineral-oil content are set out. Five case studies where HFC134a has been retrofitted in five different application sectors are given at the end of the paper.