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This article is prepared by @firasdidac and @energiesnow for general knowledge about refrigerants:

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Abstract: 📜

In this summary, we will see the interest of the refrigerant in our daily life and in the world, its impact on the environment, the processes and protocols to be followed according to the regulations, its physical and technical specifications, and its last news.

What is the refrigerant?

Refrigerant is a mixture of chemical substances. This mixture has very special characteristics under specific conditions, such as its physical state, temperature, pressure, etc.

Who produced the first refrigerant?

In 1929, the American engineer Thomas Jr. Midgley, and his team produced the first molecules of dichloro-difluoro-methane (CCl2F2) or R12.

Why the refrigerant?

The interest in refrigerants lies in their frequent transformation and their power to provide or release a significant amount of thermal energy (heat) with the change of its conditions.

Where can we find this refrigerant?

In our daily life, we use refrigerants to cool the atmosphere, to preserve our food, to produce ice ... etc.
Any installation that transports heat, to release it or bring it, can only operate with a heat carrier. Water and air are heat carriers. But the refrigerant is a more important coolant if we compare its specific heat (calorific value) with other fluids. This material is found in refrigerating machines such as refrigerators, freezers for preserving food, condensing units for cold rooms, chilled water units for water cooling, the split and rooftop system for air cooling and other refrigeration machines used in industry. The car's air conditioner runs on refrigerant.

How can they be classified?

Historically, according to the Montreal Protocol to phase out ozone-depleting substances (O3), refrigerant is classified into three families, and a fourth is set after, according to their chemical compositions. With a long-term strategy to minimize global pollution. Each time gradually represents a ban of a family according to the importance of its impact on the environment, until reaching the goal.

*Family I [CFCs (Cloro-Fluoro-Clorure)]:

Chlorine (Cl), Fluorine (F) and Carbon (C). Due to the reaction of chlorine to the ozone layer (O3), it is a refrigerant banned since 2004.
Examples: R10 [Methane tetraclorure (C Cl4)], R11[Trichlo-fluoro-methane (C Cl3 F), R12 [Dichloro-difluo-romethane (C Cl2 F2)] ...

• Family II [HCFCs (Hydro-Cloro-Fluoro-Carbide)]:
  

Hydrogen (H), Chlorine (Cl), Fluorine (F) and Carbon (C). Its impact on the ozone layer (O3) is less reactive than the CFC. It is a transition fluid from family I to family III.
Examples: The famous R22 [Chloro-hydro-fluoro-methane (CH Cl F2)], with its performance and its wide range of use, it has been used almost in all areas (Tertiary, commercial for positive and negative cold rooms, industrial, transport, etc.).

• Family III [HFC (Hydro-Fluoro-Carbide]:

Composed of Hydrogen (H), Fluorine (F) and Carbon (C). This refrigerant does not contain any particles of Chlorine (Cl). It is a fluid that does not 'has any effect on the ozone (O3) layer.
Examples: R407C (mixture of R32 + R134a + R125), R410a (mixture of R32 + R125), R134a tetra-fluoro-ethane (C2H2F4)… etc.

What is the news about refrigerants?

The production of CFCs and HFCs have been totally banned for some time. A new sustainable development goal currently SDG concerning the environment, driven by the F-GAZ standards to minimize the causes of the greenhouse effect which relates to the global warming potential (GWP).

Noted well: 📢 The unit of measurement used to assess the potential warming of a greenhouse gas according to its lifespan in the atmosphere and its capacity to absorb infrared rays.

The orientation in the international market is directed towards the use of natural refrigerants like ammonia (R717), CO2(R744), propane (R290) ...

I want to know more about refrigerants: 📝💼

The stereotypy of refrigerants is categorized according to its homogeneity (pure or mixture) and its original composition (natural or artificial). Here we find natural refrigerants, purs refrigerants, azeotropic refrigerants and azeotropic refrigerants.