Technical Paper
A New, Efficient and Environmentally Benign System for Automobile Air Conditioning
1993-04-01
931129
By introducing HFC-134a as the replacement refrigerant for CFC-12 in motorcar air conditioning, the automobile industry will comply with the present national and international legislation for the phase-out of ozone-depleting substances. A transition to this new fluid will, however, result in emissions of several hundred thousand tonnes of a new and unfamiliar chemical compound to the atmosphere each year, involving both known negative consequences like global warming, and potential risks of serious unknown environmental effects. A new, efficient and environmentally benign automobile air conditioning system “MAC-2000” has been developed at The Norwegian Institute of Technology, in cooperation with Hydro Aluminium. The new system is based on a trans-critical vapour compression cycle with carbon dioxide as the refrigerant. Although working pressures and component design are different, the basic principle of the CO2 system is similar to present CFC/HFC units.