International. According to a new study, alternative HFO refrigerants have a lower Global Warming Potential (GWP) than carbon dioxide (CO2).
A paper published in the latest edition of Reviews of Geophysics found that both R1234yf and R1234ze have a GWP lower than baseline 1 for CO2 and substantially lower than previously thought. Until now, the R1234yf had a published GWP of 4 and the 1234ze of 6.
The study found that the Radioactive Efficiency (ER) of 49 compounds is significantly different from what was published in the Fourth Intergovernmental Panel (AR4) Climate Change Valuation Report. The report also presents new ER values for more than 100 gases that were not included in the AR4.
The paper was produced by several chemists and environmental experts from Europe and the US, and is the first known study to indicate that the GWP of all fluorocarbon-based refrigerants have been systematically calculated using all available atmospheric data, taking into account local atmospheric patterns.
