A New Refrigerant for Sustainable Mobile Air Conditioning
Opteon™ YF refrigerant cools like HFC-134a in automotive air conditioning systems but has a much lower global warming potential (GWP).
The difference is in the chemistry. Conventional mobile air conditioning (AC) systems use hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants, which are composed of hydrogen, fluorine, and carbon atoms connected by single bonds. Opteon™ YF (R-1234yf) is a hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) refrigerant that has the same chemical elements but contains one double bond between one set of the carbon atoms.
The double bond makes a big difference. HFC-134a refrigerant has a GWP of 1,300; Opteon™ YF has a GWP < 1. And while HFCs can remain in the atmosphere for years, Opteon™ YF refrigerant has a lifetime measured in just days.
Features and Benefits
With its low GWP and excellent cooling performance, Opteon™ YF is ideally positioned to be the new generation refrigerant leader for mobile air conditioning applications.
Opteon™ YF (R-1234yf) automotive refrigerant readily meets global regulations for lower GWP refrigerants. It offers the optimal balance of properties and performance, including:
- Excellent environmental properties
- Zero ozone depletion potential (ODP) and very low GWP
- Comparable thermodynamic to HFC-134a
- Similar energy efficiency and capacity to HFC-134a
Opteon™ YF is mildly flammable with an ASHRAE safety classification of A2L. It is difficult to ignite, and has slow flame propagation (1.5 cm/sec). It has been evaluated by independent laboratories for toxicity and found to have toxicity similar to HFC-134a.
