(R)Evolution of Refrigerants

As we enter the “fourth generation” of refrigerants, we consider the evolution of refrigerant molecules, the ever-changing constraints and regulations that have driven the need to consider new molecules, and the advancements in the tools and property models used to identify new molecules and design equipment using them. These separate aspects are intimately intertwined and have been in more-or-less continuous development since the earliest days of mechanical refrigeration, even if sometimes out-of-sight of the mainstream refrigeration industry. We highlight three separate, comprehensive searches for new refrigerants—in the 1920s, the 1980s, and the 2010s—that sometimes identified new molecules, but more often, validated alternatives already under consideration. A recurrent theme is that there is little that is truly new. Most of the “new” refrigerants, from R-12 in the 1930s to R-1234yf in the early 2000s, were reported in the chemical literature decades before they were considered as refrigerants. The search for new refrigerants continued through the 1990s even as the hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) were becoming the dominant refrigerants in commercial use. This included a return to several long-known natural refrigerants. Finally, we review the evolution of the NIST REFPROP database for the calculation of refrigerant properties.

Dr. McLinden holds a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Wisconsin and joined the National Institute of Standards and Technology in 1984. His research in the NIST Applied Chemicals and Materials Division focuses on highly accurate measurements of fluid properties over wide ranges of temperature and pressure and the design and fabrication of instruments for such measurements. He is the author or coauthor of more than 120 peer-reviewed publications; these have included research on “new” refrigerants; in the 1990s these were replacements for the ozone-depleting CFC and HCFC refrigerants, and more recently, his attention has turned to fluids having low global warming potential (GWP). Dr. McLinden is a fellow of ASHRAE and has received several awards related to his refrigerants research, including the J&E Hall Gold Medal of the Institute of Refrigeration.

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