DuPont Recognizes European Patent for New Environmentally Preferable Automotive Air Conditioning Refrigerant
HFO-1234yf Has Lower Global Warming Potential Than Current Refrigerant
Wilmington, DE (Vocus/PRWEB ) November 11, 2009 -- DuPont applauded the European Patent Office for its plans to grant a patent for a new, low-global-warming automotive air conditioning refrigerant. DuPont and Honeywell, working with the auto industry, jointly led the development of the new product, HFO-1234yf. DuPont will have access to Honeywell’s patent worldwide.
“We are pleased that the European Patent Office has communicated its intention to grant a patent for the use of HFO-1234yf in auto air conditioning,” said Diane Picho, global business manager, DuPont Refrigerants. “DuPont will continue commercializing this environmentally preferable product with the additional intellectual property protection that this granted patent affords.”
DuPont also is conducting lab and field tests to evaluate HFO-1234yf and other refrigerants with similar attributes as more sustainable cooling solutions for stationary air conditioning and refrigeration.
HFO-1234yf was developed by Honeywell and DuPont to help the automotive industry comply with the European Union’s Mobile Air Conditioning Directive. Beginning in 2011, that measure requires automakers to use refrigerants with a global warming potential (GWP) below 150. HFO-1234yf has a GWP of 4, compared with the 1,430 GWP of HFC-134a, used in current automotive air conditioning systems.
Most of the world’s major automobile manufacturers and a variety of government agencies have studied HFO-1234yf extensively and found it superior to other potential replacements for HFC-134a. In addition to tests conducted by DuPont and others, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has conducted its own evaluation of the product and has proposed a rule under the federal Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) that would approve HFO-1234yf for use in mobile air conditioning systems.
DuPont is a leading global supplier of refrigerants, using science and technology, market knowledge and global reach to provide sustainable materials and solutions to enhance personal comfort, enable food preservation, improve industrial processing and reduce environmental footprints.
DuPont – one of the first companies to publicly establish environmental goals 19 years ago – has broadened its sustainability commitments beyond internal footprint reduction to include market-driven targets for both revenue and research and development investment. The goals are tied directly to business growth, specifically to the development of safer and environmentally improved new products for key global markets.
DuPont is a science-based products and services company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture and food; building and construction; communications; and transportation.
###
|
