A NEW, EFFICIENT AND ENVIRONMENTALLY BENIGN SYSTEM FOR CAR AIR-CONDITIONING

There is a widespread belief that the only viable refrigerants in most applications are new fluorocarbon chemicals. This trend will result in continued emissions of several hundred thousand tonnes of alien chemicals to the atmosphere each year, involving the potential risk of unforeseen environmental effects. A number of other options exist, or may be developed. By using substances that already have a natural role in the ecosystem, some uncertainty about the critical issue of our future environment can be avoided. By development and practical testing of a laboratory prototype it has been shown that carbon dioxide is an excellent refrigerant in car air-conditioners, solving completely all environmental problems associated with such systems. General use of carbon dioxide as a refrigerant may provide a number of advantages in the present situation, both from an environmental and practical point of view. It is the authors' considered opinion that the use of the old refrigerant carbon dioxide offers a key to the complete solution of the environmental problems in many areas of refrigeration usage.