2016 Volume 33 Issue 1 Pages 1-12
Shifting to a low GWP refrigerant is required for refrigeration and air-conditioning industries for the purpose of prevention of global warming. Since possible low GWP refrigerant candidates, including R1234yf, R1234ze(E) and R32, are mildly combustible, it is essential to collect fundamental information about the combustion characteristics of mildly combustible refrigerants and establish a reasonable risk assessment method for the wide dissemination of low GWP refrigerants. This paper provides a state-of-the-art review of the trend of HFC refrigerant regulation for the prevention of global warming both in Japan and overseas, as well as the fundamental researches on the combustion and anti-inflammatory characteristics of refrigerants, together with the ignition risk assessment when refrigerant leakage happens.
