BEIJING, April 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Chemours Company ("Chemours") (NYSE: CC), a global chemistry company with leading market positions in titanium technologies, fluoroproducts and chemical solutions, made its first prominent refrigerants industry appearance in China today at the 2016 China Refrigeration Expo, since spinning off from DuPont in July of 2015. The company also debuted its new portfolio of low global warming potential (GWP) fluorochemical solutions at the show, which was held in the New International Exhibition Center in Beijing.
Chemours and Refrigeration
Chemours brings over 85 years of refrigerants leadership and innovation from DuPont, which invented the fluorochemicals category when it discovered the original fluorine-based refrigerant, Freon™. The business has since demonstrated unshakeable leadership and commitment to the global refrigerants industry as it helped lead the transition away from the original chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) to new products that are both non-ozone depleting and low global warming potential.
Today, Chemours is the global capacity leader for hydrofluorolefin (HFO) 1234yf-based products, which represent a clear path toward moving the world away from high global warming potential hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
"The Chinese market represents the second largest economic entity in the world and in recent years it has shown a high desire to pursue environmentally friendly and energy efficient solutions," said Diego Boeri, global business director, Chemours Fluorochemicals. "As the leading supplier of low global warming potential fluorochemicals we believe that Chemours is expertly positioned to provide Chinese customers with products that offer both better performance for the environment, and their business."
Optimized Portfolio Includes Opteon™ Family of Very Low GWP Refrigerants
During the expo, Chemours introduced its newly optimized portfolio to the Chinese market, including the company's two main refrigerants power brands, Opteon™ for the company's low GWP refrigerants, and Freon™ for its established hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) and HFC portfolio. In the past, the company's base business was represented by three separate brands including Suva® and ISCEON®, but these products will now be slowly transitioned to Freon™ as the packaging changes from DuPont to Chemours throughout the 2016 cooling season.
Along with promoting the transition away from DuPont, Chemours also debuted the latest low GWP refrigerants in its Opteon™ portfolio. The Opteon brand of fluorochemical solutions was developed by the company to help provide the industry with products that offer both better performance and improved environmental properties. The company has in recent years commercialized these products in regions across the world, including Europe and North America, where it has seen significant adoption.
Opteon™ XP40 (R-449A), the Chemours flagship non-flammable (A1) replacement for R-404A refrigerant, is approved by major equipment compressor manufacturers and has already seen widespread global adoption in its first year of commercialization. XP40 provides a 67% reduction in GWP over 404A, while improving 404A system energy efficiency up to 12% and offers an excellent direct replacement option for supermarkets still running on R-22 that are looking for a more sustainable retrofit solution. As a result of XP40's strong performance in the field, and based on current orders and customer product testing, Chemours recently announced that XP40 is on pace to be used in over 1,000 supermarket and commercial refrigeration systems worldwide by the end of 2016.
Opteon™ XP10 (R-513A) is a commercially available, non-flammable, low GWP hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) blend with a GWP reduction of 56% compared to R-134a. XP10 offers an excellent capacity and efficiency match to R-134a across a range of applications, including refrigeration, air conditioning, chillers and heat pumps. A growing list of OEMs have specified Opteon™ XP10, including Trane, which has announced commercial availability of its Sintesis air-cooled chillers, and Emerson and Bitzer, which have approved and listed XP10 for use in their compressors.
In January of this year, Johnson Controls also announced their decision to enhance their HFC product line by providing a chiller portfolio that is fully compatible with both R-134a and Opteon™ XP10 (R-513A) for their York centrifugal and screw chillers ranging from 125 to 6,000 tons. Smardt Chiller Group, the global leader of the fast-growing oil-free centrifugal chiller market, also announced the commercialization of high-efficiency XP10-based centrifugal chillers this January, and they expect that their magnetic bearing centrifugal chillers to be available in both air-cooled and water-cooled versions well before the end of 2016.
Opteon™ XP44 (R-452A) is a non-ozone depleting, low global warming potential (GWP) hydrofluorolefin (HFO) based refrigerant replacement for R-404A/R-507A. With a GWP reduction of up to 45%, XP44 matches the discharge temperature of R-404A/R-507, which is very critical for low temperature hermetic systems and transport applications. Thermo King and Tecumseh have lead the way in specifying Opteon™ XP44.
Opteon™ XL55, with an expected ASHRAE number of R-452B, is gaining significant interest from OEMs as the optimal low GWP R-410A replacement and is awaiting approval under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program. The global warming potential of XL55 is 65 percent lower than R-410A, and when used as a direct replacement, XL55 offers improved performance while maintaining design compatibility. It also has the lowest flammability compared to industry tested R-410A alternatives. Chemours unveiled XL55 at the 2015 International Congress of Refrigeration show in Yokohama, Japan. At that same show Trane also exhibited the first air-cooled demonstration chiller, AquaTrine™, designed for use with Opteon™ XL55.
Opteon™ XP140 is a newly commercialized working fluid from Chemours for high temperature heat pump applications. The heating temperature of Opteon™ XP140 can reach up to 95ºC, which substantially improves the energy efficiency of applications requiring high heating temperatures.
The Opteon™ portfolio of fluorochemistry products from Chemours represents a breakthrough line of low GWP solutions. They were developed to help meet increasing global HFC regulations while maintaining or improving performance compared to incumbent products. Chemours has invested millions of dollars to bring these new products to market and will continue to invest in new products and additional capacity as the need for low GWP solutions grows throughout the world.
For more information visit us at opteon.com.
About The Chemours Company
The Chemours Company (NYSE: CC) helps create a colorful, capable and cleaner world through the power of chemistry. Chemours is a global leader in titanium technologies, fluoroproducts and chemical solutions, providing its customers with solutions in a wide range of industries with market-defining products, application expertise and chemistry-based innovations.
