Honeywell (Morristown, N.J.; www.honeywell.com) announced that it has started full-scale commercial production of a low global-warming-potential (GWP) material used as an aerosol propellant, insulating agent and refrigerant.
The material, known by the industry designation HFO-1234ze and marketed by Honeywell under its Solstice line of low-global-warming materials, is being produced at the Honeywell Fluorine Products facility in Baton Rouge, La.
“Honeywell’s Baton Rouge production facility is ready to serve customers around the world with this innovative material, which has an ultra-low GWP of less than 1,” said Ken Gayer, vice president and general manager of Honeywell’s Fluorine Products business. “We are seeing increasing demand for our entire Solstice line of low GWP materials, and this new product has already been adopted by a range of customers globally.”
In September 2014, at an event sponsored by the White House, Honeywell announced that it will increase production of its low GWP refrigerants, insulation materials, aerosols and solvents, and, prior to 2020, will drive a 50% reduction in its annual production of high-GWP hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) on a CO2 equivalent basis. The company projects that use of its low-GWP Solstice materials to replace HFCs will eliminate more than 350 million metric tons in CO2 equivalents by 2025.
Honeywell’s Solstice line of HFOs include Solstice yf for automobile air conditioning, Solstice Propellant for aerosol applications, Solstice Liquid Blowing Agent and Gas Blowing Agent for foam applications, and Solstice Performance Fluid for use as an industrial solvent. Each of these products has been approved under the EPA’s Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program.