Sustainable Production and Consumption

Sustainable Consumption Series

Contents

Introduction 
Ozone depletion and refrigerators - the first alarm! 
The Montreal Protocol...
Search for alternatives...
The Kyoto protocol...
The solution ... the impact ...
The response from developing countries...
Is this transition going to be smooth?
Conclusion
Recommendations

Introduction  

Refrigerators have become an inseparable part of the lives of millions of people round the globe, but at a cost, viz. depletion in the ozone concentration resulting in the dilution of the ozone shield, and high global warming. Use of substances like chloro-fluro carbons (CFCs) while manufacturing refrigerators has damaged the ozone shield. Damage to the ozone shield  has a negative impact on the terrestrial as  well as marine food chain and also increases the exposure of human skin to ultraviolet radiation. 

Hydro-chloro-fluoro carbons (HCFCs) as well as hydro-fluoro carbons (HFCs), the two substitutes for CFCs in the manufacturing process, have been found to be ozone friendly but having a high global warming potential (GWP). As a search for alternative technology which is ozone friendly and has a  low GWP, continues, technology based on hydro carbons (HCs) seems to be emerging as a viable alternative. 

With this as a backdrop, this briefing paper examines the availability of  alternative environmentally sound technologies within the historical framework of international environmental agreements.

Ozone occurs naturally in the earth’s stratosphere where it absorbs solar ultraviolet radiations. A small decrease in the concentration of ozone increase the exposure of species on the planet to the harmful ultraviolet radiations. This leads to genetic disorders in many organisms - both acquatic as well as terrestrial, thereby affecting the food web. In the case of human beings increased exposure to ultraviolet radiations can lead to skin cancer. 

CFCs have for long been used as constituents of coolants and as blowing agents for the foam insulation which is used in refrigerators to keep the heat out. In case of refrigerators, CFCs get released in atmoshphere, when there are leakages in the refrigerator or during their repairs or when their coolants are changed. 

Studies carried out in the last few decades have concluded that particularly CFC compounds and halons diffuse in the stratosphere and destroy ozone. (See Box 1) 

Box 1: The evidence….

In the early 1970s two teams of US researchers, working independently, arrived at some important conclusions. Richard Stolarski and Ralph Cicerone, at the University of Michigan discovered chlorine’s ability to destroy the ozone layer. At the university of California at Irvine, Mario Molina and Sherwood Rowland, while analysing lifespans of CFCs, concluded that these were very stable gases and that they decomposed only in the stratosphere. They did not chemically break up or get washed away by rain, but remained in  the biosphere. These decomposed products, they said deplete the ozone layer. Meanwhile, in May 1985, a team of researchers led by Joe Farman reported on the depletion of the ozone hole over Antartica. Evidence of substantial increase of CFC concentration and ozone depletion suggested a possible, but not a significant causal relationship. The initial report stopped short of holding the CFCs solely responsible for the ozone hole over the South pole.

 

The Montreal Protocol…

More and more studies started pointing towards a positive relationship between CFC emission and reduction in ozone concentration in the stratosphere. The international community finally found it pertinent to enter into a multilateral environment agreement (MEA) on time based phase out of CFCs through the Montreal Protocol for the Protection of the Ozone Layer in 1987. The protocol is viewed as a landmark agreement as it is the first of its kind leading to binding quantified reduction targets and for including a funding mechanism which allows transfer of resources from developed to developing countries. 

As per the agreement, production of CFCs in the developed world (Article 2 countries) was to be completely banned by January 1, 1996. For the developing countries ( Article 5 countries), a grace period was provided and the year for complete ban in consumption and production of CFCs was fixed as 2010. 

It was also realised that the major harm to the ozone layer had been from the emissions from the industrialised countries and that the developing countries could not be made to pay for this. Therefore, a Multilateral Fund was created as a financial mechanism to support the phase out of ODS in Article 5 countries, with technical support from Article 2 countries. The Protocol thus provided a platform for North-South collaboration on transfer of environmentally sound technology. It was ratified by more than 140 countries that pledged to abide by the agreement. Importantly this protocol  was the first of its kind in which the “polluter pays principle” was put into practice 

Alarmed by the development of a hole in the ozone layer over the northern hemisphere, the European Union advanced the date of complete ban on CFCs by one year and Germany by one and a half years. Switzerland and Sweden also advanced their dates by two years. 

Table 1: Production of CFCs  (in tonnes)

A viable substitute to the CFC has to possess the desirable characteristics of a refrigerator coolant, viz. thermodynamic efficiency, non-toxicity, non flammability, thermal and chemical stability, compatibility and low costs.  HFCs and HCFCs were found to be satisfying all the conditions mentioned above and were also found to have less ozone depleting potential. 

In order to comply with the phase out schedules, the developed countries did not have adequate time to consider all the possible alternatives. Therefore they went forward with the HFC technology and spent huge amounts on its research and development. Most of the multinational companies based in USA and in Japan adopted this technology in manufacturing compressor and refrigerator units. HFC 134a is under the patent protection of Du Pont. Dow, ICI and Hoechst have acquired HFC 134a technology under cross licensing agreements. 

These technologies which have been used since 1990/91 had gained a world-wide market share of approximately 40% by early 1996. 

An issue that was relegated to the background was that pertaining to the global warming potential (GWP) of HFCs as well as HCFCs. In fact the GWP of HFCs was found out to be around thousand times that of carbon dioxide. And global warming leading to the popularly known ‘greenhouse effect’ (see Box 2) was being discussed actively under the UN Framework of Climate Change Convention.

 

Box 2: The Greenhouse effect

Greenhouse effect is the warming of the planets’ surface and lower atmosphere due to the trapping of solar radiation by gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) etc. Increase in the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere leads to greater trapping of solar radiation leading to greater warming.

 

The Kyoto Protocol…

Kyoto Protocol under the UN Climate Change Convention, agreed to in December 1997, calls upon members to start phasing out greenhouse gases. A basket of six greenhouse gases has been marked as controlled substances at Kyoto. 

As per the Kyoto Climate Convention, the phase out date for HCFCs is kept as 2030, while HFC 134a has been included in the list of controlled substances. 

The solution …the impact…

In 1992, Greenpeace (Germany) campaigned  for an alternate technology, which would be both ozone friendly and without GWP. The technology which re-emerged  as the most suitable for these purposes was an old one, which used hydrocarbons. 

At present hydro carbon technology makes use of one of the two compounds, viz. isobutane (R600a) or a blend of propane and isobutane (R290/R600a) as refrigerant and usually cyclopentane for insulation. The most important advantage is their compatibility with mineral oils as against HFCs, which require synthetic lubricants. Additional advantage is of retrofitting in old units without much incremental costs. 

Most importantly, the HC technology provides an economically viable option to the Article 5 countries to leapfrog from CFCs to HCs rather than to invest in HCFCs or HFCs which would soon have to be phased out. 

In 1994, German manufacturer dkk/FORON, along with Greenpeace, launched the first HC based refrigerator using a blend of propane and isobutane. This ‘greenfreeze’ technology made a soaring impact on the German market forcing established manufacturers such as Bosch-Siemens, Liebherr, AEG/Electrolux and Whirlpool to adopt the HC technology. 

These manufacturers opted for pure isobutane (R600a) as a single component refrigerant, which is easy to handle and is of advantage  while designing two temperature refrigeration appliances (refrigerator-freezer combines). Liebherr was the first company in 1994 to convert their foaming lines to Pentane as a blowing agent replacing CFC11. Over the years the HC based refrigerator  has captured more than 10% of CFC free domestic refrigerator market, mainly in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and other Scandinavian countries. 

Companies like Matsushita and Sharp of Japan have gone half-way by converting to pentane blown insulation foam. Similarly in Australia, Fisher & Paykel, a refrigerator manufacturer are blowing foam with cyclopentane.
 

Table 2: Comparison of Ecofrig technology (column 1 & 2) with HFC134a technology (column 3).

Parameter Isobutane  R600a Propane/Isobutane R290/R600a Hydrofluorocarbon HFC134a ODP 0 0 0 GWP* 3 3 3400 Energy efficiency of Compressor Higher than mixture and HFC134a     Retrofitting CFC12  refrigerator without changing compressor No Yes No Flammability Yes Yes No Safety Provisions Yes Yes No Noise level of of compressors Higher than mixture and HFC134a Higher than isobutane   Sensitivity to contamination and manufacturing process conditions Insensitive: Production standard same as CFC12. Insensitive: Production standard same as CFC12. Highly sensitive:  Major Manufacturing changes required

* as compared to that of CO2 Source: “The Ecofrig Technology: An Evaluation from the South” - an economic analysis by Dr. Sukumar Devotta.

 

The response from developing countries…

• Interestingly Kelon Company in China has rolled out more than a million refrigerators based on the HC technology in the market. As a result of Greenpeace’s initiative in China, Qingdao company plans to have its Greenfreeze models on the market by February 1999. Other companies are also expected to follow suit, with the assistance of bilateral arrangements with German government under the provisions of the Montreal Protocol. 
• In Kenya, the Climate Action Network (CAN) is working together with the National Environment Secretariat and the National Refrigeration Demonstration Centre of the Kenyan Polytechnic to propagate HC technology.
• In Ghana, despite receiving training under the programme sponsored by the World Bank in HFC-134a conversion, the National Refrigerators Workers Association of Ghana together with Friends of Earth, Ghana, are busy preparing a course to convert their existing refrigerators to ones that would use HC technology.

Is this transition going to be smooth?

The transition from HFC 134a to HC technology is not going to be very smooth as there are several constraints that have been identified on the demand as well as the supply side. These are as follows: 

1. Promotion of HFC technology by MNCs

In the South, the consumers associate quality of a product with  a foreign brand. Hence companies, specially in the area of consumer durables, are seen collaborating with multinational companies (MNCs). As is clear from Table 3, most of the CFC free technology is still based on HFCs. This technology is available with the big MNCs, who have invested large amounts of money in its development. In order to recover their investments, these companies are now aggressively marketing the HFC technology. Therefore, the demand for the HFC technology has been on the rise in SE Asia and Latin America. 

2. Standardisation by big aerated drink and ice cream producing companies (Coca Cola, Pepsi etc.)

Big aerated drink and ice cream producing companies source bottle coolers and freezers from the local vendors. From 1996 onwards, these MNCs have standardised their refrigeration equipment based on HFC134a. As the local manufacturers are driven by the demands of the market, they have little option and have also switched to HFCs instead of HCs.

 

Table 3: Production of refrigerators and freezers in million (1995-96)

Region HFC134a R600a CFC12 Total North America 10 - 1 11 Western Europe 12.5 5.5 - 17 Japan & Pacific OECD 5.5 - 0.5 6 Total (Article 2 countries) 28.0 5.5 1.5 34 CEE & FSU 0.5 0.1 5.4 6 Latin America 0.1 - 5.9 6 Sub-Saharan-Africa 0.2 - 0.8 1 West Asia/North Africa 0.4 0.1 3.5 4 India - - 2.0 2 China 0.1 0.01 11.9 12 S.E. Asia 0.6 - 4.4 5 Total (Article 5 Countries) 1.9 0.2 33.9 36 GLOBAL TOTAL  28.9 5.7 34.2 70

Source: WB HC study 1996 plus INFRAS estimates

 

Box 4: Servicing: The “Achillés Heel” of HFC 134a

The Southern markets have traditionally been different from the Northern ones. While in North, a refrigerator is manufactured for zero maintenance and to be replaced after ten years, in South, a refrigerator is once in a life time buy. Thus it needs regular servicing especially when working in adverse climatic conditions. The servicing beyond the warranty period is mainly provided by the unorganised sector. This “service tail”, i.e. use of CFCs in repair and maintenance of refrigerators comprises more than 50% of total CFC consumption in many Article 5 countries. For example, in India, the estimated consumption of CFC in refrigeration for 1998-99 is 2000 tonnes, out of which 1000 tonnes is recharge amount. Under these servicing conditions, the hydrocarbon (HC) technology has an outpacing advantage over the hydro-fluoro-carbon (HFC 134a) technology. The HC technology is essentially a CFC12 technology, which needs to be upgraded with better shopfloor practises for safety reasons. The technology has an in built self-control mechanism; in case of a mistake, damage occurs immediately and is visible (flames). It is easier to train technicians who would also learn quickly and avoid inappropriate practises in their own self-interest. On the other hand, the hygroscopic nature of HFC134a requires much tougher standards of cleanliness and moisture control to be maintained, which could be unfeasible in the hot and humid climates of the developing countries. Inappropriate handling could lead to new breakdowns in the appliance. This situation is more prominent in the rural areas due to poor conditions of the electrical grid (voltage fluctuations). Further, HFC134a compressors can be repaired by the manufacturers only, resulting in cost escalations. Thus there is a high chance that the informal servicing sector would revert to CFC12 for repair and maintenance. If this demand is not met legally, it will be met by the black market.

Source: "Policy Framework, Markets and Economic Viability of Ecofrig", Othmar Schwank, INFRAS.

 

3. Lack of Environment Awareness in South

In most of the Article 5 countries, price rather than ecological concerns drives customers. The HC technology means a comparatively higher initial cost to the consumer. However, with better research and design initiatives in the recent past, the production cost is bound to decrease. In addition, compressors, which comprise the major cost element in production, can  be retrofitted (CFC based compressors being replaced with HCs without any change in design etc.), thereby further reducing the burden on the consumer. Besides, in the long run, the servicing and repair costs with HCs are much less. There is thus a need to undertake consumer awareness programmes, in absence of which the HFC134a technology will continue to dominate the market. 
 

Conclusion

From the discussion above, some important political, technical and social issues have been thrown up. These are as follows: 

The Multilateral Fund under the Montreal Protocol has set a precedence in the area of “polluter pays principle”. Developing countries should also strive hard to get a better bargain under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto protocol. The moot question is, will they be able to do it? 

On the technology front, one can say that technology based on HCs seems to be emerging as a viable alternative on two counts: 

• It has proved itself to be ozone friendly as well as having negligible global warming potential, and
• Consumers have slowly started adopting refrigerators manufactured using this technology.