Chemours breaks ground in China on first full-scale plant for new HFO refrigerant

Plant for chiller and Organic Rankine Cycle refrigerant HFO1336mzz to begin production in 2017 in Changshu, China

The Chemours Company and its partner Changshu 3F Zhonghao have broken ground on the world’s first full-scale production facility for HFO-1336mzz . This site, expected to begin production mid-year 2017, will provide increased capacity of low global warming potential (GWP) foam expansion agents and refrigerants.

The primary initial use of the HFO will be as a foam expansion agents, but with a GWP of less than two, Chemours is developing it for refrigerant applications, thanks to its non-flammability, high efficiency and thermal stability.

Chemours said it is actively developing several new refrigerant fluids based on HFO-1336mzz technology for a variety of applications, including traditional chiller systems and the emerging arena of waste heat recovery using technologies such as high temperature heat pumps and organic rankine cycles. These fluids are showing promising results in customer lab and field trials.

Thierry Vanlancker, president of Chemours Fluoroproducts said: “Breaking ground for our new HFO-1336mzz production facility paves the way for Chemours to add still more capacity to our industry-leading supply of products based on HFO technology,” said president, . “The Changshu facility shows our continued commitment to meeting the needs of our customers for high performance, environmentally friendly solutions that enable them to meet growing regulatory and sustainability demands.”

Diego Boeri, global business director Chemours Fluorochemicals added: “In many cases our customers tell us they see an increase in their products’ efficiency when they use our HFO-based solutions. We are proud to manufacture these breakthrough products and expect to continue to add capacity as our customers increasingly transition to our new low GWP solutions.”