compared with the refrigerator industry, the phase-out of HCFC-141b in the electric water heater industry is slightly lagging behind. After China Household Electrical Appliances Association put forward the phase-out initiative and 16 mainstream enterprises took the initiative to switch HCFC-141b, the long-awaited phase-out of HCFC-141b finally landed.
On October 19th, 218, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the Announcement on Prohibiting the Production of Refrigerator and Freezer Products, Refrigerated Container Products and Electric Water Heater Products with HCFC-141b as Foaming Agent (hereinafter referred to as the Announcement). It is clearly stated in the Announcement that after the phase-out of HCFCs in the polyurethane foam industry in the first stage (211-218), the use of HCFC-141b will be completely banned in the refrigerator and freezer, refrigerated container and electric water heater industries. In other words, since January 1, 219, no enterprise may use HCFC-141b as foaming agent to produce electric water heaters. After the ban was issued, the reporter of "Electrical Appliances" interviewed a number of responsible persons in the upstream and downstream of the electric water heater industry. They all said that a total ban on HCFC-141b is a good thing for the electric water heater industry, indicating China's firm determination and position in promoting global air protection. Therefore, both the whole machine manufacturer and the foaming agent enterprise are actively responding.
Most enterprises have completed the switch
There is still one month left before the deadline of completely banning the use of HCFC-141b in the electric water heater industry, and mainstream enterprises have completed the switch of production lines. Among them, under the initiative of the professional committee of electric water heaters of China Household Electrical Appliances Association, 16 mainstream enterprises of electric water heaters, such as Midea, Haier and Bosch, have stopped using HCFC-141b spontaneously before March 31, 218, and entered the switching state of environmental protection foaming agent ahead of schedule. The reporter of "Electrical Appliances" learned that in the long run, Haier eliminated HCFC-141b when building the current electric water heater production line. Bosch electric water heaters also began to switch environmental protection foaming agents in mid-October 217.
The relevant person in charge of Honeywell said that at present, there should be only a few complete machine enterprises that have not completely converted into environmentally friendly foaming agents. The announcement will help to phase out HCFC-141b as soon as possible and switch to a more environmentally friendly foaming agent.
in addition to the whole machine enterprises actively promoting the elimination of HCFC-141b, foaming agent enterprises also actively contact with electric water heater manufacturers to prepare for the market. "Because there are not many enterprises that have not completed the phase-out of HCFC-141b, although the demand for environmentally friendly foaming agents will increase when the ban comes into effect, the impact will not be too great." The relevant person in charge of Honeywell said frankly, "We will continue to promote customers to use environmentally friendly foaming agents. In terms of foaming agent, we not only consider environmental protection, but also consider the energy efficiency level of foaming agent applied to the whole machine. "
Dow also has a layout in the field of environmental protection foaming agents. According to Bian Kaisheng, application technology development manager of Dow Polyurethane Business Department, Dow entered this field earlier, and in 213, it began to help an electric water heater brand to replace HCFC-141b. He further introduced: "Europe has eliminated HCFC-141b one step ahead of China. As a global company, we can learn from the successful solutions in Europe and then make adjustments according to the actual situation of customers in China. "
different schemes are adopted in the industry
at present, the alternatives of foaming agent for electric water heaters mainly include pure cyclopentane foaming system, HFC-245fa foaming system, "cyclopentane+HFC-245fa" * * * mixed foaming system and HFOs foaming system. According to Bian Kaisheng, at present, the alternatives chosen by electric water heater enterprises are mainly pure cyclopentane foaming system, followed by "cyclopentane+HFC-245FA" * * * mixed foaming system, and very few electric water heater enterprises choose HFOs foaming system. As far as the electric water heater industry is concerned, the mixing ratio of cyclopentane and HFC-245fa is 12: 1.
the person in charge of Como said that for the replacement of HCFC-141b, Como's Opteon 11(HFO-1336mzz) has completed most relevant application tests in several key domestic enterprises, meeting the dual requirements of energy saving and environmental protection. He revealed: "At present, we are conducting an economic evaluation. Because the electric water heater industry requires high cost control, it is difficult to realize large-scale commercial application of Opteon 11(HFO-1336mzz) in the electric water heater industry in the short term, and it will only be used in some products on a small scale."
each type of foaming agent has its own advantages and disadvantages. Specifically, cyclopentane is relatively lower in price. According to Bian Kaisheng, because domestic enterprises can also produce HFC-245fa after the patent expires, the price has dropped, but it also exceeds 4 yuan/kg, cyclopentane price is less than 1 yuan/kg, and LBA price is about 8 yuan/kg.
in terms of foaming agent performance, HFC-245fa has low thermal conductivity and is not flammable, but it is limited in transportation and storage because of its low boiling point and high vapor pressure. Cyclopentane also has a low thermal conductivity, but it is a flammable and explosive foaming agent, which needs to increase the investment in safety and the maintenance cost is relatively high. However, due to the successful application of cyclopentane in refrigerators for many years and the mature explosion-proof measures, electric water heater enterprises can directly learn from it to control costs.
in order to balance performance and cost, many enterprises choose * * * mixed foaming agent. For example, some electric water heater production lines in Midea adopt "cyclopentane+HFC-245fa" * * mixed foaming system, mainly HFC-245FA, in which two or three parts of cyclopentane are mixed, balancing performance and cost.
after comprehensive consideration of performance, quality and cost, bosch adopted the "HFC-245fa+ cyclopentane" * * * mixed foaming system. According to Gu Qinghai, product manager of Bosch water heater, "Although there are some mature specifications for explosion-proof design of foam production line containing cyclopentane in the industry, Bosch has explored explosion-proof measures that are more in line with the conditions of its own production line, mainly including the following five aspects. First of all, our electric water heater production line is designed and built according to the requirements of cyclopentane; Secondly, our white materials are stored at constant temperature and delivered after being premixed by suppliers, which may reduce the risk factor; Thirdly, explosion-proof motors are used in the equipment involving potential leakage points; Fourth, explosion-proof detection probes are installed at both the storage point and the bubble injection position, and an alarm will be given immediately in case the foaming agent leaks to a dangerous value; Fifth, the bubble injection point is a ventilation area. "