Dortmund mix

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Dortmund mixture refers to a mixture of short-chain hydrocarbons that is used as a refrigerant in refrigerators and replaces fluorocarbons (HFCs) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

history

In the 1980s, attempts were made to replace the heavily ozone-damaging CFCs with less harmful substances for use as refrigerants. PFCs, which are chemically similar to CFCs, were the first to prevail. Without chlorine they promised a far lower risk of damage to the ozone layer , but their high global warming potential has now been recognized. Even then, the microbiologist Harry Rosin feared negative effects of PFCs on the biosphere and tried to find a replacement from a mixture of short-chain alkanes. He achieved this with a mixture that essentially consists of propane and butane . This mixture is known as the “Dortmund mixture” because Rosin worked at the Hygiene Institute in Dortmund .

composition

The exact composition is variable; in addition to the main components propane and butane, it can also contain isobutane , pentane , ethane or methane . The composition is also determined by the desired target temperature. Propane and butane are also the main components of liquefied petroleum gas , which is used as fuel for gasoline engines and as fuel for heating systems.

use

The Dortmund mixture was first used in devices from the Saxon manufacturer Foron , previously VEB DKK Scharfenstein, in 1992. The first ten devices were manufactured for Greenpeace . In 1993 Foron Hausgeräte GmbH was awarded the German Environment Prize for this. After Foron launched the first refrigerator with this technology, most refrigerator manufacturers developed similar systems, so that today most of the refrigerators in Germany are operated with this coolant.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ MS air conditioners: R32 replaces R410A , accessed on July 7, 2020
  2. ↑ Johannes Gernert: CFC-free refrigerators: Foron went first . In: The daily newspaper: taz . 2009, ISSN  0931-9085 ( taz.de ).
  3. ↑ Historical refrigeration and air conditioning technology e. V. (HKK): Company history DKK Scharfenstein , accessed on July 6, 2020
  4. ↑ German Environment Prize 1993 - Foron Hausgeräte GmbH - Keyword: First CFC-free refrigerator. In: dbu.de. Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt , September 25, 1998, accessed on June 3, 2020 .