An evaluation on the environmental consequences of residual CFCs from obsolete household refrigerators in China

Journal Article · Tue Mar 15 00:00:00 EDT 2011 · Waste Management

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2010.10.018· OSTI ID:21550348

Xiangyang, Zhao; Huabo, Duan ^[1]

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1. Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing (China)

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) contained in household refrigerators consist mainly of CFC-11 and CFC-12, which will be eventually released into the environment. Consequentially, environmental releases of these refrigerants will lead to ozone depletion and contribute significantly to the greenhouse effect, if waste refrigerators are not disposed of properly. In the present paper, the potential release of residual CFCs and their substitutes from obsolete household refrigerators in China is examined, and their contributions to ozone depletion and greenhouse effect are compared with those of other recognized ozone-depleting substances (ODS) and greenhouse gases (GHGs). The results imply that annual potential amounts of released residual CFC-11 and CFC-12 will reach their maximums at 4600 and 2300 tons, respectively in 2011, and then decrease gradually to zero until 2020. Meanwhile, the amounts of their most widely used substitutes HCFC-141b and HFC-134a will keep increasing. Subsequently, the contribution ratio of these CFCs and their substitutes to ozone depletion will remain at 25% through 2011, and reach its peak value of 34% by 2018. The contribution to greenhouse effect will reach its peak value of 0.57% by 2010. Moreover, the contribution ratio of these CFCs to the total global release of CFCs will steadily increase, reaching its peak of 15% by 2018. Thus, this period from 2010 to 2018 is a crucial time during which residual CFCs and their substitutes from obsolete household refrigerators in China will contribute significantly to ozone depletion.

• OSTI ID: 21550348
• Journal Information: Waste Management, Vol. 31, Issue 3; Other Information: DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2010.10.018; PII: S0956-053X(10)00543-X; Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; ISSN 0956-053X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
CHINA
CHLOROFLUOROCARBONS
ENVIRONMENT
GREENHOUSE EFFECT
GREENHOUSE GASES
HAFNIUM CARBIDES
HOUSEHOLDS
OZONE
REFRIGERANTS
REFRIGERATORS
WASTE DISPOSAL
ASIA
CARBIDES
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CLIMATIC CHANGE
FLUIDS
HAFNIUM COMPOUNDS
MANAGEMENT
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC FLUORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
REFRACTORY METAL COMPOUNDS
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WORKING FLUIDS