Viracopos Airport Adopts
Opteon™ XP20and reduces Aircraft Ground Air
Conditioning emissions

Innovation & TechnologyIn 2022, Viracopos International Airport, located in Campinas (SP) and managed by Aeroportos
Brasil Viracopos, was elected as the best airport in Brazil and the 4th best airport in the world
according to the international AirHelp Score ranking. Throughout the year 2022, the airport
experienced a growth of 21.86% in aircraft movements, surpassing the mark of 128,000
landings and takeoffs. This increase was in response to serving a passenger traffic of morethan 11.84 million people. In addition to passenger transportation, the airport handled over355,000 tons of cargo, including courier services.
With an increasing operational focus on sustainability, Viracopos has been assessing its
greenhouse gas inventory since 2013 and since 2016, the inventory has been published in theBrazilian GHG Protocol Program through TPI – Triunfo Participações e Investimentos and isverified by a certifying organization. Additionally, Viracopos also complies with the decision of
the Board of Directors of CETESB 254/2012 (GHG) and is a member of the São Paulo
Environmental Chamber always seeking opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Keeping sustainability in mind alongside the goal of ensuring the comfort of all passengers andoperational teams, Viracopos in partnership with Gás Eco and Chemours has carried out theretrofit of R-407C to Opteon™ XP20 in aircraft air-conditioning equipment.

Goal
In parallel to the ESG practices(Environmental, Social, andGovernance) adopted by Viracopos,
the advancement of environmental
agendas in Brazil and around theworld has brought the need to ensurea sustainable and long-term operationfor the airport's air conditioningsystems.

In Brazil, a significant portion of theinstalled fleet of air conditioning
systems still uses refrigerants R-22,R-407C and R-134a. As R-22 is ahydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC), it
has ozone depletion potential, andaccording to the Montreal Protocol,
there is a deadline for its complete
prohibition.

On the other hand, R-134a and R-407C are hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) that have a high global
warming potential (GWP) and, their use will be regulated by the Kigali Amendment, aninternational treaty ratified by Brazil in 2022. In countries such as the United States, Canadaand the European Union, the production of HCFCs is already banned and new refrigeration
systems no longer use high-GWP HFCs.

The solution found by Viracopos in partnership with Gás Eco e Chemours was the adoption ofOpteon™ XP20, a refrigerant based on hydrofluoroolefin (HFO), which does not degrade theozone layer and has a low GWP making it suitable for the retrofit of R-407C in stationary aircraft
pre-conditioning equipment (PCA).
“We chose the Opteon XP20 to replace the R-407C because we seek to immediately
reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our operations, in line with our sustainability andefficiency goals", says the VCP – Bridges and Supervision team composed of Ivan Segredo,Jefferson P. Oliveira and Marcos Rosa.

Focus on Sustainability

SafetyOpteon™ XP20 does not degrade
the ozone layer and has a low
GWP.

Opteon™ XP20 is non-flammableand has an ASHRAE A1 safetyclassification.

Development and Results
In addition to environmental considerations, the choice of refrigerant was made with a focus onsafety, easy maintenance, and low investment cost. While other options present different
degrees of flammability and/or toxicity, Opteon™ XP20 (R-449C) has an ASHRAE A1 safetyclassification, meaning it is non-toxic for the intended use, as well as being compatible with thesame compressors, condensers, evaporators, and expansion valves already in operation with R407C, including the use of the same synthetic polyolester (POE) lubricating oil. Therefore, there
was no need to replace the equipment; only the refrigerant needed to be changed. The choice ofHFO became straightforward from both an environmental and safety maintenance perspective.
The selected equipment for the retrofit was an aircraft air-conditioning unit (PCA – Preconditioned Air Unit) responsible for generating a flow of cooled air into commercial aircraft,ensuring a comfortable environment for passengers and flight crew during boarding or aircraft
maintenance and inspection routines.

The equipment manufactured by Jirong Air Conditioning Co uses Danfoss scroll compressors andSiemens controllers to meet the cooling capacity of 150 kW and airflow of
5,100 m³/h. The previously used refrigerant, R-407C, was replaced through a simple retrofit
procedure to Opteon™ XP20 (R-449C). The retrofit is considered a maintenance procedure,
involving the removal of R-407C to recovery cylinders, checking the quality of the lubricating oil(and replacement if necessary), replacing oil filters following best maintenance practices,conducting leak tests, followed by vacuum procedures, charging the new refrigerant, and making
final adjustments to operational parameters.
The procedure was carried out in one afternoon to ensure that good practices were applied andthat the unit was not immobilized for too long. The result achivied was equipment capable ofintaking external ambient air at temperatures close to 37°C and cooling it to temperatures closeto 13°C for inflation in the aircraft and maintaining this linear condition for a long period. Inaddition, in the retrofit it was possible to reduce direct greenhouse gas emissions by 29%, sinceOpteon™ XP20 has GWP 29% lower than R-407C. Ensuring performance alongside withsustainability was crucial for the success of the retrofit and continuation of the project. It is
important to highlight that, 100% of the recovered R-407C refrigerant was properly disposed ofthrough the reclaiming process.
To ensure excellence and environmental compliance, the proper recovery and final disposal of R407C during the year 2023 prevented the emission of 1,014 tons of CO2 equivalent into theatmosphere. This is equivalent to planting and cultivating 5,816 trees for 20 years.
“The strategic partnership with Gás Eco and Chemours was crucial for the choice of thecorrect refrigerant, highlighting the importance of collaboration in the pursuit ofsustainable solutions that prolong the lifespan of equipment", says the team.
"Finally, proper maintenance and sustainable management of refrigerants are essential toensure that not only direct emissions are reduced but also indirect emissions related to energy
consumption go hand in hand. Currently, Viracopos has over 32 other air conditioning units toserve aircraft on the ground, which will undergo the same retrofit procedure to Opteon™ XP20."

Gás Eco ESG division
Gás Eco Sustentabilidade is a Brazilian company withmore than 20 years of experience in the market.
Specialized in sustainable solutions, it serves several
business units in the refrigeration segment, working on
the decarbonization of companies contributing to reducegreenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and working on energy
efficiency, IoT, automation and artificial intelligence tooptimize processes and reduce operating costs.

Opteon™ XP20
Opteon™ XP20 (R-449C) is a non-flammablehydrofluoroolefin (HFO) based refrigerant (ASHRAE A1),
which does not degrade the ozone layer and has a low
global warming potential (GWP). It has an optimal balanceof properties to replace R-22 and R-407C in HVAC
systems, both in commercial and industrial applications.
Opteon™ XP20 is suitable for new installations and for
retrofitting existing systems.
ASHRAE Classification

R-449C

Composition

R-125/R-134a/R-32/R-1234yf

Weight in %20/29/20/31

Molecular weight

90,3 g/mol

Boiling point at 1 atm(101.3 kPa)

- 44,5°C (- 48,1° F)

Critical Pressure637.8 psia (4398 kPa [abs])

Critical Temperature

84,2°C (183.5°F)

Liquid Density at 21.1°C(70°F)

1119,1 kg/m³ (69,8 lb/ft³)

Ozone Depletion Potential(CFC-11 = 1.0)

0

Global Warming Potential
AR51147

ASHRAE Safety
Classification

A1

Temperature Glide~4,5 K

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