# The Effect of Blow ing Agent Choice on Energy and Environmental Impact of a Refrigerator in Europe

Robert W Johnson RWJ Consulting Inc. 717 Mels Drive Evansville, IN 47712

ABSTRACT A study, comparing the effect of blo wing agent selection on energy consumption and the Life Cycle Climate Performance (LCCP) of a typical European refrigerator is discussed. Energy consumption of prototype European

- style refrigerators made with a foam formulation with HFC

- 245fa as the blowing agent wa s measured and compared with energy consumption of the same mo del as currently produced (using a foam with a pentane blend for the blowing agent). Results were used in a LCCP study, considering both direct and indirect climate impacts due to b lowing agent emissions and energy consumption in manufacturing processes and over the life cycle of the refrigerator. An assumption is made that the refrigerator is built and used in the European market.
INTRODUCTION The phase

- out of CFC

- 11 as a foam

-blowing agent, as called for under the Montreal Protocol, is we ll along for insulating foams in refrigerators and freezers. The mo st common replacements with zero ozone depletion potential have been c -pentane and mixtures of c -pentane with other hydrocarb ons, along with some HFCs, including HFC

134a, and HFC

- 245fa. Although HFCs account for only a small fraction of total greenhouse gas emissions, the global warming potential of mo st HFCs is quite large. This raises legitimate questions regarding the appropriateness of using HFCs as replacement blowing agents for foam. Refrigerators, however, make their largest contribution to global warming in an indirect manner as a result of the energy that they consume. Therefore, manufacturers have made different choices for the replacement, depending on their assessment of the relative merits of the available options. In Europe, hydrocarbons have been chosen because of the importance placed on direct emissions of global warming substances. Conversely, in North America strict energy standards and factory safety regulations have led to HFCs (mostly HFC

245fa) as the preferred approach. This study is an attempt to analyze the relative merits of the two mo st popular options (a cyclopentane/pentane blend and HFC

- 245f

a) through a limited life cycle analysis (LCA), considering only items related to the choice of blowing agent and its influence on the energy consumption and the total global warming impact, or “life cycle climate performance” (LCCP) of a refrigerator. The refrigerator considered in the study is a model commonly produced and used in Europe. Emissions and energy consumption at the blowing agent and refrigerator factories are included, but energy consumption associated with parts that are unrelated to the bl owing agent is not considered. Expanding the analysis to include the items omitted in this study would be interesting, but the final results would not change, because the omitted items would be similar for both products considered.
PRODUCT INFORMATION AND KEY DATA The refrigerator considered in the study is a 358

- liter “combi” type product that has a fresh food section at the top and a freezer section at the bottom and is popular in Europe. B oth sections have a “direct

- cool” type refrigeration system. The refrigerant used in the products wa s R

- 600, which is commonly used in Europe and has no ozone depletion potential and a very low greenhouse warming potential. The pentane blend foam formulation used for the products tested was the same as is used for that mo del as it is produced in Italy. The blowing agent wa s a blend of 70% cyclopentane and 30% isopentane. The HFC

- 245fa formulation used for the comparison wa s the same as is used in a large North American refrigerator factory. The products were similar in all respects except the foam formulation and blowing agent. Energy tests were conducted per the ISO test procedure in facilities used to measure energy consumption for certification tests on products sold in Europe. Three products foamed with the pentane formulation and three products foamed with theHFC

- 245fa formulation were tested. Results for the three

samples of each type were averaged for purposes of comparison. Analysis of the data indicated greater than 90% confidence that the mean is within 2% of the true mean of the population for both products. Data for the products were furnished by the manufacturer and are summarized in Table 1. Values used for other parameters important to the study are shown in Table 2. Carbon intensity values for Europe are EIA estimates for the year 2000[1]. Energy intensity estimates for highway and waterborne transportation were taken from a 1995 EIA report [2]. Although the transportation carbon intensity values were estimates for the U.S. economy, it is believed that they also are reasonable assumptions for Europe. Product lifetime is assumed to be 15 years, which is typical for Europe, although shorter than in North America.
DISPOSAL PRACTICES The amount of foam blowing agent that ultimately escapes to the atmosphere is strongly dependent on what is done with the refrigerator at the end of its useful life. Some refrigerators are incinerated in municipal incinerators at the end of their useful life, in which case the blowing agent is destroyed. If the refrigerator is merely abandoned, or sent

to a landfill with no processing, blowing agent will escape very slowly, with a significant amount remaining after 100 years [6]. The UNEP Task Force on Collection, Recovery and Storage conducted a study of current disposal practices in North America, Europe, and Japan in 2001 [7]. The report estimates that in 2001approximately 60% of the foam from refrigerators de commissioned in Europe would go to landfills. P resumably, mo st would be shre dded for recovery of the metal and the foam would be sent to the landfill, with no recovery of the blowing agent. Under these conditions, a recent study at the Danish Technical University (DTU) indicates that about 20% of the blowing agent will escape at the time of shredding, and the remainder will escape over time, with the rate of emission highly dependent on foam particle size [8]. The UNEP report indicates that disposal practices are expected to change in response to EU directives. Therefore, this study considered one case where 60% o f products go to landfills, and another where new practices are used and only 10% go to landfills.
FOAM AGING Energy consumption measurements are usually made on new products. However, because foam degrades over time due to migration of blowing agent out and other gases in, energy consumption may increase over time. T his increases global warming emissions associated with electricity consumption of the product. T he Appliance Research Consortium sponsored a study at Oak Ridge National Laboratories to measure aging effects for several

blowing agents. Results of that study have been reported in the literature by Wilkes [9]. Another study, involving tests on full products, wa s conducted and reported by Johnson Table 2. Key Data Item Value Units Source Carbon Intensity – A

ll Europe .41 kg CO2 /kW h EIA Estimates [1] Energy Intensity Highway Transport 3000 BTU / ton-m ile EIA Report [2] Energy Intensity W

aterborne Transport 411 BTU / ton-m ile EIA Report [2] GWP -- HFC-245fa 950 IPCC [3] GWP – c-pentane, n-pentane 3 IPCC [4] Natural Gas (Energy) to produce HFC-245fa 0.017 MCF / lb Honeywell Electricity to produce HFC-245fa: 1.83 kWh / lb Honeywell CO2 Emissions for production of pentane 1.2 kg CO2 / kg APME [5] Assumed product useful life 15 years Table 1. Refrigerator Data (Source: Whirlpool) Item HFC-245fa Model Pentane Model Refrigerator Type Combi (358 liters) Combi (358 liters) Amount of Blowing Agent 0.985 kg 0.393 kg Energy Consumption (Average of 3) 398 kWh/yr 455 kWh/yr Refrigerant R-600 R-600 Natural Gas to produce a refrigerator 0.0410 MCF/product 0.0410 MCF/product Electricity to produce a refrigerator 7.16 kWh/product 7.16 kWh/product[6]. Tog ether, those studies provide information adequate

to mo del the increase of refrigerator energy consumption due to foam aging. A c om bination of Johnson’s and Wilkes’ data wa s used to create a model for foam aging to predict energy consumption of the products over their useful life. The mo del is shown graphically in Figure 1, along with data points from Johnson’s report. Trends at 5 years indicate that the model may slightly overestimate the aging effect for both foam types, but the difference between predicted energy consumption for the two foam types appears to match the data quite we ll. The mo del, together with the measured initial consumption, wa s used to estimate total energy consumption for each foam type over a 15

-year period.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Energy Consumption The energy consum

ption of the refrigerators for a 15

- year life wa s estimated, using the data from Table 1 and the aging mo del discussed above. Results are shown in Figure 2. The HFC

- 245fa products had an advantage in measured energy consumption of about 12%, relative to the c -pentane products. This advantage is larger than had been measured in previous tests conducted by the Appliance Research Consortium [10]. H owever, the foam formulations tested by the Consortium were representative of what wa s achievable at that time. The formulations

used in the current study are improved and represent what is commercially available in 2003. The 12% initial energy consum p tion advantage for the HFC

- 245fa products grows to about 15% when aging effects over the life of the product are considered. This significant advantage in energy performance should be highly valued in mo st markets, including the European Union, w hich is dependent on imports for much of its energy supply [11]. Life Cycle Climate Performance (LCCP) The data and assump tions discussed above were used in LCCP calculations that were made, considering sales into the European market, including Eastern Europe, but not former Soviet Union countries. In all cases analyzed, the dominant factor in the LCCP analysis is the indirect emissions of CO2 due to energy consumption of the product over its useful life. Even in the case where 60% of the HFC

- 245fa products are assumed to be shre dded and sent to landfills after decommissioning, mo re than 80% of the global warming effect is due to electricity consumption of the product. Modern production facilities are designed to minimize emissions from the factory so that fugitive emissions in the HFC

- 245fa factory are less than 0.5% and account for less than 0.1% of the total warming effect, while blowing agent emissions during refrigerator production are estimated to be less than 2% and contribute no mo re than 0.6% of the warming effect. Transportation of the blowing agent results in insignificant emissions, even when considering shipping HFC

- 245fa across the Atlantic, while transportation of refrigerators accounts for approximately 0.3% of total global warming emissions, assuming an average 500 mile shipment by truck. Results of the LCCP analysis are summarized in Figures

3 and 4 which show

twos cenarios. F igure 3 reflects the case where disposal practices are a s sumed to be unchanged from those in place in 2001. F igure 4 re flects the case where disposal practices are assumed to change in response to EU directives for recycling and recovery so that only

0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000

HFC-245fa Pentane BlendEnergy Consumption (kWh)

Figure 2. Product Lifetime Energy Co nsumption 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

0 5 10 15 20 25

Ti me (y ear s)Increase in Energy (%)

HF C- 245f a c-pentan e 245f a Meas ured c-pentan e m eas ured

Figure 1. Refrigerator Energy Agingabout 10% of the blowing agent that remains in a product

at the end of its useful life escapes to the atmo sphere. Data used for Figures 3 and 4 are show n in Table 3. The relative insignificance of the miscellaneous items that are considered in the LCA is clearly seen. Emissions associated with energy consumed during the pro duction process and transportation are very much less than those associated with energy consumption of the product or direct emissions of the blowing agent over the long term. The same is true for blowing agent emi s sions in the factories. Other Regions Although Europe is of particular interest because of the debate regarding the use of HFCs in that market, it is also

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500

HF C-245fa Pe nt ane Ble ndkg CO2 Equivalent Lo ng Te rm E missio ns

Ref rig er atorS hr ed ding Emissio ns Ref rig er atorL ifeB A Emissio ns Ref rig er atorUs e E ne rg y
Ref rig er atorT ra ns po rt Ene rg y Ref rig er atorP ro duc ti on Ene rg y Ref rig eatorP ro duc ti on BA Emissio ns BA Tr an spo rt E ne rg y
BA Pro duct io n Emissio ns BA Pro duct io n En er gy 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500

HF C-245fa Pe nta ne Bl en dkg CO2 Equivalent Lo ng Te rm Emissio ns

Ref rig er atorS hr ed ding Emissio ns Ref rig er atorL ifeB A Emissio ns Ref rig er atorUs e E ne rg y
Ref rig er atorT ra nspo rt Ene rg y Ref rig er atorP ro duct io n Ene rg y Ref rig er atorP ro duct io n BA Emissio ns BA Tr an spo rt E ne rg y
BA Pro duc ti on Emissio ns BA Pro duc ti on E ne rg y

Figure 4: Emissions Comparison, Fu ture Disposal Practices, 10% Landfilled Figure 3: Emissions Comparison, Current Disposal Practices,

60% Landfilled

Item Cu rrent Disposal Practices Future Disposal Practices HFC-245fa Pentane HFC-245fa Penta ne BA Production Energy 4.5 1.2 4.5 1.2 BA Production Emissions 2.8 0 2.8 0 BA Transport Energy 0.17 0.05 0.17 0.05 Refrigerator Production: BA Emissions 18.7 0.1 18.7 0.1 Refrigerator Production Energy 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 Refrigerator Transport Energy 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 Refrigerator Use Energy 2697 3198 2697 3198 Refrigerator Life BA Emissions 68.8 0.1 68.8 0.1 Refrigerator Shredding Emissions 101.8 0.1 17.0 0.1 Lo ng Term Emis sions 407.2 0.5 67.9 0.2 Total Impact 3306 3212 2882 3212 Table 3:LCCP Summaryimportant to consider the total warming im pact of similar products in other regions. Calculations were made for other countries, using estimates for carbon intensity from EIA data[1] and disposal practice assumptions as follows: 50% of decommissioned products in the U.S., Australia and New Z ealand, 80% in Brazil, China, and India, and 5% in Japan would go to shredders and landfills. It is clear from the results, as seen in Figure 5, that a product foamed with HFC

- 245fa would have less of a climate impact than a product foamed with the c -pentane blend in all of these regions, except Brazil, which has large hydroelectric re sources. 

### CONCLUSIONS
With current foam formulations, the use of HFC

- 245fa as a blowing agent, in stead of a cyclopentane and npentane blend, offers a significant advantage in energy consumption for refrigerator/freezers of the type considered in this study. The advantage was over 12% for initial energy consumption and when aging di f ferences are considered, the advantage is about 15% over the life of the product. The two blowing agents considered in this study are similar in terms of LCCP. In Europe the pentane product would have about a 3% advantage with 2001 di sposal practices. B ut, if disposal practices improve, as called for in EU directives, the HFC

- 245fa product has nearly a 10% advantage in LCCP. In the other markets consi dered, the HFC

- 245fa products would typically have an advantage of between 5 and 10 percent, except in Brazil where the climate impact would be small in any case. By f ar the dominant item in LCCP is the energy co n sumption of the product and the associated emissions from the electricity generation system. Even if one assumes that there will be no improvement in disposal practices in response to EU directives, the power plant emissions associated with energy co nsumption account for mo re than 80% of the total life cycle global warming impact of the product. B lowing agent emissions, including all stages of the product life cycle, usually account for approximately 10% of the total warming impact in the case where HFC

245fa is used as the blowing agent. Emissions due to energy consumption during manufacturing the blowing agent and the refrigerator are minor, amounting to less than 1% of the total, as are emissions related to energy consumption for the transportation of the blowing agent and refrigerator. Considering the many challenges faced by appliance manufacturers and the strong need to both save energy resources and limit global warming emissions, both HFCs and hydrocarbons should be available as long

-term opti ons for refri g erator insulating foam blowing agents. The advantage provided by HFC

- 245fa in reducing product energy consumption could be a valuable option to manufacturers as they develop products that meet aggressive energy saving goals and reduce total global warming emissions.

0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000

Eu rope USA Ja pan China In dia Au stralia& NZ Br azilWarming Impact (kg CO2) HF C-245fa Pe ntan e Bl en d

Figure 5: Warming Impact Comparison

## References

1) Total Emissions Attributed to Electricity Generation

-

- Source EIA estimates, Kevin Lillis 202

- 586

- 1395, Personal Communication 2) “MEASURING ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN THE UNITED STATES' ECONOMY: A BEGINNING” , October 1995, Energy Information Admini stration, Office of Energy Markets and End Use, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC 20585 3) “CLIMATE CHANGE 2001: THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS”, IPCC Report, Working Group 4) IPCC Second Assessment Report (1995) 5) I Boustead, “Ecoprofiles o f Plastics and Related Intermediates”, APME, Brussels, 1999 6) Robert W. Johnson, "The Effect of Blowing Agent on Refrigerator/Freezer TEWI", Polyurethanes Conference 2000, Boston, Massachusetts, October 8

- 11, 2000 7) UNEP Report of the Technology and Economic A ssessment Panel: Volume 3A Report of the Task force on Collection, Recovery and Storage, April 2002. 8) Scheutz and Kjeldsen, “Determination of the Fraction of Blowing Agent Re leased from Refrigerator/Freezer Foam after Decommissioning the Product”, Environment & Resources DTU, January 2002. 9) Wilkes, Gabbard, and Weaver, “Aging of Polyurethane Foam Insulation in Simulated Refrigerator Panels

– One

-Year Results with Third

Generation Blowing Agents”, Earth Technologies Forum, Washington, DC, 1999. 10) G. J. Haworth, 1996, “Next Generation Insulation Foam Blowing Agents for Refrigerators/Freezers”, Proceedings, International Conference on Ozone Protection Technologies, pp. 467

- 476, Washington, D.C. (1996). 11) “Green Paper: Towards a European Strategy for the Security of Energy Su

pply”, Presented by the Commission of the European Communities, Brussels, November 29, 2000.
BIOGRAPHY
Robert W Johnson

Bob Johnson is President of RWJ Consulting Inc. of Evansville, Indiana. He retired in 2001 from Whirlpool Corporation where he held various positions at the Refrigeration Technology Center. He received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Tech and his MS and PhD degrees from Michigan State University. Bob has served on the UNEP Foams Technical Options Committee and is a member of the Appliance Research Consortium Board of Directors.