Potential of natural refrigerant in China, the case of the heat pump market.

Heat pumps is regarded as renewable technology for heating systems in China. Phasing out traditional HCFC and HFC refrigerants is compulsory under various international conventions and protocols. This paper presents the current application status for R744 (carbon dioxide / CO2), R290 (propane) and R717 (ammonia / NH3). The potential of each natural refrigerant in the heat pump market is analyzed from the perspective of policy makers, manufacturers and end-users. The analysis shows that CO2, propane and ammonia are still at early stage of commercialization, while propane is the most promising candidate among the three. Finally, this paper concludes that there is a significant potential for natural refrigerant on the Chinese heat pump market. As technology advances, national regulations are enforced and national standards revised, choosing natural refrigerant will become both technically and economically feasible.