In response to the Ministry of Environmental Protection's encouragement of the electric water heater industry's initiative to 'stop using HCFC-141b voluntarily, advance into the state of environmentally friendly foaming materials, and contribute to the preservation of the ecological environmental protection industry', the November 2017 China Household Electrical Appliances Association Household Electric Water Heater Professional Committee Drafted the “Proposal for Practice of HCFC-141b Phase-out and Green Water Heater Industry Establishment” and read it out at the second meeting of the special committee in 2017. It was recognized by most enterprises at the meeting.
A few days ago, the reporter learned from the China Household Electrical Appliances Association that 16 domestic mainstream electric water heater brands promised to completely disable HCFC-141b foaming agent by March 31st, switch to environmentally-friendly foaming agents such as cyclopentane, etc. Electric Co., Ltd. and Guangdong Jiejiebao Electric Co., Ltd. have completed partial switchover and promised to phase out HCFC-141b foaming agent by the end of December of 2018.
Xu Dongsheng, vice chairman of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, stated that: 'The core enterprises of the electric water heater industry are continuously working hard on the environmental protection cause. They have also set a good example in the call for the proposal and actively promoted the elimination of HCFC-141b, in the entire industry. Is very active. '
Polyurethane foam is the main insulation material in the current electric water heater industry, and HCFC-141b is the most widely used foaming agent in the polyurethane foam industry. However, HCFC-141b is an ozone depleting substance (ODS) with high ozone depleting potential ( ODP value) and global warming potential (GWP value), and ODP value is the highest among all HCFCs.
China, as a party to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, began using the Multilateral Fund of the Montreal Protocol in 2012 to support polyurethane foam enterprises eligible for financing to carry out Phase I phase-out of HCFC-141b. The electric water heater industry is the first phase of support. One of the industries, in accordance with the plan of the Chinese government, the electric water heater industry should achieve phase-out of HCFC-141b throughout the industry.
It is understood that the electric water heater industry uses cyclopentane and other hydrocarbon blowing agents to replace HCFC-141b, the technology is relatively mature, has many years of experience in the appliance industry, companies can easily obtain alternative technologies.
'In the future, we hope that more efforts can be made to accelerate the elimination of HCFC-141b foaming agents in the water heater industry through initiatives to jointly build a green water heater industry and further promote the water heater industry to become an environmentally friendly industry. ' Xu Dongsheng said.