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 maintaining the ecological environment's contribution to the 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 all HCFC-141b foaming agents by the end of December 2018.
Xu Dongsheng, vice chairman of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, stated that: 'The core enterprises of the electric water heater industry have continuously worked hard at the environmental protection cause. They have also set an example in the call for the proposal and actively promoted the phase-out of HCFC-141b in the entire industry. Is very active. '
Polyurethane foam is currently the main insulation material for the electric water heater industry, and HCFC-141b is the most widely used foaming agent type in the polyurethane foam industry, but HCFC-141b is an ozone depleting substance (ODS) with a 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 funding to carry out Phase I HCFC-141b phase-out. The electric water heater industry is the first phase of its support. One of the industries, in accordance with the plan of the Chinese government, the electric water heater industry should achieve phase-out of the entire industry HCFC-141b in the first phase.
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 build a green water heater industry, and to make the water heater industry an environmentally friendly industry,' Xu Dongsheng said.
