The Danish Environmental Protection Agency (DEPA) has played an active
role in encouraging Danish industry to convert to ozone and climate
friendly technologies through a three pronged phasing-out strategy
consisting of : a tax on CFC and halon, a statutory order gradually
banning the use of ODS for specific purposes and a development programme
to support non-ODS technology.
The Danish EPA has recently (1995) published two most informative
manuscripts, "Polyurethane Foam Without Ozone Depleting Substances" *
and "Going Towards Natural Refrigerants" ** which detail how Danish
industry is moving towards ozone and climate friendly technologies in
refrigeration and polyurethane foam production.
The _Danish EPA reports summarize:
" The interest for natural refrigerants has been increasing during the
last couple of years and in Denmark a lot of activities take place to
develop new technology which implies ammonia, hydrocarbons, water and
C02.
New products have been marketed like small ammonia refrigeration units,
filling stations for hydrocarbon refrigerants, water compression
refrigeration units, etc.
The Danish EPA is of the opinion that "Natural Refrigerants" will take a
stronger position in the future, and this development will make it
possible to reduce the consumption of ozone depleting refrigerants and
refrigerants which are potent climate gases. It is, however, essential
that this development causes refrigeration units which do not use more
energy. Examples in this report show that this is possible.
Traditionally Danish industry has a high production of polyurethane foam
due to the substantial production and export of products like domestic
refrigerators and freezers, district heating pipes, jointing foam,
sandwich insulation panels etc.
Experience from Danish industrial projects shows that it is possible to
produce many kinds of polyurethane foam without ozone depleting
substances or substances contributing significantly to global warming."
District heating pipes
More than half of the world production of preinsulated district heating
pipes takes place in Denmark, at four companies: ABB District Heating (I
C Moller), Logstor Ror, Tarco Energy and Starpipe (Dansk Rorindustri).
As from January 1993 CFC was no longer allowed for the blowing of
insulation foam for district heating pipes. HCFC - as a transitional
solution - and CO2 have been used instead. Now all four companies have
developed systems based on cyclopentane or other hydrocarbons. Two of
the companies also continue producing CO2-based pipes.
Insulation panels
Three companies are producing sandwich panels for building cold stores
etc. The companies, DC System Insulation, Dansystem and Hercules changed
to HCFC in 1992-93, and they still use HCFC. Some of them are able to
produce with CO2, but this results in a slightly poorer insulation
value. DC System Insulation is now in a process of changing to pentane
as blowing agent and this technology is expected to be fully implemented
by the end of 1995.
Portals, industrial doors
Two companies, Nassau Doors and Windsor Door, produce industrial portals
and doors with sandwich panels containing polyurethane foam. They are
now using CO2.
Rigid integral foam
Tinby A/S has a considerable production of rigid integral foam for
industry, especially the graphical industry. They stopped using CFC in
1993 and have since used CO2 in the major part of the production, but
HCFC in a minor part. HCFC is now replaced by CO2.
Jointing foam
Baxenden Scandinavia produces canister foam sealant (jointing foam) and
has, since 1987, produced cans with propane/butane propellant for the
Scandinavian market and cans with HCFC for the European market.
Flexible integral foam
Baxenden Scandinavia has developed systems for producing flexible
integral foam with isopentane as blowing agent.
Ecco, a big producer of shoes, has in cooperation with Bayer developed a
technology for producing shoe soles of flexible integral foam without
using ODS. The blowing agent is CO2.
Flexible foam
Three companies (Brdr.Foltmar, KBE and Danfoam) are producing flexible
slabstock foam at four localities. They stopped using CFC in 1991 and
use CO2 for the major part of production. In a minor part of the
production (special grade high quality foam) they used HCFC until May
1995. Since June 1995 they are using HFC-blends for this production. HFC
will be used until 1996 when new technology including the use of liquid
CO2 will be fully implemented.
Isobutane
Seven Danish companies produce yearly more than 1.5 million
refrigerators and freezers. The use of CFC-12 as refrigerant has
stopped, and most of the production was changed to HFC-134a. In 1994
isobutane was introduced as a refrigerant within domestic refrigeration
in Denmark and the production ratio of units with the hydrocarbon
refrigeration system is increasing and is now (medio 1995) about 10per
cent of the total production. Hydrocarbons as refrigerant has mostly
been used in products exported to Germany, but now the products are also
sold in other countries including Denmark.
2.5 million compressors
The Danish Company Danfoss will in 1995 produce a total of about 8
million compressors at the production facility in Flensburg, Germany. Of
these, Danfoss expects to produce about 2.5 million compressors for
isobutane, and this makes the Danfoss company the world's largest
manufacturer of hydrocarbon compressors.
** Danish Environmental Protection Agency, "Going Towards Natural Refrigerants": Environmental project # 301, 1995 [return]