Refrigerants in Fridges
Many of you will have seen on TV the authorities are investigating allegations a fridge freezer was the cause of a recent fire.
Anyone who searches the web and wiki will see refrigerants like R134a are being phased out and R600a is commonly used (isobutane) and if the web is to be believed the model involved allegedly contained about 420 g of R600a.
The web also shows several earlier but infrequent reports of fridges other than this one exploding so it does beg the question of where do chemical engineers stand on use of R600a as a domestic refrigerant and where are we in the development of safer refrigerants ?
I can understand this is a multi disciplinary topic but surely chemical engineers should play a key role in this as we are very familiar with the pros, cons, history and safety implications of flammable refrigerants, albeit usually on a much bigger industrial scale.
AC&R Academic Program Director
1 年https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/woman-refrigerator-explodes-damaging-home/
Electronic engineer, entrepreneur, inventor, innovation strategist.
5 年There are gas pipes around our houses for heating, showering, and cooling. There are safety measures for us layman to use without worrying. Can we make fridges and air conditioners with flammable matters equally safe?
Green Chemical Engineer
6 年Note in the comments below how someone explains this fridge below was running on R600A, there are other R600A explosion examples around the world. Its what in process engineering we call a low probability potentially high consequence event but few of our decision makers or Inquiries seem to care. https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/14250397.Exploding_fridge__could_have_killed_me____electrician_s_lucky_escape_from_freak_accident/#comments-anchor
Green Chemical Engineer
6 年Having just skimmed the Grenfell final report issued today I find it shameful there are not firmer recommendations on flammable cladding and no mention of the fridge which allegedly started the fire and white goods fires in general. This week on Watchdog they have been highlighting how tumble driers still being manufactured are inherently unsafe as they collect fluff above components hot enough to ignite it. The report could have recommended white goods manufacturers move away from flammable refrigerants and the flammable insulation some use, but no, lets have some more ineffective goal setting regulations where the cheap cowboys can get away with murder and will.
Green Chemical Engineer
7 年For any who believe fridge fires are fake news, from the links below, * 300 UK fridge fires per year * London fire brigade says an average of at least one fridge fire a week * Standards largely set by manufacturers * Very few people seem to realise one of the most commonly used domestic refrigerants, iso butane, is highly flammable https://www.coolingpost.com/blog-posts/fridge-safety-standards-must-change/ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/equipment/fridge-fire-hazard/ * I’ve now moved all paper and flammable materials away from our freezer