Risks and Benefits of Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases in Processes and Products under Special Consideration of the Properties Intrinsic to the Substance

Fluorinated greenhouse gases (GHG) are used in a multitude of applications to date. Next to perfluorinated compounds (e.g. CF4, C2F6 or SF6), especially the fluorinated hydrocarbons (HFC) are of relevance by means of volume. HFCs represent the special focus of this study. They are mainly applied as a substitute for fluorinated and chlorinated hydrocarbons (HCFC) which are internationally banned under the Montreal protocol because of their role in the destruction of stratospheric ozone. Since 1993, several different HFC were step by step introduced into the market as substitutes in the framework of phasing out the use of HCFC.