The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is considering a proposal submitted by Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden to restrict PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), also known as forever chemicals. Chemical companies, refrigeration component manufacturers and heat pump trade organizations have argued that PFAS refrigerants and components are essential to the wide-scale roll out of heat pumps and thus the EU’s climate goals.
While the rise in natural refrigerant heat pumps proves f-gases aren’t essential, the component-centered argument is harder to refute as it’s not known how many non-refrigerant PFAS are in a modern heat pump.
Until now.
Researchers from Germany’s Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences and the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences have found that in a commercial reversible heat pump using R410A refrigerant, the amount of PFAS components by weight was less than 1% (0.00041%). The researchers analyzed an 800-kilogram (1,763lbs) air-to-water heat pump manufactured by Swiss OEM Heim AG Heizsysteme with a capacity of 30kW (8.5TR) designed for use in multi-family buildings. R410A is made using a blend of 50% R125 and 50% R32, with only the former being PFAS.
The research team consisted of Professor Michael Kauffeld from the Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences Institute of Refrigeration, Air-Conditioning and Environmental Engineering; Dr. Mihaela Dudiţa-Kauffeld and Kanchan Bohara from the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences SPF Institute for Solar Technology; and Raphael Gerber, System Development Engineer at Heim.
Kauffeld presented the team’s findings at the recent Karlsruhe Heat Pump Symposium 2024 where he was interviewed by Marc Chasserot, CEO and Founder of ATMOsphere. ATMOsphere is the publisher of NaturalRefrigerants.com.
“The total amount by weight by PFAS in this heat pump is 1.4%, and if you take this 1.4%, about 97% of that is the refrigerant, which is easy to replace as this heat pump is designed to be installed outside,” said Kauffeld. “We still have PFAS in the O-rings, the seal of the expansion valve and in the electronics, though.”
Identifying PFAS components
Unlike f-gas refrigerants, which leak from equipment into the atmosphere and earth, Kauffeld said that certain PFAS components do not pose health and environmental risks as long as they are recycled or disposed of properly.
“An O-ring made of PFAS material is no problem if, at the end of the lifecycle of the heat pump, you recycle it or burn it at a high enough temperature so that the PFAS is not going into the environment,” noted Kauffeld.
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Kauffeld said that, in addition to individual components, the heat pump his team examined also contained PFAS components that were used in the electronics to prevent sparks, and a PFAS was used to coat the evaporator to prevent de-icing. Despite the pervasiveness of PFAS, Kauffeld said manufacturers can analyze their products to pinpoint which components contain the forever chemicals.
“[The manufacturers] can go to different laboratories that can make infrared spectroscopy measurements that tell you exactly what type of PFAS you have in the material,” said Kauffeld, with Chasserot noting that both Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences and the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences have such laboratories.
“There is a rough measurement that can be done quickly and then a more detailed one,” added Kauffeld. “It’s easy.”
Looking back
Chasserot was quick to point out that testing a product in a lab may be easy, but replacing its PFAS components with those that don’t contain forever chemicals is a much larger challenge. Indeed, the Association of European Refrigeration Component Manufacturers (ASERCOM) said its members “are collaboratively exploring alternative substances with their supply partners, though viable solutions achieving equal performance are not yet identified.”
Based on what Chasserot said he’s seen, though, the issue is solvable by companies with the will and resources to tackle it.
“I personally have talked to quite a few companies in the last few months that are already working on this that know it’ll be solvable – not in 10 years but well before then,” said Chasserot. “It’s not rocket science to solve this problem for the small percentage of the issue we’re talking about.”
In his presentation, Kauffeld showed how companies in other industries have gone PFAS-free, such as German outdoor apparel and equipment company Vaude. The company began moving away from using PFAS to make its products water repellent in 2010, and by 2025 it plans for all of its offerings to be PFAS-free.
Vaude provides an example of how moving away from PFAS is possible in today’s PFAS-dominated supply chain. Kauffeld says the HVAC&R industry may only need to look to its past to understand how to design systems completely free of PFAS components.
“All we have to do is go back 90 years before the invention of PFAS,” said Kauffeld. “There were refrigeration systems and heat pumps, and they worked without PFAS. If the people back then could do it, then we can do it today.”
“[The manufacturers] can go to different laboratories that can make infrared spectroscopy measurements that tell you exactly what type of PFAS you have in the material.”
Professor Michael Kauffeld, Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences
This article has been updated with new data from Professor Michael Kauffeld. Previously, it was stated that PFAS components accounted for 0.00056% of the total weight of the heat pump analyzed by his team. That figure has since been updated to 0.00041%. The total amount of PFAS weight in the heat pump (including the refrigerant), previously stated as 2.8%, has been updated to 1.4% to reflect the blend of refrigerants used to create R410A, a 50-50 mix of R125 (PFAS) and R32 (non-PFAS). Finally, the percentage of PFAS in terms of total attributable to refrigerant was previously stated to be 98% and has been updated to 97%
