Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC's)

 

They were made and used because they are extremely stable, they had useful gas-to-liquid transition temperatures, and they were cheap (fluorine production is dirty, dangerous, and hence expensive).They contribute to ozone depletion because they are so stable they can only be brokne down in the intense radiation of the ozone layer, and their chlorine payload is released to do it over and over.

 

A chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) is an organic compound that contains only carbon, chlorine, and fluorine, produced as a volatile derivative of methane, ethane, and propane. They are also commonly known by the DuPont brand name Freon.

 

The invention of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the late 1920s and early 1930s stemmed from the call for safer alternatives to the sulfur dioxide and ammonia refrigerants used at the time. Chlorofluorocarbons were chosen for their safety and for their advantageous chemical properties. These compounds are low in toxicity, nonflammable, noncorrosive, and nonreactive with other chemical species, and have desirable thermal-conductivity and boiling-point characteristics. These features led to increased demand as more applications arose for CFC use.

 

Principal uses of CFCs are for coolants in refrigeration systems and air conditioners, as solvents to clean electronic components, as blowing agents in the production of plastic foams, and as propellants in air conditioners.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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