New CFC-Replacements Might Solve (Almost) All Our Problems

A group of chemicals in the class known as fluoroiodocarbons (FICs) has been identified by researchers as potential replacements for chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and halons in a wide range of industrial uses. Unlike HCFCs—the first group of CFC-alternatives to be identified—FICs’ contribution to both stratospheric ozone depletion and to global warming appears to be negligible. And unlike other potential CFC-replacements, blends made with FIC can apparently be used as “drop-in” replacements, requiring no alterations to equipment or changes in lubricant to work with equal efficiency. Used instead of halons in fire-extinguishers, these FICs work “as well or better,” according to their inventors.

The new compounds were invented by Lance Lankford, a mechanical engineer in Sacramento, California, and Jon Nimitz, president of the Energy Technology and Education Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. If further testing bears out the researchers’ hopes, these compounds could become the ideal replacement for the several hundred thousand tons per year of CFCs produced in recent years. Industry observers are still cautious in their optimism, however. According to