visotech

Recently, a new type of self-cooling soda/beer can was proposed for widespread manufacturing by Joseph, a California-based company. It was originally designed to use HFC 134a to cool the contents, whether beer or soft drink. With this new type of can, the user activates the self-cooling properties of the can before drinking. Once activated, the contents are cooled in about 1.5 minutes to about 30 degrees F, without need of a refrigerator. Environmentalists pointed out that HFC 134a is an ozone depleter and a greenhouse gas that would contribute to global warming at a rate 1300 times greater than CO2. Additionally, some toxicological investigations linked HFC-134a to liver cancers. Consequently, the coolant gas was changed to CO2 and a partnership with BOC announced. It is not clear how big a market there would be for such a self-cooled can, but there are many billions of cans sold annually, and the greenhouse gas impacts could be substantial. Any environmental good news relates to the replacement of HFC 134a with CO2 as a thermal medium. ("BOC in chill can partnership", January 13, 1998, Chemical Business Newsbase, Asia Intelligence Wire, Business section) Concern over global warming has prompted the EPA to propose a ban on the refrigerants HFC-134a and HFC-152a in self-cooled beverage containers. The EPA contends that with a U.S. market share of 5% the nearly 5 billion cans sold annually would emit about 96 million metric tons of carbon equivalent, an amount 25% higher than all the carbon saved by the U.S. Climate Change Action Plan for the year 2000. ("Climate change: Feds propose ban on chill can chemicals", Business and Environment, 3/98, March 18, 1998, Greenwire, Worldview)