The potential health and environmental effects of the depletion of stratospheric ozone from refrigerants containing chlorine have resulted in international treaties, laws, and nonbinding agreements to phase out and eliminate many common refrigerants. R22 is one of these compounds. A study was conducted to evaluate the potential of 22 chlorine-free compounds in refrigerant mixtures of up to three components as substitutes for R22. The selection or screening of blends was based on vapour compression cycle COP at the 95 deg F (35 deg C) cooling condition, the volumetric cooling capacity of the blend, evaporator and condenser temperature glides, and the "estimated" flammability of the blend. Promising results were obtained for nine ternary blends containing R125 and eleven ternary blends that exclude R125. Recommendations are made to obtain further experimental data on R125 since the mixtures with the best performance contain that compound. Results from this study will be used in an in-depth follow-on analysis.

KEYWORDS: health, hazards, analysis, refrigerants, R22, R125, chlorine compounds, air conditioning, ozone, experiment, models.