R32, a short-term candidate to replace R22 in China?

HFC-32 attracted attention during ICR2011 in Prague: it was the subject of 12 papers. It is the main component of HFC-410A with which it shares similar thermodynamic properties, but at a lower price and with a lower GWP (675).
HFC-32 attracted attention during ICR2011 in Prague: it was the subject of 12 papers. It is the main component of HFC-410A with which it shares similar thermodynamic properties, but at a lower price and with a lower GWP (675). According to Xu et al (1), it could be an acceptable working fluid to replace HFCs in heat pumps.
In China, it is listed as one of the main alternatives to R22 in the HCFC phase-out management plan, especially for room air conditioners, despite its compressor discharge temperature that is too high in air conditioners, especially in heat-pump working mode. However, its slight flammability (A2L class-ASHRAE) limits its application in many cases. Other Asian countries are turning to R32 as officials from Indonesian Ministries of Environment and of Economy, Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI); Daikin and Panasonic reached an agreement to introduce high-efficiency HFC-32 air conditioners on the Indonesian market.

(1) Experimental research on quasi-two stage compression heat pump using HFC-32, Xu et al.
JARN, June 25 and August 25, 2011