Stratospheric Ozone Layer
Depletion
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Page 3
The First
Chlorofluorocarbons
In June of 1918, General Motors joined the
refrigerator manufacturing industry by purchasing a small Detroit company and
renaming it Frigidaire. On the surface, this does not seem to be that
significant an event. However, when General Motors began manufacturing, it also
began working to perfect the products it was selling. Though many other
companies were in the field, few had the quality researchers that General
Motors possessed. Also, the money that could be invested by this automotive
giant was unparalleled.
The research team for General Motors changed
the aesthetics of the early refrigerators to make them more acceptable to the
consumer. This change, along with several others, improved the physical
appearance and functioning of the General Motors' units. More than any other
problem, the main difficulty that still remained with all refrigerators was the
refrigerant used to cool the box. Ammonia, a highly toxic and potentially
explosive liquid/gas was the refrigerant of choice at the time. Many research
groups tried in vain to find an adequate substitute that had as good a cooling
potential, was less toxic, was safe, and would not cost an exorbitant amount.
One of General Motors' most celebrated and
successful researchers was a man named Thomas Midgley Jr. Midgley had invented
the lead additive for gasoline as well as many other chemical innovations. When
he started work on the problem of the refrigerator, no one thought that his
next creation would change the world so significantly, but it did. On December 31, 1928, Frigidaire received the first patent for the
class of compounds that would come to be known as chlorofluorocarbons (CFC).
With this patent, the modern age of refrigerators and air-conditioning began.
In retrospect, the creation of the first
chlorofluorocarbons was a momentous discovery. At the time, however, no one
knew exactly what these new chemicals could be used for. Slowly, CFCs made
their way into the market. Before anyone would rush to purchase and use this
new chemical, many tests and studies would need to be undertaken. In April 1930 Midgley made a presentation demonstrating the
safety of CFCs at the Atlanta meeting of the American Chemical Society. Midgley
began by placing an empty glass jar on a table in front of the assembled crowd.
Into the jar, he poured liquid CFCs, which appeared to be white and opaque. The
liquid began to boil instantly as soon as it warmed to room temperature. As the
vapors billowed up out of the jar, Midgley placed his face over its mouth and
took a deep breath, inhaling the cold stream. He went on to explain that CFCs
are non-explosive, have not harmed any animals, and except for an intoxicating
effect, have no effect on humans. Moreover, CFCs are chemically inert and, most
importantly, are perfect refrigerants. The crowd was thoroughly impressed. A
few months later, on August 27, 1930 General
Motors and Du Pont entered into a partnership to produce CFCs under the trade
name Freon. Scientists at the time, performed every test on CFCs that could be
imagined. In the end, they were found to be safe to humans, construction
materials, and the environment. Best of all, they were inexpensive and highly
useful. Not until many years later did a new group of scientists find out that
CFCs could be very harmful to everything on earth.
