The McDonald’s Group chooses Forane® 427A for the retrofit of refrigeration equipment at one of its Swiss outlets

In under two years, on December 31st 2009, the ban on the use of R-22 HCFC* virgin fluid for the maintenance of air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment will come into force**. The McDonald’s group is taking steps to anticipate this deadline in optimum conditions, and in December 2007 successfully conducted the conversion of equipment from R-22 to Forane® 427A, a new generation HFC*** fluid, at one of its outlets in Montagny-sur-Yverdon, Switzerland.

McDonald’s is striving to minimize its impact on the environment where possible. Converting its HCFC refrigerated equipment to Forane®427A, plays a part in achieving this objective. Among retrofit solutions available on the market, Arkema’s Forane® 427A offers one of the lowest GWPs (Global Warming Potential), combining both performance and ease of installation.

The retrofit operation was performed successfully by maintenance contractors Atel TB Romandie SA in a very short space of time. The converted installation includes an air/water heat pump that produces hot water for heating in winter and air-conditioning in summer, and is also used for preheating domestic hot water. The equipment now runs on Forane® 427A, while the system’s SUNISO 3GS mineral oil has been replaced with Arctic 22 polyolester oil.

The equipment has been operating very satisfactorily for over three months. On the strength of this experience, McDonald’s Switzerland is planning further retrofit operations to convert equipment from R-22 to Forane® 427A.

* HCFC – hydrochlorofluorocarbon

** Installations still using R-22, concerned by these regulations, account for a huge number of equipment: refrigerant equipment and cold rooms in commercial outlets, supermarkets and restaurants, industrial installations in food processing, chemicals manufacture, and pharmaceuticals manufacture, and air-conditioning in buildings constructed before 2001…

*** HFC – hydrofluorocarbon (new generation fluid)

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Notes for editors

The world’s second largest fluorochemicals producer, Arkema currently operates four industrial facilities on three continents: Pierre-Bénite in France, Zaramillo in Spain, Changshu in China, and Calvert City in the United States. The products manufactured in these four plants are sold under the Forane® trademark to the refrigeration and air-conditioning (construction and automotive), insulating foam, solvent, and aerosol industries.

A global chemical player, Arkema consists of 3 coherent and related business segments: Vinyl Products, Industrial Chemicals, and Performance Products. Present in over 40 countries with 15,200 employees, Arkema achieves sales of 5.7 billion euros. With its 6 research centers in France, the United States and Japan, and internationally recognized brands, Arkema holds leadership positions in its principal markets.