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Associations
aquatic life or humans and in an assessment study for UNEP it is estimated that all known anthropogenic sources of TFA would raise the background level by less than 10 % by 2050 ( Solomon et al , 2016 ). On the other hand , the environmentalists point out that there is no feasible method of removing TFA from water at scale : once it is present in the ocean it is hard to shift . It tends to accumulate to higher levels in playas ( inland salt lakes ) and as it passes through surface freshwater to get from the point of formation to the ultimate sink ( the playa or the ocean ) the levels will be much higher than the background level found in the ocean .
A couple of interesting points about TFA are that it forms an azeotrope with water ( which is why it is hard to remove from the environment ) and that one of the few mechanisms identified for its degradation is through biotransformation , producing carbon dioxide and R-23 , which has an atmospheric life of 270 years and a GWP100 of 14 800 . Obviously , this process is not common , but all of these factors suggest that a precautionary approach to the widespread adoption of short-life fluorochemicals is warranted , at least until the environmental impact of the atmospheric chemistry is better understood . RACA
Continued in Part 4 …
“ One of the most common breakdown products for most of the refrigerants is trifluoroacetic acid , known as TFA . This is similar in structure to acetic acid , the main active ingredient in vinegar , but with the methyl group ( -CH3) replaced with a fluorinated group ( -CF3).”
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RACA Journal I March 2025 www . refrigerationandaircon . co . za