CFCs And Alternative Aerosol Propellents

8 Pages 1942 Words

door was opened on tons of products that could be manufactured. Deodorant, hair spray, and shaving cream are just some of the products du Pont put into cans propelled by CFC. There are actually six different forms of CFCs that were used in commercial products: CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-22, CFC-113, CFC-114 and CFC-115. CFC-11 was used in aerosol cans and in the production of urethane foams. CFC-12 was primarily used in the manufacture of polystyrene, refrigerators, mobile air conditioners, and aerosols. CFC-22 was used mainly in home air conditioners and CFC-113 was primarily used as a solvent for cleaning circuit boards and for metal degreasing. CFC-114 and CFC-115 were used in refrigeration and cooling.
By 1954, 188 million cans were sold in the United States and in 1958, the number of cans sold soared to 500 million. By 1968, 2.3 billion cans were being sold a year. Nobody expected CFC’s to be dangerous to the environment, because they were inert and didn’t react with anything. In 1970, a British chemist decided to test the atmosphere for CFC content and changed the propellant world.
In 1970, Jim Lovelock, a “respected researcher holding a PhD” had quit his job because of the stability it offered. He believed that the stability would inhibit his creativity and restrict him from enjoying science. He ended up setting up a small lab in his country home in Bowerchalke and did consulting research. One day, in 1970, Lovelock got an idea to measure CFC’s in the atmospher...