Environment impact of fluorocarbons

environment impacts caused by chlorofluorocarbons

Ozone depletion

In the mid-1970s, it was pointed out that artificially produced substances, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs, also known as fluorocarbons), could deplete the ozone layer. Many fluorocarbons were once used in air conditioners, refrigerators, sprays, and other products, and were released in large quantities into the atmosphere. Because fluorocarbons are difficult to decompose near the ground, they are transported by atmospheric currents up to the stratosphere. Once transported to the stratosphere at an altitude of approximately 40 km, they are decomposed by strong solar ultraviolet rays, generating chlorine. This chlorine acts as a catalyst, destroying ozone one by one. In addition to fluorocarbons, there are several other substances that deplete the ozone layer. Bromine released by substances such as halon, used in fire extinguishing agents, also depletes the ozone layer.

global warming

Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide contained in the atmosphere have the property of storing heat traveling from the Earth's surface, such as the oceans and land, in the atmosphere and returning it to the Earth's surface (the greenhouse effect). Since the start of the Industrial Revolution in the mid-18th century, large amounts of carbon dioxide have been released into the atmosphere due to the mass consumption of fossil fuels such as coal and oil in industrial activities and the mass production of cement, and the decrease in forests, which act as absorbers of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, has led to a rapid increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This rapid increase in greenhouse gases has strengthened the atmospheric greenhouse effect, increasing the absorption of heat in the atmosphere, and as a result, temperatures have begun to rise since the mid-20th century. This is thought to be the cause of global warming.
The main greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons. Carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas that has the greatest impact on global warming. Methane is the greenhouse gas that has the second greatest impact on global warming after carbon dioxide. Methane is produced when dead plants in wetlands, ponds, and rice paddies decompose. It is also produced when natural gas is extracted. As global warming progresses, glaciers melt, sea levels rise, and more areas become submerged, causing abnormal weather on a global scale such as the El Niño phenomenon, droughts, heavy rain, heat waves, and cyclones.

Greenhouse effect of chlorofluorocarbons

Fluorocarbons are used in many areas of our daily lives, but they can be broadly divided into two types: specified fluorocarbons and alternative fluorocarbons. The first to be developed were CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), and the later developed HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons). Because specified fluorocarbons destroy the ozone layer, it became necessary to switch to new fluorocarbons, and this is when the alternative fluorocarbon, HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons), was developed.
HFCs do not contain chlorine and therefore do not destroy the ozone layer, but they are known to have a greenhouse effect hundreds to thousands of times greater than _CO2.