Editing Isobutane (section)

==Refrigerant==
Isobutane is used as a [[refrigerant]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/clima/sites/default/files/docs/0007/hcfc_technical_meeting_summary_en.pdf |title=Technical Meeting on HCFC Phase-Out: Overview of Advantages and Disadvantages of Alternatives (Montreal, Canada; European Commission on retrofit refrigerants for stationary applications) |date=April 2008 |access-date=2021-05-21 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805150605/http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ozone/pdf/hcfc_technical_meeting_summary.pdf |archive-date=2009-08-05}}</ref> Use in refrigerators started in 1993 when [[Greenpeace]] presented the Greenfreeze project with the former East German company {{Interlanguage link|Foron (company)|lt=Foron|de|Foron}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/green-solutions/greenfreeze/ |title=GreenFreeze |publisher=Greenpeace |date=2010-03-15 |access-date=2013-01-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101005093019/http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/green-solutions/greenfreeze/ |archive-date=2010-10-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Greenfreeze: from a snowball to an industrial avalanche |author=Wolfgang Lohbeck |date=June 2004 |url=https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/wp-content/uploads/legacy/Global/usa/report/2007/7/greenfreeze-from-snowball-to.pdf |access-date=2021-05-21}}</ref> In this regard, blends of pure, dry "isobutane" (R-600a) (that is, isobutane mixtures) have negligible [[ozone depletion potential]] and very low [[global warming potential]] (having a value of 3.3 times the GWP of carbon dioxide) and can serve as a functional replacement for [[dichlorodifluoromethane|R-12]], [[chlorodifluoromethane|R-22]] (both of these being commonly known by the trademark [[Freon]]), [[1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane|R-134a]], and other [[chlorofluorocarbon]] or [[hydrofluorocarbon]] [[refrigerant]]s in conventional stationary refrigeration and air conditioning systems.

As a refrigerant, isobutane poses a fire and explosion risk in addition to the hazards associated with non-flammable CFC refrigerants. Substitution of this refrigerant for motor vehicle air conditioning systems not originally designed for isobutane is widely prohibited or discouraged.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.epa.gov/ozone/snap/refrigerants/hc12alng.html |title=U.S. EPA hydrocarbon-refrigerants FAQ |publisher=Epa.gov |access-date=2010-10-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.astreappliancerepair.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/hc_white_paper.pdf |title=Compendium of hydrocarbon-refrigerant policy statements, October 2006 |access-date=2014-08-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808045013/http://www.astreappliancerepair.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/hc_white_paper.pdf |archive-date=2014-08-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.autoacforum.com/MACS/HCwarning.pdf |title=MACS bulletin: hydrocarbon refrigerant usage in vehicles |access-date=2010-10-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110105174944/http://www.autoacforum.com/MACS/HCwarning.pdf |archive-date=2011-01-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sae.org/news/releases/05hydrocarbon_warning.htm |title=Society of Automotive Engineers hydrocarbon refrigerant bulletin |publisher=Sae.org |date=2005-04-27 |access-date=2010-10-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050505030057/http://www.sae.org/news/releases/05hydrocarbon_warning.htm |archive-date=2005-05-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.labour.gov.sk.ca/Default.aspx?DN=2fb5ac24-d90e-4408-bf40-559793bd8e96 |title=Saskatchewan Labour bulletin on hydrocarbon refrigerants in vehicles |publisher=Labour.gov.sk.ca |date=2010-06-29 |access-date=2010-10-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090701025850/http://www.labour.gov.sk.ca/Default.aspx?DN=2fb5ac24-d90e-4408-bf40-559793bd8e96 |archive-date=2009-07-01}}</ref><ref>[http://www.vasa.org.au/content/refriggas/index.php#Bookmark%202 VASA on refrigerant legality & advisability] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113163519/http://www.vasa.org.au/content/refriggas/index.php#Bookmark |date=January 13, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.energy.qld.gov.au/zone_files/petroleum_pdf/safety_alert025.pdf |title=Queensland (Australia) government warning on hydrocarbon refrigerants |publisher=Energy.qld.gov.au |access-date=2010-10-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217150006/http://www.energy.qld.gov.au/zone_files/petroleum_pdf/safety_alert025.pdf |archive-date=2008-12-17}}</ref>

Vendors and advocates of hydrocarbon refrigerants argue against such bans on the grounds that there have been very few such incidents relative to the number of vehicle air conditioning systems filled with hydrocarbons.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/HansArt.nsf/V3Key/LA19971016015 |title=New South Wales (Australia) Parliamentary record, 16 October 1997 |publisher=Parliament.nsw.gov.au |date=1997-10-16 |access-date=2010-10-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090701025536/http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/HansArt.nsf/V3Key/LA19971016015 |archive-date=1 July 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LC20000629051 |title=New South Wales (Australia) Parliamentary record, 29 June 2000 |publisher=Parliament.nsw.gov.au |access-date=2010-10-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050522080708/http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LC20000629051 |archive-date=22 May 2005}}</ref>

A leak of isobutane in the refrigerant system of a fridge initiated the [[2024 Valencia residential complex fire]] in [[Spain]], that claimed 10 lives.<ref name="valencia_fridge">{{cite news |url=https://www.levante-emv.com/comunitat-valenciana/2024/05/03/incendio-valencia-fuga-gas-refrigerante-nevera-propicio-incendio-campanar-101873351.html |title=Una fuga del gas refrigerante de la nevera del piso 86 propició el inicio del incendio de Campanar |first=Teresa |last=Domínguez |work=[[Levante-EMV]] |date=3 May 2024 |access-date=15 October 2024 |language=es-ES}}</ref>