We are increasingly polluting our environment and depleting our resources at high speed: industrial activities, intensive agriculture, mass consumption, explosion of energy-intensive technologies such as AI, energy production, etc. On the other hand, the monitoring of pollution and in particular atmospheric compounds has never been more precise than today.
The data collected by the ACE-FTS (Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment – Fourier Transform Spectrometer) tool on board the SCISAT satellite now makes it possible to keenly observe the presence of substances previously difficult to quantify in the upper layers of our atmosphere. Among them, HFC-125 occupies a special place which deserves our full attention.
HFC-125, persona non grata of our atmosphere
HFC-125 or hydrofluorocarbon 125 (chemical formula: C2HF5) has exceptional thermodynamic properties which make it a particularly worrying agent in the context of global warming. It’s a greenhouse gas with absolutely dizzying global warming potential (GWP). Its ratio reaches 3,500:1 compared to carbon dioxide on a time scale of a century. This means that for the same quantity of gas released into the atmosphere, HFC-125 will help trap 3,500 times more heat than CO2.
This fluorinated organic molecule, synthesized in the laboratory in the 1990s, was developed as a substitute for chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), compounds whose gradual ban was necessary due to their destructive action on the stratospheric ozone layer.
Its chemical stability and its remarkable thermal properties – notably its capacity to absorb infrared radiation and its optimal boiling point of -48.1° C – quickly made it a compound of choice for industrial applications. It is thus found massively as a heat transfer fluid in air conditioning systems, as a refrigerant agent in cooling circuits, and as an extinguishing agent in fire-fighting devices, particularly in electrical risk areas where the use of water is prohibited.
Exponential progression documented from space
Researchers from the University of Waterloo, commissioned by the Canadian Space Agency, exploited the capabilities of the ACE-FTS spectrometer to quantify the distribution of this compound between 11 and 25 km altitude. This zone, at the border between the upper troposphere and the lower stratosphere, had never been subject to such measures before.
The results are clear: in the space of two decades, concentrations have increased tenfolddriven by galloping industrialization and the democratization of cooling technologies, particularly in emerging economies. Among these: Brazil, Russia, India, China (BRICS) and Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey (MINT) are among the most important.
The atmospheric persistence of HFC-125 amplifies the seriousness of the situation. Its ability to sustainably trap heat, combined with its long lifespan in the atmosphere, in fact a sadly central actor in climate change. Faced with this observation, the international community integrated this compound into the Kigali amendment to the Montreal Protocol, aiming to gradually restrict its production and use.
Proof that CO2 is far away to be our only enemy in the atmosphere, and that other gases, less known to the public, are just as dangerous. Perfluorocarbons (PFC) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) used in the electronics industry, or nitrous oxide (N2O), produced by industry and agriculture are also part of this list.
- HFC-125, used in air conditioning and industrial systems, is an extremely potent greenhouse gas.
- Its concentration in the atmosphere has exploded in 20 years, particularly in countries experiencing strong economic growth.
- With its long lifespan, it contributes heavily to climate change, despite attempts at international regulation.
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