Barbara Haviland Minor is an American chemical engineer, known for the development of refrigerants. She was technical leader for chemical company DuPont in the development of R-1234yf,[1] a refrigerant which, as of 2018, was used in 50% of all new vehicles produced by original equipment manufacturers,[2] and which represented an important contribution to countering global warming.[3]
Minor was one of five women to be named a Dupont Fellow in 2014,[1] the first year that the company named women to its highest technical level.[4] In 2018, she was awarded the Society of Chemical Industry's Perkin Medal, given annually for 'innovation in applied chemistry resulting in outstanding commercial development'.[3]
Minor was the technical leader for the research group at DuPont that developed HFO-1234yf,[1][8]ahydrofluoroolefin that can reduce emissions from automotive air conditioning by more than 99%.[3]
HFO-1234yf has a much lower global warming potential (GWP) than the previously used R-134a: its 100-year GWP was originally calculated as 4,[9] and later recalculated as <1,[10][11] compared to 1430 for R-134a. HFO-1234yf also has a lower atmospheric lifetime (11 days compared to 14 years), and higher energy efficiency under many conditions.[9]
The Dupont team worked jointly with researchers at Honeywell.[8][9] As a replacement for R-134a, HFO-1234yf is marketed as Opteon yf by Dupont[1] (later Chemours),[12] and as Solstice yf by Honeywell.[13]
As of 2018, 50% of new vehicles produced by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are believed to use HFO-1234yf for air conditioning.[2]
Minor helped to develop both the XP (2014) and XL (2016) lines of refrigerant for Dupont and Chemours.[14]
In addition to alternative refrigerants for use in automobiles,[15]
more ecologically friendly refrigerants have been developed for supermarket refrigeration systems (XP40)[16]
commercial freezers (XL20),[17]
reach-in coolers and freezers (R450A),[18]
beverage coolers (HFO-1234yf),[19][20]
large building chillers (XP30),[14]
transport units with self-contained refrigeration (XP44)[14][20][7]
direct expansion air conditioning, chilled water air conditioning and heat pumps (XL41, XL55).[21]
Minor is also a co-inventor of Dupont's ISCEON MO99 (R438A), a possible replacement for R22, and Suva 95 (R508B), a possible replacement for R13 and R503.[6][22]
A number of these refrigerants involve HFO/HFC blends.[23][24]
Minor holds more than 160 patents in the United States, for her work on refrigerants, cleaning agents, and aerosol propellants.[3][25][26]
She is a member of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). She has chaired the AHRI's Research group and the AHRTI's Technology and Steering committees.[27]
"CCN Video: HFOs in Australia", Interview with Barbara Minor, 2015
