The fight to rid the world of greenhouse gases and tackle the climate crisis just got stronger.

The Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering (BCOE) is developing an innovative method of getting rid of dangerous hydrofluorocarbon pollution from the air. This project, led by the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering (CEE), recently received a $3.18 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). BCOE was one of only five total institutions nationwide to receive such a federal grant.

“This is a significant opportunity to advance an engineering solution and use it to contribute to global efforts that aim to reduce the effects of climate change,” said Fudong Liu, a CEE associate professor and primary investigator (PI) for the grant.

Other CEE co-principal investigators include professor and department chair David Cocker, and associate professors Yujie Men and Jinyong Liu. Ying-Hsuan Lin, an associate professor from the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences Department of Environmental Sciences, is also a co-PI.

Hydrofluorocarbons are synthetic compounds that are primarily used for cooling purposes — such as in refrigerators and air conditioners — as well as aerosol propellants. While they only represent about two percent of total greenhouse gases, they are the fastest-growing, long-lasting, and are considered far more potent than carbon dioxide, according to the Climate & Clean Air Coalition, a United Nations initiative.

The average lifespan of hydrofluorocarbons in the atmosphere is about 15 years, according to the coalition.

They “are among the most harmful pollutants to both human health and the global climate,” according to the California Air Resources Board, a BCOE partner.

The climate impact of hydrofluorocarbons can be hundreds to thousands of times stronger than the same amount of carbon dioxide, according to the EPA.

Liu’s Scalable Catalytic and Assisting Technologies for Efficient Hydrofluorocarbon Destruction project will focus on using a method called catalytic hydrolysis — which uses catalysts to break up the chemical bonds of hydrofluorocarbons, along with other technologies, including liquid phase reduction and/or biological treatments — to eliminate the strong greenhouse gas. The project will serve as a pilot that will lead to the creation of a cost-effective and competitive system of pollution removal that can be replicated, particularly in disadvantaged communities.

The overall goal is to contribute to other ongoing efforts to minimize the effects of climate change and bolster sustainable practices.
 

“The objective is to contribute to sustainable practices in communities like UC Riverside, serving as a model for broader implementation in disadvantaged areas,” Liu said.

Only four other institutions received the EPA Hydrofluorocarbon Reclaim and Innovative Destruction grant. They are the University of Washington, Texas A&M, Drexel University, and the Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Technology Institute, a trade association representing manufacturers of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, commercial refrigeration, and water-heating equipment.

The grants are part of the current presidential administration’s Investing in American agenda and funded through the Inflation Reduction Act.

These projects are expected to reduce the need for new hydrofluorocarbons and reduce the impacts of these pollutants on the climate. All projects are slated to begin in the fall and winter of this year, according to an EPA news release.