Unacceptable and Acceptable Substitutes Tables

Click on the links below to access each substitutes tables. For more information, please contact the Stratospheric Protection Division via Email: spdcomment (spdcomment@epa.gov).

On this page:

Adhesives, Coatings, and Inks
Aerosols
Cleaning Solvents
Fire Suppression and Explosion Protection
Foam Blowing Agents
Refrigeration and Air Conditioning
Sterilants
Tobacco Expansion

Adhesives, Coatings, and Inks

Adhesives
Adhesives are formulations of sticky solids used to adhere pieces of material together. Common uses are laminate adhesives, flexible foam adhesives, and hardwood floor adhesives.

Coatings
Coatings are durable and decorative coatings such as paints, wood stains, and aerospace coatings that contain solids distributed through a carrier solvent.

Inks
Inks are pigments distributed through a carrier solvent including flexographic and rotogravure printing inks.

Aerosols

Propellants
Propellants propel out the pressurized contents of a container.

Solvents
Solvents are used to dissolve liquids or solids, particularly for cleaning.

Cleaning Solvents

Metals Cleaning
Metals cleaning is removing contaminants such as cutting oils, grease, or metal filings from metal parts.

Electronics Cleaning
Electronics cleaning is removing contaminants, primarily solder flux residues, from electronics or circuit boards.

Precision Cleaning
Precision cleaning is cleaning to a specific grade of cleanliness in order for products to maintain their value.

Fire Suppression and Explosion Protection

Total Flooding Agents
Total flooding systems, which historically used halon 1301, are designed to automatically discharge an extinguishing agent and achieve a specified minimum agent concentration throughout a confined space.

Streaming Agents
Streaming fire extinguishers, which historically used halon 1211, are portable and can be manually manipulated to discharge in a specific direction and release a specific quantity of extinguishing agent at the time of a fire.

Foam Blowing Agents

Rigid Polyurethane: Appliance
Appliance foam includes insulation foam in domestic refrigerators and freezers.

Rigid Polyurethane: Spray
Spray foam includes insulation for roofing and walls.

Rigid Polyurethane: Commercial Refrigeration
Commercial refrigeration foam includes insulation for pipes, walls and metal doors in commercial refrigeration equipment, vending machines, coolers, buoyancy, and refrigerated transport vehicles.

Rigid Polyurethane: Marine Flotation Foam
Marine flotation foam is used in boat manufacturing for both structural and flotation purposes.

Rigid Polyurethane: Sandwich Panels
Sandwich panels include insulation for walls and metal doors.

Flexible Polyurethane
Flexible polyurethane includes foam furniture, bedding, chair cushions, and shoe soles.

Integral Skin Polyurethane
Integral skin polyurethane includes car steering wheels, dashboards, and shoe soles.

Polystyrene: Extruded Sheet
Extruded sheet includes foam for packaging and buoyancy or floatation.

Polyolefin
Polyolefin includes foam sheets and tubes.

Rigid Polyurethane: Slabstock and Other
Slabstock includes insulation for panels and pipes.

Polystyrene: Extruded Boardstock & Billet
Extruded boardstock and billet includes insulation for roofing, walls, flooring, and pipes.

Rigid Polyurethane & Polyisocyanurate Laminated Boardstock
Rigid polyurethane and polyisocyanurate laminated boardstock includes insulation for roofing and walls.

Phenolic Insulation Board & Bunstock
Phenolic insulation board and bunstock includes insulation for roofing and walls.

Refrigeration and Air Conditioning

Chillers
Chillers typically cool water, which is then circulated to provide comfort cooling throughout a building or other location. Chillers can be classified by compressor type, including centrifugal and positive displacement. Chillers used to cool industrial processes are discussed under Industrial Process Refrigeration.

Cold Storage Warehouses
Cold storage warehouses store meat, produce, dairy products, and other perishable goods. The majority of cold storage warehouses in the United States use ammonia as the refrigerant in a vapor compression cycle, although some rely on other refrigerants.

Commercial Ice Machines
Commercial ice machines are used in commercial establishments (e.g., hotels, restaurants, convenience stores) to produce ice for consumer use. Ice machines produce ice in various sizes and shapes, and with different retrieval mechanisms (e.g., dispensers or self-retrieval from bins).

Household Refrigerators and Freezers
Household refrigerators and freezers are intended primarily for residential use, although they may be used outside the home. Household freezers only offer storage space at freezing temperatures. Products with both a refrigerator and freezer in a single unit are most common. Small refrigerated household appliances may also include chilled kitchen drawers, wine coolers, mini fridges, household beverage centers, ice makers that are part of a household refrigerator-freezer, and stand-alone ice makers for household use.

Ice Skating Rinks
Ice skating rinks are used by the general public for recreational purposes and also include professional rinks. These systems frequently use secondary loop refrigeration systems.

Industrial Process Air Conditioning
Industrial process air-conditioning units, which are distinct from commercial and residential air conditioning, provide comfort cooling for operators and protect process equipment. This end-use is often used when ambient temperatures approach 200°F (93°C) and corrosive conditions exist.

Industrial Process Refrigeration
Industrial process refrigeration systems cool process streams in industrial applications. The choice of substitute for specific applications depends on ambient and required operating temperatures and pressures.

Motor Vehicle Air Conditioning
Motor vehicle air-conditioning systems (MVACs) provide comfort cooling for passengers in light-duty cars and trucks, buses, trains, and other forms of transportation.

Non-Mechanical Heat Transfer Systems
Non-mechanical heat transfer systems include cooling systems that do not rely on a vapor compression cycle, such as those using convection to remove heat from an area. Two types of such systems are recirculating coolers, i.e., systems with fluid pumps, and thermosiphons, i.e., those that rely on natural convection currents. This end-use also includes Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) devices that typically pump refrigerant to recover and utilize energy from lower-temperature heat rejected from other processes.

Residential and Light Commercial Air Conditioning and Heat Pumps
This end-use includes equipment that cools enclosed spaces in households and commercial industries, but excludes chillers―which include room air conditioning such as window units, packaged terminal air conditioners (PTAC) and heat pumps (PTHP), and portable air conditioners; central air conditioners (i.e., ducted); non-ducted systems (both mini and multi splits); packaged rooftop units; water-source and ground-source heat pumps; and other products. Residential and light commercial air conditioning and heat pumps are often distinguished from chillers by the fact that they condition the air directly, rather than cool (or heat) water that is then used to condition air.

Residential Dehumidifiers
Residential dehumidifiers are primarily used to remove water vapor from ambient air or directly from indoor air for comfort or material preservation purposes. While air-conditioning systems often combine cooling and dehumidification, this application serves only the latter purpose.

Refrigerated Transport
Refrigerated transport moves products (e.g., perishable goods) from one place to another by various modes of transportation while maintaining necessary temperatures, including refrigerated ship holds, truck trailers, railway freight cars, ships, and other shipping containers.

Retail Food Refrigeration
Retail food refrigeration, or commercial refrigeration, includes equipment designed to store, display, process, or dispense chilled or frozen goods for commercial sale. This end-use includes these categories of equipment: stand-alone equipment, remote condensing units, supermarket systems, and refrigerated food processing and dispensing equipment.

Vending Machines
Vending machines are self-contained units that dispense goods that must be kept cold or frozen.

Very Low Temperature Refrigeration
Very low temperature refrigeration systems require maintaining temperatures at approximately -80 degrees Fahrenheit (-62 degrees Celsius) or lower. Examples include medical freezers and freeze-dryers, which generally require extremely reliable refrigeration cycles to maintain low temperatures and must meet stringent technical standards that do not normally apply to refrigeration systems.

Water Coolers
Water coolers are self-contained units providing chilled water, and possibly heated water, for drinking. They may or may not feature detachable containers of water.

Sterilants

Are used to kill micro-organisms on medical equipment and devices.

Tobacco Expansion

Is the process of puffing leaves of tobacco to decrease the volume of tobacco used in cigarette production.