At high temperatures, R-12 and R-22 can decompose to form which gas?

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Multiple Choice

At high temperatures, R-12 and R-22 can decompose to form which gas?

When chlorinated refrigerants like R-12 and R-22 are exposed to high heat, they can break down in ways that form toxic gases, specifically phosgene. The breakdown rearranges the chlorine-containing molecules into carbonyl chloride (phosgene), a highly hazardous gas that can cause severe lung and eye irritation and can be life-threatening in a fire or overheated system. The other gases listed don’t arise from this decomposition pathway because those refrigerants don’t contain the elemental makeups that would produce hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, or nitrogen oxides under typical overheating conditions. So phosgene gas is the gas that can form at high temperatures from these refrigerants.

When chlorinated refrigerants like R-12 and R-22 are exposed to high heat, they can break down in ways that form toxic gases, specifically phosgene. The breakdown rearranges the chlorine-containing molecules into carbonyl chloride (phosgene), a highly hazardous gas that can cause severe lung and eye irritation and can be life-threatening in a fire or overheated system. The other gases listed don’t arise from this decomposition pathway because those refrigerants don’t contain the elemental makeups that would produce hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, or nitrogen oxides under typical overheating conditions. So phosgene gas is the gas that can form at high temperatures from these refrigerants.

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