Barbara H. Minor
PHILADELPHIA— The Society of Chemical Industry (SCI), America Group, announced that Barbara Haviland Minor, Corporate Fellow at The Chemours Company (Chemours) (NYSE: CC), has won the 2018 SCI Perkin Medal. This honor recognizes her contributions in the research and development of new refrigerants, known as Opteon™ refrigerants, to address concerns related to ozone depletion and global warming potential (GWP).
“The work Barbara has done in the world of refrigerants has resulted in innovative solutions that have a larger positive impact on people’s lives, all with a smaller environmental footprint,” said Craig A. Rogerson, Chairman, President and CEO of Hexion Inc. and Chair of SCI America. “The SCI is pleased to award Barbara’s remarkable success in the industry, her contributions to science, and her commitment to a more sustainable planet.”
Most recently, Minor developed several new low GWP refrigerants based on HFO technology for supermarket, transport and self-contained refrigeration and large building air conditioning. Opteon™ XP40 was designed for retrofit and new supermarket refrigeration systems to replace R-404A. Thousands of supermarkets globally have already been converted to XP40 since 2013, providing a significant, positive environmental impact. Other refrigerants in commercial use today include XP44 for refrigerated trucks and trailers, XP10 and XP30 for large building chillers, and recently commercialized XL20 and XL40 for condensing units, ice machines, and reach-in coolers and freezers.
“Barbara’s innovative contributions to science and technology matched with her deep understanding of customer and market needs have been central to the success of many new refrigerants,” stated Chemours CEO Mark Vergnano. “We are so proud that she has received this richly-deserved recognition for her many contributions to Chemours, the environment, and society as a whole.”
About Barbara H. Minor
After graduating from Bucknell University with a degree in Chemical Engineering, Minor joined the DuPont company in 1981 where she worked for 34 years. In 2014, Minor was one of the first women named a DuPont Fellow in the company’s 200+ year history, which is the highest technical level in DuPont. She joined Chemours, following its spinoff from DuPont in 2015 and is now one of only two corporate fellows in the organization.
Minor has spent most of her career developing non-ozone depleting and low global warming refrigerants for air conditioning and refrigeration applications. She developed several new refrigerants to help meet phase-out requirements for ozone-destroying CFCs and HCFCs and high global warming HFCs. In 2010, she was recognized for her contributions in the development of a low GWP hydrofluoroolefin refrigerant named HFO-1234yf (Opteon™ YF) for automotive air conditioning. Because HFO-1234yf contains an unsaturated double bond, it has >99% lower GWP than the current refrigerant HFC-134a used in vehicles today. It has been broadly adopted by the automotive industry and is used globally in over 50 million vehicles.
Minor holds over 160 US patents for refrigerants, cleaning agents, and aerosol propellants and has many publications in the field. She is well known not only for her technical accomplishments, but also for her strong mentoring of young scientists and her leadership roles in industry organizations such as the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and the Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). She is routinely regarded within the industry as the key thought and innovation leader.
Minor will receive the medal at a dinner in her honor on September 25, 2018 at the Hyatt at the Bellevue in Philadelphia.