Work on alternatives for chlorofluorocarbons in refrigerants began in the late 1970s after the first warnings of damage to stratospheric ozone were published.
The hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are less stable in the lower atmosphere, enabling them to break down before reaching the ozone layer. Nevertheless, a significant fraction of the HCFCs do break down in the stratosphere and they have contributed to more chlorine buildup there than originally predicted. Later alternatives lacking the chlorine, the hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) have an even shorter lifetimes in the lower atmosphere. One of these compounds, HFC-134a, were used in place of CFC-12 in automobile air conditioners. Hydrocarbon refrigerants (a propane/isobutane blend) were also used extensively in mobile air conditioning systems in Australia, the US and many other countries, as they had excellent thermodynamic properties and performed particularly well in high ambient temperatures. 1,1-Dichloro-1-fluoroethane (HCFC-141b) has replaced HFC-134a, due to its low ODP and GWP values. And according to the Montreal Protocol, HCFC-141b is supposed to be phased out completely and replaced with zero ODP substances such as cyclopentane, HFOs, and HFC-345a before January 2020.
Among the natural refrigerants (along with ammonia and carbon dioxide), hydrocarbons have negligible environmental impacts and are also used worldwide in domestic and commercial refrigeration applications, and are becoming available in new split system air conditioners.
Various other solvents and methods have replaced the use of CFCs in laboratory analytics.
In Metered-dose inhalers (MDI), a non-ozone effecting substitute was developed as a propellant, known as "hydrofluoroalkane."