Carl Georg Munters was born on March 22, 1897, and died in 1989. He was a Swedish inventor best known for working with Baltzar von Platen to create the gas absorption refrigerator, which is now sold by Electrolux. Munters also invented and patented a method for making foam plastic. This method was later found again by the Dow Chemical Company and used to produce Styrofoam.

Personal life

He was born in Dala-Järna, Kopparberg County, Sweden, to Anders Johan Munters, an engineer, and Hilma Bernhardina Helling. He graduated from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in 1922. He married Anna Eugenia Geralf in 1925 and Marianne Warkander in 1951.

Refrigerators

Munters, along with Baltzar von Platen and John Tandberg, created the first gas absorption refrigerator designed for home use. Their goal was to build a refrigerator that was simple to operate and had no moving parts. The device used heat from sources like propane, electricity, or kerosene to remove heat from inside the refrigerator. The team worked late into the night in a rented room, often sleeping during the day and missing classes at the Royal Institute of Technology, where they were students. It took about one year to build the first working prototype, which used self-circulation to function. The prototype still included one moving part, a ball valve, and was large and bulky. Over time, the design was improved, and their cooling method became widely recognized as a major achievement. Albert Einstein once expressed admiration for their clever solution.

In 1923, the refrigerator was produced by the company AB Arctic. By 1925, development was complete, and the company was acquired by Electrolux.

Other inventions

In the early 1930s, Carl Munters invented a type of foam plastic called extruded polystyrene. In the 1940s, he sold his American patent for this invention to a company called Dow. In 1955, he founded his own business and created several new products, including improved insulation materials, air conditioners, and machines that remove moisture from the air. When he passed away, Munters held more than 1,000 patents.

• US 4002040, Carl Munters, "A way to cool air and the equipment used for this purpose"
• US 4152901, CG Munters, "A method and equipment for moving energy in a heating and cooling system that uses absorption"