Name Carl Munters Role Inventor | ||
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Education Royal Institute of Technology |
Sveriges ingenj rer baltzar von platen carl munters
Carl Georg Munters (March 22, 1897 – 1989) was a Swedish inventor, most known for inventing together with Baltzar von Platen the gas absorption refrigerator now sold by Electrolux. He also invented and patented a method of making foamed plastic, which was later rediscovered by Dow Chemical Company and used to make styrofoam.
Contents
- Sveriges ingenj rer baltzar von platen carl munters
- Ljusa id er baltzar von platen och carl munters
- Personal life
- Refrigerators
- Other inventions
- Patents
- References

Ljusa id er baltzar von platen och carl munters
Personal life
He was born in Dala-Järna, Kopparbergs län, Sweden, the son of engineer Anders Johan Munters and Hilma Bernhardina Helling. He graduated from KTH in 1922. Munters married Anna Eugenia Geralf in 1925 and Marianne Warkander in 1951.
Refrigerators
Together with Baltzar von Platen and John Tandberg, Munters invented the gas absorption refrigerator for domestic use. His intention was to create an easy-to-use refrigerator without any moving parts. The technique removed thermal energy, which was driven by a heat source such as propane, electricity, or kerosene. The team rented a room and worked into the night. They slept in the mornings and missed classes at the Royal Institute of Technology where they were students. It took them about a year to create a first prototype that worked with self-circulation. The prototype still had one moving part, a ball valve, and was big and clumsy. Eventually the design was improved and their cooling solution was a world sensation. Albert Einstein once mentioned how astonished he was by their ingenious solution.
Manufacturing of the refrigerator commenced in 1923 by the company AB Arctic. In 1925, development was finished, and the company was bought by Electrolux.
Other inventions
After inventing extruded polystyrene foam plastic, he started his own company in 1955 and developed, among other things, new insulation materials, air conditioners and dehumidification devices. At his death, Munters had over a thousand patents.