Perfluorinated chemicals manufacturing processes

Similar to other fluoropolymers and fluoroelasto-mers, such as PTFE, FEP, PFA, etc., low-level perfluorinated surfactants or chemicals, such as ammonium perfluoro-octanoate (APFO), etc. may be used in some fluoropolymer production as an emulsifier. These perfluorinated compounds are mostly extremely stable, degrade slowly, and therefore persist in the environment. These surfactants have varying ecotoxicity profiles, and users should contact their supplier for a more detailed ecotox information for their particular product.Industrial efforts are being made to reduce or even eliminate the use of such perfluorinated surfactants in their products and/or manufacturing processes. 

Fluorinated surfactants have been commercially available since the 1950s. The first available were perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (e.g., perfluorooctane sulfonate, CgFisSOs, PFOS) and perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (e.g., perfluorooctanoic acid, C7F15COOH, PFOA) manufactured using the electrochemical fluorination (ECF) process [10]. The unique properties (e.g., surface tension lowering in aqueous systems, high chemical and thermal stability) of these acids and their derivatives when used at low concentrations resulted in their widespread use in industrial processes and consumer uses [11-13]. The most common commercially produced perfluorinated surfactants are the perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) ... 

Fluorinated molecules have an important role in the pharmaceutical and fine chemicals industries. For some 60 years, anodic oxidation through the Symons and Phillips processes [40], have been used for the manufacture of perfluorinated small molecules such as alkanes and carboxylic acids. While such processes have met with commercial success, the chemistry is difficult to control and always leads to a mixture of products. The two processes also use very unpleasant and corrosive media, anhydrous hydrogen fluoride, and a HF/KF... 

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