Tribolysis uses a tribocontact site to trigger mechanically induced reactions, creating local high-energy spots that break down even perfluorinated compounds. In a single step, safe reactants such as alkaline earth metal salts or oxides convert the organofluorides into stable inorganic products, a process called mineralisation, regardless of chemical structure, molecular weight or whether the waste is liquid or solid. The project aims to prove the principle at technology readiness level 3 and to build a laboratory-scale Tribo-Reactor for validation at level 4, supported by toxicological and life cycle assessments.

The EU contribution is €3.36 million. Partners include Fundación Tekniker in Spain, GreenDelta in Germany, which develops the environmental and economic assessment, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Daikin Chemical Europe in Germany and QSAR Lab in Poland. Fluoropolymers matter beyond the chemical industry itself, since they are used in semiconductors and in green technologies such as hydrogen production, fuel cells and electric vehicles.

The work is at an early stage, so results on efficiency and scale-up are still to come. If validated, a route that converts persistent organofluorine waste into fluorspar would connect two themes the chemicals ecosystem follows closely: the management of PFAS at end of life and the security of critical raw material supply.

#PFAS #ChemicalRecycling #FeedstockDiversification