ECOPOL: Novel stabilizers for sustainable production of fluoropolymers in supercritical CO2

• Research unit: EU RFP
• Project number: 02.0131

Key words (English)

Economic Aspects; Environmental Protection; Industrial Manufacture; Innovation; Technology Transfer; Safety

Alternative project number (English)

EU project number: G1RD-CT-2002-00676

Research programs (English)

EU-programme: 5. Frame Research Programme - 1.3.1 Innovative products, processes and organization

Short description (English)

See abstract

Abstract (English)

Fluorinated polymers are high-performance, long-lived materials that exhibit outstanding properties and are essential to a great variety of demanding applications. They are produced by conventional homogeneous solution (e.g., in CFCs) and heterogeneous suspension and emulsion (e.g., in aqueous media) polymerisation processes. The use of traditional solvents (e.g., CFSs) has prompted considerable worldwide environmental concern that provides the principal driving force for the development of scCO2 based polymerisation technologies.

Polymer synthesis in scCO2 can offer significant benefits in terms of process efficiency and product quality. When the environmental advantages of CO2 are combined with its ability to be used as a dispersing medium for a wide variety of fluoropolymers, it becomes clear that CO(2) may be the solvent of the future for the fluoropolymer industry.

References in databases (English)

Swiss Database: Euro-DB of the
State Secretariat for Education and Research
Hallwylstrasse 4
CH-3003 Berne, Switzerland
Tel. [phone]
Swiss Project-Number: 02.0131