Landfills and waste water treatment plants as sources of ... - GKSS

1.2 Production and use
INTRODUCTION
Production of PFCs started in the late 1940s with the development of electro-chemicalfluorination
(ECF) by J.H. Simons (Simons 1950). The process mechanism of ECF is rather
unspecific and leads to various number of PFCs with chain lengths usually ranging between 4
to 13 carbon atoms as well as several by-products (Kissa 2001). Basic product within the ECF
is the perfluorooctanesulfonyl fluoride (PSOF) which is used as intermediate for the
production of other PFCs, such as PFSAs, FASAs and FASEs. Besides ECF, there is another
important production process of PFCs: the telomerisation. It was invented by Hazeldine in
1947 and is applied since the 1960s (Kissa 2001; Hekster et al. 2002). Telomerisation results
in linear carbon chains with even number of usually 4 to 14 carbon atoms (De Voogt et al.
2006). Typical products of telomerisation process are FTOHs, FTAs and PFCAs.
The application of PFCs implicate protection of products from grease and dirt, such as
carpets, clothing and papers as well as the usage as surfactants and agents in aqueous firefighting
foams (Hekster et al. 2002; Prevedouros et al. 2006). The different classes of PFCs
can be attributed to various capabilities. PSOF-based PFCs were predominantly used in metal
plating, photographics, floor polishes, lubricants, semi conductor production, galvanic
processes, polymerisation emulsions and fire-fighting foams (Prevedouros et al. 2006).
FASAs and FASEs were in most cases applied as additional agents in polymer-related
proceedings or intermediates for other PSOF related PFCs (3M 1999). FTOHs are mainly
applied to papers, food packaging and carpet treatment (Kissa 2001; Sinclair et al. 2007) as
well as impregnating agents (Fiedler et al. 2008). FTAs are predominantly used within
polymer-related processes (Van Zelm et al. 2008).
Specific data on production and use of PFCs are rather rare, since publication is incumbent on
the producers them selves. However, there are several estimates available that quantified the
manufacture and consumption of PFCs. Prevedouros et al. (2006) estimated the worldwide
production of PFCAs to 4400-8000 t. Historical manufacture of PSOF-related PFCs were
estimated with 122500 t, including unusable waste (Paul et al. 2009). In general, PFC
production increased through the years with a PSOF production maximum in the 1990s. Due
to the voluntarily phase-out of some PSOF-based products by the 3M Company, one of the
main producer, in 2000, production declined since then (Paul et al. 2009). However,
manufacture of PSOF-based PFCs is still going on and is estimated to be about 1000 t a -1
(Paul et al. 2009). Worldwide FTOH production reached 5000 t a -1 (Ellis et al. 2004). More
recently, FTOH production was estimated to be 11000-14000 t a -1 (Dinglasan-Panlilio and
7