Project description
Helping the environment through fluorine recycling
Fluorine is one of the most useful chemicals of the modern age, found in a variety of products that range from refrigerants to common household items, agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals. However, almost all fluorine compounds on Earth are synthetic, single-use and almost entirely unsustainable. The EU-funded FluoroCycle project aims to overcome this obstacle by developing novel approaches to recycling various fluorine compounds. It will use a groundbreaking method to extract fluorine from existing materials and compounds, thus allowing it to be reused. The goal is to provide the fluorochemical industry with the means to achieve sustainability while helping Europe reach its environmental goals.
Objective
Fluorine containing molecules and materials improve our quality of life. For example, fluorinated gases are used as refrigerants in the automotive sector, while fluorine containing polymers such as Teflon are common in households. Fluorine is also important for drug discovery and agrochemicals. For all its advantages, the fluorochemicals industry is unsustainable. Nearly all fluorine containing molecules on our planet are synthetic and single use. At the end of their lifetime they are either destroyed or end up contaminating the environment. Environmental contamination has been extremely damaging. Fluorinated molecules have contributed to ozone depletion (chlorofluorocarbons - CFCs), global warming (hydrofluorocarbons - HFCs) and water contamination (polyfluorinated alkyl substances - PFAS).
If we are to continue to depend on fluorine containing molecules and materials, then we must find ways to reuse and recycle fluorine containing molecules at the end of their lifetime, we must stop our reliance on unsustainable natural sources of inorganic fluoride, and we must prevent unnecessary contamination of our planet with synthetic fluorine containing molecules.
My objective is to develop new catalytic approaches for the recycling of fluorine containing molecules. My long-term vision is to establish new methods in which fluorine containing molecules such as HFOs, HFCs and PFAS can be used as a source of fluorine atoms and fluorine containing groups. I will pioneer new catalytic reactions that involve the exchange of fluorine atoms between two organic molecules and shuttle equivalents of HF and F2 from one organic fragment to another. These methods represent an important step forward to closed-loop recycling in the fluorochemicals industry. The new methods will be showcased in the production of fluorinated electrolytes from HFOs, new materials from HFCs and new fragments for drug-discovery from the recycling of PFAS, including Teflon.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy planetary sciences planets
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry halogens
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2020-COG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
SW7 2AZ London
United Kingdom
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