Energy and Resource Efficient Production of Fluoroalkenes in High Temperature Microreactors
by
Konstantin Mierdel 1,2,*
, Andreas Jess 3,4, Thorsten Gerdes 2,5, Achim Schmidt 2 and Klaus Hintzer 6
Konstantin Mierdel 1,2,*, Andreas Jess 3,4, Thorsten Gerdes 2,5, Achim Schmidt 2 and Klaus Hintzer 6
1
Chair of Materials Processing, University Bayreuth, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
2
Institut für innovative Verfahrenstechnik, InVerTec e. V., 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
3
Chair of Chemical Engineering, University Bayreuth, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
4
Center of Energy Technology, University Bayreuth, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
5
Chair of Ceramic Materials Engineering, Keylab Glasstechnology, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
6
3M Dyneon, 84508 Burgkirchen, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
ChemEngineering 2019, 3(4), 77; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemengineering3040077
Received: 2 August 2019 / Revised: 16 September 2019 / Accepted: 17 September 2019 / Published: 24 September 2019
Tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) and hexafluoropropylene (HFP) are the most common monomers for the synthesis of fluoropolymers at industrial scale. Currently, TFE is produced via multistep pyrolysis of chlorodifluoromethane (R22), resulting in a high energy demand and high amounts of waste acids, mainly HCl and HF. In this study, a new chlorine-free process for producing TFE and HFP in a microreactor is presented, starting from partially fluorinated alkanes obtained from electrochemical fluorination (ECF). In the microreactor, high conversion rates of CHF3, which is used as a surrogate of partly fluorinated ECF streams, and high yields of fluoromonomers could be achieved. The energy saving and the environmental impact are shown by a life cycle assessment (LCA). The LCA confirms that the developed process has economical as well as ecological benefits, and is thus an interesting option for future industrial production of fluoroalkenes.
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Keywords:
microreactor; fluoropolymers; tetrafluoroethylene (TFE); hexafluoropropylene (HFP); life cycle assessment (LCA)
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MDPI and ACS Style
Mierdel, K.; Jess, A.; Gerdes, T.; Schmidt, A.; Hintzer, K. Energy and Resource Efficient Production of Fluoroalkenes in High Temperature Microreactors. ChemEngineering 2019, 3, 77.
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