Methods for the recycling of fluoropolymers: A review

Fluoropolymers (FP) are speciality polymers that have permeated into a variety of industries and uses due to their desirable properties such as high thermal stability and high chemical resistance. However, with the demand for their use ever increasing, the recycling of FP has become an area of research focus with many papers reporting recycling methodologies which limit the release of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) into the environment. In this review a discussion and comparison of technologies (mechanical, solvation, thermal decomposition, mineralisation, plasmolysis, ultrasonication, irradiation, chemical/electrochemical oxidation/reduction and biodegradation) that can be used to degrade and recycle FP is presented, with a focus on obtaining valuable products. Currently, incineration is reported to be a potential option for the complete indiscriminate degradation of FP waste and remains the most technologically ready method. Meanwhile, other methods such as mineralisation have reported the degradation of FP into high value products such as CaF2 which has the potential to bring fluorine chemistry full circle.