Perfluorocarbons use, emissions may face restriction
Fully fluorinated compounds--perfluorocarbons (PFCs)--would seem to be the ideal industrial chemicals. They are nonflammable. They are essentially nontoxic. And they contribute neither to stratospheric ozone depletion nor to groundlevel smog. But when the Environmental Protection Agency last spring proposed a list of acceptable substitutes for ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and halons, it restricted the use of PFCs to narrowly defined purposes. The agency also is encouraging the aluminum industry to reduce emissions of PFCs from aluminum production, currently the major source of the chemicals. EPA`s concern stems from the extremely high global warming potential of PFCs. The radiative properties of perfluorinated alkanes are similar to those of CFCs, but PFCs are much longer lived. CFCs persist in the atmosphere for hundreds of years; PFCs last for thousands.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 139534
- Journal Information:
- Chemical and Engineering News, Journal Name: Chemical and Engineering News Journal Issue: 32 Vol. 71; ISSN 0009-2347; ISSN CENEAR
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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