Rethinking fluorochemical chemistry at scale
Recently, the Gouverneur laboratory launched a new programme on safe and circular fluorine chemistry with global challenges in mind (defossilisation, eradicating the manufacturing of dangerous chemicals, minimising and upcycling of waste such as unwanted PFAS due to depleting natural resources including fluorite). Currently, all fluorochemicals are produced from hydrogen fluoride (HF), a highly hazardous gas manufactured from the natural mineral fluorite (CaF2), upon treatment at high temperature with sulfuric acid. This reaction reported in 1771 has remained unchanged for more than two centuries despite major operational challenges. Her laboratory has invented an operationally simple, mild and safe method to convert acid grade fluorite into essential fluorochemicals with a process bypassing the production of highly dangerous HF (Science 2023). This research led her to create FluoRok, a spinout of the University of Oxford aimed at producing essential fluorochemicals including pharmaceutical drugs with a process not requiring the manufacture of highly dangerous HF. In her latest research, her team developed an additional technology demonstrating that the manufacturing and supply chain of HF is not necessary to convert fluorspar into known fluorinating reagents (Nature 2024).
