Accounting for fluorine: Production, use, and loss

Gara Villalba, Robert U. Ayres, Hans Schroder

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

    55 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Fluorine is an essential element to human health and to the chemical industry. In spite of our dependence on fluorine and fluorine compounds, we have yet to learn to use them wisely. Our fluorine history, which spans about a hundred years, has had negative effects such as hydrofluoric acid pollution caused by aluminum smelters and ozone depletion due to chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) emissions. More recent concerns center on greenhouse effects from CFCs, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). In this article we note also that fluorine is a nonrenewable resource that is nonsubstitutable for many purposes. This article tracks fluorine from sources through conversion processes to end uses, most of which are dissipative. We present a stock-flow model of the fluorine system. Based on this model we consider some possible measures that could be taken to increase the degree of recovery. To mention one example, a large percentage of the world demand for fluorspar could be supplied by the phosphate rock (fertilizer) industry, which currently dissipates a great deal of recoverable fluorine in waste phospho-gypsum. © 2007 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yale University.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)85-101
    JournalJournal of Industrial Ecology
    Volume11
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2007

    Keywords

    • Fluorine cycle
    • Fluorine emissions
    • Industrial ecology
    • Materials flow analysis (MFA)
    • Resource accounting
    • Substance flow analysis (SFA)

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