Fluorinated materials analysis for sustainable fluorination chemistry (Fluor-Dit)
Lead Participant:
FLUOROK LIMITED
Abstract
The reliable, efficient, and accurate determination of fluoride quantities in insoluble solid powders through analytical methods means remains a persistent challenge with significant business implications to FluoRok's growth as a deep-tech start-up. This project will develop Analytical methods to close this gap and accelerate FluoRok's market entry and improve long-term productivity for its manufacturing operations.
At its core, FluoRok's business is focused on the valorisation of (reuse of waste) fluoride ions from unreactive calcium fluoride feedstocks to manufacture high-value chemicals. This process, is based on a seminal work from the University of Oxford (_Science_ DOI:10.1126/science.adi1557). FluoRok's process enables manufacturing of fluorochemicals, battery materials/Pharmaceutical and agrochemical intermediates, with lower manufacturing costs (operational expense/capital), improved safety, improved/lower emissions (eCO2), and a highly flexible/diverse supply chain. FluoRok's process can utilise waste streams of the key raw material (CaF2), further improving the sustainability improvement from the technology. CaF2 is a material listed on both EU/US critical minerals lists and predicted to be in significant shortfall in the coming years.
FluoRok's process is in stark contrast to existing manufacturing routes which are based on Hydrogen Fluoride (HF), a highly dangerous, hazardous and corrosive gas effectively limiting development of a local supply chain due to difficult regulatory/manufacturing hurdles and extreme manufacturing costs in regions with effective regulatory/environmental controls. FluoRok's technology breaks this paradigm enabling the development of a UK based supply chain and provides the UK electric vehicle industry/pharmaceuticals and Agrochemicals a unique competitive advantage.
Fluoride quantification is critical to FluoRok's manufacturing process from analysis of raw materials (calcium fluoride), intermediate species and waste streams, and finally to fluorine-containing products. Our current protocols are based on approaches that will be challenging to use on scale-up (e.g. high cost and low throughput), limiting FluoRok's productivity and slowing progress in process development (e.g. complex and lack accuracy).
The business benefits to accurate fluoride quantification are four-fold:
1: Yield - ensuring that we can track every atom of fluoride through the process maximizing productivity and ensuring it results in a high-value material
2: Cost - ensuring we optimize the process to maximize productivity on manufacturing scale.
3: Health & Safety - ensuring that we can monitor fluoride content in our waste streams allowing us to effectively manage our environmental outputs
4\. Cyclic Economy -- ensuring we can valorize and re-use our waste in the most efficient and safe way possible
At its core, FluoRok's business is focused on the valorisation of (reuse of waste) fluoride ions from unreactive calcium fluoride feedstocks to manufacture high-value chemicals. This process, is based on a seminal work from the University of Oxford (_Science_ DOI:10.1126/science.adi1557). FluoRok's process enables manufacturing of fluorochemicals, battery materials/Pharmaceutical and agrochemical intermediates, with lower manufacturing costs (operational expense/capital), improved safety, improved/lower emissions (eCO2), and a highly flexible/diverse supply chain. FluoRok's process can utilise waste streams of the key raw material (CaF2), further improving the sustainability improvement from the technology. CaF2 is a material listed on both EU/US critical minerals lists and predicted to be in significant shortfall in the coming years.
FluoRok's process is in stark contrast to existing manufacturing routes which are based on Hydrogen Fluoride (HF), a highly dangerous, hazardous and corrosive gas effectively limiting development of a local supply chain due to difficult regulatory/manufacturing hurdles and extreme manufacturing costs in regions with effective regulatory/environmental controls. FluoRok's technology breaks this paradigm enabling the development of a UK based supply chain and provides the UK electric vehicle industry/pharmaceuticals and Agrochemicals a unique competitive advantage.
Fluoride quantification is critical to FluoRok's manufacturing process from analysis of raw materials (calcium fluoride), intermediate species and waste streams, and finally to fluorine-containing products. Our current protocols are based on approaches that will be challenging to use on scale-up (e.g. high cost and low throughput), limiting FluoRok's productivity and slowing progress in process development (e.g. complex and lack accuracy).
The business benefits to accurate fluoride quantification are four-fold:
1: Yield - ensuring that we can track every atom of fluoride through the process maximizing productivity and ensuring it results in a high-value material
2: Cost - ensuring we optimize the process to maximize productivity on manufacturing scale.
3: Health & Safety - ensuring that we can monitor fluoride content in our waste streams allowing us to effectively manage our environmental outputs
4\. Cyclic Economy -- ensuring we can valorize and re-use our waste in the most efficient and safe way possible
Lead Participant | Project Cost | Grant Offer |
---|---|---|
FLUOROK LIMITED | £14,962 | £ 14,962 |
  | ||
Participant |
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UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD | £35,000 |
People |
ORCID iD |
Andrew Schwarz (Project Manager) |