The era of global “fluorine restriction” is coming, Junhua is taking action

In November 2023, Junhua PEEK sent PEEK5600G plates to SGS Standards Technical Services Co., Ltd. to test the content of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and its salts, perfluorooctanoic acid-related substances and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and its derivatives.

Note: This test reference standard CEN/TS 15968:2010 uses GC-MS, LC-MS/MS and other equipment to accurately quantify perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and its salts, perfluorooctanoic acid-related substances and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and its derivatives in PFAS.

The test result was no detection, which meets regulatory requirements.

PEEK5600G complies with the EU POPs Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 and its amended regulation (EU) 2020/784, which stipulates that the content of PFOA and its salts in substances, mixtures or articles is less than or equal to 0.025 mg/kg, the single or total content of PFOA-related substances in substances, mixtures or articles is ≤1 mg/kg, the content of PFOS and its derivatives in substances/preparations is ≤10ppm, and the content of PFOS and its derivatives in articles is <1000ppm.

Why is the world restricting fluorine 

PFAS is a toxic substance and once used, it will remain there forever!

What are PFAS

The PFAS family is huge, consisting of nearly five thousand synthetic chemicals, including perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs), perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids/perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs), perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids/perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFSAs), perfluoroalkyl sulfonamides (FASAs), etc. The currently concerned perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) belong to PFAAs and PFSAs respectively.

According to the definition of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD): PFAS stands for “perfluorinated and polyfluoroalkyl substances”, which refers to substances containing at least one perfluorinated methyl (CF3-) or methylene (-CF2-) carbon atom (without H/CI/Br/I).

Since the 1940s and 1950s, PFAS has been widely used in a variety of electronic and electrical products and their raw materials, such as cables, printed circuit boards (PCBs), semiconductors, various electronic components, non-stick coatings, etc.

Currently, countries, organizations and companies around the world have issued relevant regulations on the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, strictly restricting the addition of PFAS compounds and gradually phasing out the production and use of PFAS.

The dangers of PFAS

PFAS has a super stable carbon-fluorine single bond (CF bond), which makes it not decompose in nature.

As for the environment, PFAS are persistent and have long-range mobility, and can remain in water and soil indefinitely.

For humans, PFAS is a typical endocrine disruptor, and its toxicity is self-evident. Even a very small amount of exposure may pose a health risk. Once it enters the body, due to its bioaccumulative nature, it will be deposited in the liver, kidneys and other organs of the body for a long time and cannot be excreted, which will increase the risk of thyroid disease, kidney disease, chronic liver disease and cancer.

Riding the wind and waves and forging ahead

Fluoroplastic is a high-performance engineering plastic with excellent corrosion resistance, high temperature resistance, wear resistance, insulation and other characteristics. It is widely used in chemical, electronic, aviation, medical and other fields.

As Europe continues to tighten fluorine restrictions, many well-known companies have begun research and development of alternatives to fluoroplastics. How can Chinese fluoroplastics companies break the impasse

1. PEEK polyetheretherketone

The replacement of fluoroplastics is inevitable. Compared with fluoroplastics, PEEK has higher mechanical strength, wear resistance, and good dimensional stability. It is one of the preferred alternatives to fluoroplastics. It is safe and healthy. It is completely feasible to use PEEK to replace fluoroplastics in some application scenarios. It has a longer service life and higher reliability, such as: fluoroplastic insulation sleeves, sealing gaskets, special wires and cables, fluid delivery pipes, coatings, and fiber woven filters.

In terms of economy, with the reduction of domestic PEEK cost, PEEK is no longer the kind of material that is out of reach of price. Compared with fluoroplastics such as PTFE, PEEK has lower density and longer service life, thus has relatively low use cost. It is becoming more and more common for PEEK to partially replace fluoroplastics such as PTFE.

2. PEEK full industry chain

Junhua continues to explore the front end of polymer resin industry applications, forming a PEEK full industry chain from resin polymerization, profile production to parts processing. Control from the source to avoid PFAS pollution in all links. This test proves that PEEK5600G fully meets European import standards, and customers’ concerns about further cooperation can be dispelled.

At the same time, it also breaks the rumor that “Since fluoroketone is used in the polymerization process of PEEK, will PEEK resin and products also contain PFOA or PFOS” PEEK5600G can completely stand the test.

3. Service technology advantages

Junhua pays close attention to market trends and always adheres to the principle of customer first. Junhua focuses on the production, sales and application development of polymer materials such as PEEK. It is equipped with a provincial engineering technology research center, a provincial industrial design center, and a national JRITI-Junhua PEEK Joint Innovation Center. Over the years, it has maintained close cooperation with domestic and foreign fluoroplastic companies and cooperated with customers to achieve the development and optimization of PEEK products.

Junhua will use its 17 years of experience in the PEEK field to assist you in product structural design, prototyping and testing, reduce development costs, and shorten product development and launch cycles!