4 ms·

It's odd that the legislative framework surrounding their powers to ban chemicals is only applicable to "new" applications. That's the easiest way to handicap i

by loufe 3y ago

It's odd that the legislative framework surrounding their powers to ban chemicals is only applicable to "new" applications. That's the easiest way to handicap it's efficacy. I also have you wonder how expensive it would've been to retool their plant for a safer plastic type vs the lawyer fees they spent on this. I would not be surprised if the fight was ideologically motivated, but still.

PaulHoule 3y ago
I am also not really clear about what these folks are doing. So far as I can tell they have a process to functionalize the surface of polyolefin plastics (polyethylene, polypropylene at the very least) with fluorine atoms. If you want a plastic like that to not be degraded by contact with oils or want the last bit of shampoo to come out of a container it's highly effective. I'm imagining that they are exposing the containers to some fluorine containing liquid or gas. If the F atoms are binding to a polymer chain and really sticking there that is probably good clean fun, at least in the short term, but I can picture there could be side reactions that would make PFAS that could leach out. (I doubt they are buying PFAS and using it as a primary reagent, PFAS are not reactive enough to functionalize anything.) The more I think about plastics I think of how the material is mostly these long chain molecules but there are also additives, unreacted monomer and other substances left over from the manufacturing process that could diffuse around the chains and get out. If the Inhance technology let you eliminate additives it might be a net positive. On the other hand if any kind of chemical recycling of plastics takes off, I can see PFAS molecules being produced, but probably not a huge amount since the surface and not the bulk of the plastic is affected.
Dalewyn 3y ago
The legislative framework has provisions for banning chemicals regardless of "new use"-ness. I'm just going to post a link to my comments when this was discussed earlier, because I can't be arsed to rewrite them all: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39875212 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39875212 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39875156 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39875156 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39876314 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39876314

by loufe 3y ago

PaulHoule 3y ago

I am also not really clear about what these folks are doing. So far as I can tell they have a process to functionalize the surface of polyolefin plastics (polyethylene, polypropylene at the very least) with fluorine atoms. If you want a plastic like that to not be degraded by contact with oils or want the last bit of shampoo to come out of a container it's highly effective. I'm imagining that they are exposing the containers to some fluorine containing liquid or gas. If the F atoms are binding to a polymer chain and really sticking there that is probably good clean fun, at least in the short term, but I can picture there could be side reactions that would make PFAS that could leach out. (I doubt they are buying PFAS and using it as a primary reagent, PFAS are not reactive enough to functionalize anything.) The more I think about plastics I think of how the material is mostly these long chain molecules but there are also additives, unreacted monomer and other substances left over from the manufacturing process that could diffuse around the chains and get out. If the Inhance technology let you eliminate additives it might be a net positive. On the other hand if any kind of chemical recycling of plastics takes off, I can see PFAS molecules being produced, but probably not a huge amount since the surface and not the bulk of the plastic is affected.

Dalewyn 3y ago

The legislative framework has provisions for banning chemicals regardless of "new use"-ness. I'm just going to post a link to my comments when this was discussed earlier, because I can't be arsed to rewrite them all: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39875212 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39875212 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39875156 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39875156 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39876314 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39876314