Fluorination of Plastic Fuel Tanks and Surface Finishing Applications
The main applications for Elemental Fluorine (F2) and its mixture with Nitrogen (N2) include the fluorination of plastic fuel tanks and the finishing of plastic surfaces.
Fluorination of Plastic Fuel Tanks
Polyethylene (PE), the plastic employed for the production of fuel tanks and containers for different chemicals, often has the disadvantage of being relatively permeable to the stored vapor. This undesirable property leads to permeate to the extent of a few grams per day from a PE container.
For this reason the industry performs the fluorination process to reduce the permeability of fuel through petrol tank walls. A layer of CF2 will be formed. The permeation of fuel through polyethylene (PE) fuel-container walls can be dramatically reduced by the chemical process of forming a layer, which is almost impermeable.
Plastic Processing
The finishing of plastic surfaces is of great significance in the foil industry. For the production processes of glueing, coating, laminating, painting and printing, a good adhesion is absolutely essential.
The fluorination of almost all types of foils consistently results in a significant increase in surface energy which leads to improved adhesion characteristics.