Document EmDQqDDxX7paoNQ81OgX7gdvj

2023 EU Restriction of PFAS IPA submission to the consultation Summary The Interna onal Pla num Group Metals Associa on urges the Commission to adopt a propor onate approach to the regula on of PFAS that delivers the intended benefits without undermining the EU's own strategic, policy and environmental ambi ons by unnecessarily disrup ng cri cal industry applica ons of fluoropolymers - where there are no suitable alterna ves - in circumstances where the toxicity and risk to workers, and the environmental emissions both in use and at end-of-life, are expected to be negligible to zero. Pla num Group Metals (PGM) are categorised as cri cal raw materials, important to the EU's strategic ambi ons PGM provide a cri cal func on within PEM electrolysers and fuel cells that are the basis of the hydrogen economy, and their unique proper es have for many years been u lised in numerous other important applica ons providing enormous health and societal benefits, including an cancer drugs, medical devices such as pacemakers and cochlear implants, cataly c converters that prevent the emission of harmful chemicals from vehicle exhausts, electronic equipment, jet engines, and fer lizer produc on. The Interna onal Pla num Group Metals Associa on (IPA) supports the ambi on to prevent highly persistent and toxic chemicals from entering the environment, and also supports the recogni on that the benefits of taking a par cular course of regulatory ac on must be weighed against the nega ve consequences of that ac on. The Restric on proposal insufficiently considers essen al uses of PFAS, especially industrial uses of solid polymeric forms of PFAS with negligible environmental emission poten al. Such fluoropolymers, which are non-soluble, non-mobile, non-bioavailable, and non-toxic already present a much-reduced concern compared to non-polymeric PFAS. Such circumstances of essen al use, low hazard and expected zero environmental release poten al must be differen ated from those where there is a bona fide risk commensurate with Restric on. Certain classes of fluoropolymer (fluoroelastomer and fluoroplas c) captured under the current Restric on proposal are essen al to the refining and recycling of PGM. They are used within items such as seals, gaskets and coa ngs within industrial processing equipment (reactors, pipe work, etc) because their unique proper es can withstand the extremely harsh condi ons necessary within PGM refining, thereby maintaining the integrity of the equipment and ensuring the hazardous contents remain contained. The quan es of these fluoropolymers are modest and contained; environmental emissions from their use within PGM processing equipment are expected to be zero. And at their end-of-life, it is common for the fluoropolymer components that have been used within PGM processing equipment to themselves be put through the refining process to recover any adsorbed PGM. This will result in thermal degrada on and mineralisa on of the fluoropolymer. Fluoropolymers have been used in PGM processing equipment for decades, in some applica ons replacing asbestos - which infamously is a carcinogen and banned in the EU. Glass equipment may theore cally be used in certain applica ons, but this would present a more significant safety hazard, and even then seals and other components would s ll need to be made from fluoropolymers. There are no known alterna ves that can impart the required proper es and survive the extremely aggressive condi ons involved in PGM refining and recycling.  It is vital that regula on not only recognises as essen al uses of PFAS within end products such as PEM electrolysers and fuel cells, but also cri cal uses of PFAS within the upstream manufacturing supply chain of those products; otherwise, the manufacture of products cri cal to the EU's environmental health and sustainability ambi ons and energy transi on will be forced to relocate outside of the EU, causing substan al economic harm to the bloc, and causing the EU to become en rely dependent on import. This would present a serious supply reliability risk, contradic ng the EU's own Cri cal Raw Materials objec ves, while serving negligible environmental benefit. Recent research provides evidence that the unique cataly c proper es of PGM may actually be part of the solu on to remedia ng PFAS contamina on of the environment. The study concluded that palladium-based cataly c reduc on may be broadly applicable to the ambient-temperature destruc on of PFAS compounds. It is important that a propor onate approach to the regula on of PFAS is adopted that delivers the intended benefits without unnecessarily disrup ng cri cal industry applica ons of fluoropolymers in circumstances where the toxicity and risk to workers, and the environmental emissions both in use and at end-of-life, are expected to be negligible to zero. In those cases, the use of fluoropolymer spare parts as well as within newly manufactured processing equipment should be permi ed to con nue for an unlimited period and be exempt from the Restric on. The IPA The Interna onal Pla num Group Metals Associa on (IPA) is a non-profit associa on that represents the worldwide leading mining, produc on and fabrica on companies in the global pla num group metals industry. The Pla num Group Metals (PGM) are pla num, palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium and osmium. PGM are Cri cal Raw Materials that support the EU Green Deal PGM are cri cal enabling materials for the EU Green Deal, fundamental to the hydrogen economy through catalysing both hydrogen produc on in PEM electrolysers and hydrogen use in fuel cells. PGM were part of the first Cri cal Raw Materials (CRM) list published by the EU in 2011 (European Commission, 2011), were included in each itera on since (European Commission, 2014, 2017, 2020), and are included in both the list of strategic raw materials and the list of cri cal raw materials within the 2023 Regula on proposal (European Commission, 2023a). PGM are significantly above the thresholds for both high economic importance and supply risk, reflec ng the high economic value of associated products, low poten al for subs tu on and high import reliance (European Commission, 2023b). In the EU Cri cal Raw Materials Act (CRMA) proposal, the EU Commission has proposed 2030 targets for the minerals required for its green transi on to be mined, processed and recycled in Europe: 10% of annual raw materials mined in Europe, 40% processed in Europe, and 15% recycled in Europe. Europe should also not be dependent on a single third country for more than 65% of any cri cal raw material. There are indica ons targets for processing and recycling in the EU may be increased to 50% and 20% respec vely. Virtually all the world's natural PGM resources are outside of Europe. There is some very minor primary produc on of PGM as a by-product of mining other minerals within Europe, accoun ng for less than 1% of global supply (European Commission, 2020b, 2023b). Over 99% of the PGM in use in the EU originated outside Europe - predominantly South Africa (which has by far the greatest PGM mineral reserves), Russia, Zimbabwe, Canada, and the USA. Europe does, though, play a cri cal role in the PGM supply chain. PGM are infinitely recyclable and perfectly suited for the circular economy. Europe is the largest recycler of PGM (E ec 2023). In 2022, for example, 40% of the global recycling of pla num was done in Western Europe (WPIC, 2023). It has been es mated that recycling end-oflife autocatalysts delivers more than 57% of the European supply of PGM (Yakoumis et al, 2021). The strategic importance of PGM to the EU's objec ves was repeated in the recently published European Commission Joint Research Centre report `Supply chain analysis and material demand forecast in strategic technologies and sectors in the EU - A foresight study' (Carrara et al, 2023). For example, in rela on to the hydrogen economy, the report notes, inter alia: - pla num is "the indispensable raw material for the catalyst layer for PEMFC [Proton Exchange Membrane fuel Cells]"; - "Despite the targets set to decarbonise the transporta on sector, through switching to hydrogen-fuelled FC cars, the demand for pla num will remain high"; - "An increase in EU fuel cell manufacturing capacity requires a growth in the capacity to supply processed materials and subcomponents"; - "Enhancing the recycling of PGMs can reduce supply risks at the refining stage." - "there are key materials for a par cular technology, such as pla num group metals (mainly iridium and pla num), tanium for PEM electrolysers" - "closed-loop recycling of spent autocatalysts to recover materials such as pla num is a well- established prac ce, and these flows could be channelled into the electrolyser industry." PGM industry in Europe The precious nature and industrial importance of PGM is a consequence of great value and cataly c ac vity from very li le material. In Europe, manufacture and import of PGM amounts to around 400 tonnes per year, but with uses in a wide array of applica ons and industries, including inter alia aerospace and defence, automo ve emissions control, electronics and electrical equipment, hydrogen produc on, hydrogen fuel cells, fer lizer manufacture, an cancer drugs, medical devices, jewellery and investment, the value chain for PGM in Europe (excluding complex end products) has been es mated at approximately 95 billion (E ec, 2023). Fluoropolymers are cri cal to the refining and recycling of PGM PGM are noble metals, i.e. very stable and unreac ve. The refining and recycling of PGM therefore requires use of extremely aggressive thermal and chemical (acidic and oxidising) condi ons. Certain classes of fluoropolymer (fluoroelastomer and fluoroplas c) captured under the current Restric on proposal are essen al to the refining and recycling of PGM. They are used within items such as seals, gaskets and coa ngs within industrial processing equipment (reactors, pipe work, etc) because their unique proper es can withstand the extremely harsh condi ons necessary within PGM refining, thereby maintaining the integrity of the equipment and ensuring the hazardous contents remain contained. The fluoropolymers used in such components used within PGM refining and recycling include PFA (perfluoroalkoxy alkanes), PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride), ECTFE (ethylenechlorotrifluoroethylene / Halar), PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), FKM (Fluorine Kautschuk Material / Viton), and FFKM (Kalrez). These fluoropolymers are chemically stable, non-soluble, nonmobile, non-bioavailable, and non-toxic, and are considered as `polymers of low concern' based on OECD criteria (Henry et al, 2018; Korzeniowski et al, 2022). Environmental emission of PFAS from PGM refining and recycling are negligible to zero The quan es of these fluoropolymers used in PGM refining and recycling are modest and they are contained within and are a cri cal part of the PGM processing equipment. They are solid materials specifically intended to cope with the aggressive chemical condi ons of PGM refining; hence, loss in use is negligible and likely zero. It is typical for such components to be replaced a er around 20-25 years and even a er that me the components are fully intact with no indica on of any degrada on. And due to the valuable nature of PGM, it is common for the fluoropolymer components used in PGM refining at their end-of-life to themselves be put through the refining process to recover any adsorbed PGM. This can be expected to result in the complete thermal degrada on and mineralisa on of the fluoropolymers. Temperatures of over 900 C and in most cases over 1,100 C are u lised for a prolonged period within the pyrometallurgical process of PGM refining. Moreover, Best Available Techniques (BAT) for waste incinera on in Europe, o en supported by regula on, require that air treatment systems where halogens are present (as is the case in PGM refining) ensure a temperature of 1,100 C for at least 2 seconds followed by several treatment steps to clean the air. Whereas, it has for example been demonstrated that the fluoropolymer PTFE is thermally degraded to carbon dioxide and hydrogen fluoride at normal waste incinera on condi ons of 870 C for 4 seconds or 1020 C for 2.7 seconds (Aleksandrov et al, 2019). There was no evidence of release of a variety of smaller, non-polymer PFAS that were specifically analysed (Aleksandrov et al, 2019). A laboratory-scale study also showed that under normal municipal waste incinera on condi ons fluorotelomer-based polymers are degraded without releasing PFOA (Taylor et al, 2014). Availability of Alterna ves No viable alterna ves to the use of fluoropolymers in the described applica ons within PGM processing equipment are known. These polymeric PFAS have been used in PGM processing equipment for decades, in some applica ons replacing asbestos - which infamously is a known carcinogen banned in the EU. Glass equipment may theore cally be used in certain other applica ons, but this would present a more significant safety hazard, and moreover even then seals and other components would s ll need to be made from fluoropolymers. There are no known alterna ves that can impart the required proper es and survive the extremely aggressive condi ons involved in PGM refining and recycling. An absence of these system components would have a severe impact on the func onality, safety, and service life of PGM industrial processing equipment. PFAS within PGM recycling feedstocks The PGM industry is a pioneer of the circular economy and has for many decades been recycling PGM-containing products to extract, conserve, and reuse the precious metal contents. Recycling feedstocks may comprise a variety of product types such as end-of-life automo ve cataly c converters and electronic equipment. PGM recycling feedstocks may contain PFAS. Although expected to be at a low level, the actual PFAS content of feedstock streams are not measured and not known. The feedstocks are heterogeneous and a representa ve sample for analysis can only be taken a er the feedstock has been homogenised which includes thermal treatment - which will destroy any PFAS that may have been present. The recycling feedstocks are considered `waste' and as such fall outside the scope of the proposed EU Restric on. And any PFAS present will be destroyed as the feedstock progresses through the PGM refining process. It is vital though that any future regulatory developments to embed the circular economy and invigorate the hydrogen economy and use of PGM within electrolysers and fuel cells do not inadvertently alter the status of PGM recycling feedstocks and inhibit the con nued success story of PGM recycling. The recycling of PGMs is not only an exemplar of the circular economy, a number of European sectors and products that use PGM would not be economically viable or financially compe ve with the rest of the world if they were required to use virgin precious metal; the business model for widespread applica ons from nitric acid and fer lizer produc on to hydrogen fuel cells are dependent on recycling of PGMs. PGM may help remediate PFAS environmental contamina on Not only does the use of fluoropolymers in the recycling and refining of PGM not contribute to the environmental burden of small, soluble, hazardous PFAS substances, recent research provides evidence that PGM may have the rare capability to offer a realis c poten al to remediate environmental contamina on by PFAS. A US research collabora on (Long et al, 2021a; Long et al, 2021b) demonstrated that H2-based membrane catalyst-film reactors coated with palladium nanopar cles catalysed the hydrodefluorina on of PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid, one of the most prevalent PFAS in the environment). Con nuous-flow tests achieved stable long-term deple on of PFOA to below the EPA health advisory level (70 ng/L) for up to 70 days without catalyst loss or deac va on. The researchers conclude that their results document "a sustainable cataly c method for the detoxifica on of PFOA-contaminated water" (Long et al, 2021b), and that palladium-based cataly c reduc on "may be broadly applicable to the ambient-temperature destruc on of other PFAS compounds" (Long et al, 2021a). References Aleksandrov K, Gehrmann H-J, Hauser M, Mtzing H, Pigeon D, Stapf D, Wexler M (2019) Waste incinera on of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) to evaluate poten al forma on of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in flue gas. 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