Material flow of fluorine in steel and chemical industries

It is very important to know material flows of various substances for better understanding of the environmental impacts of the substances. The material flow of fluorine in the industrial use and the influence of the environmental regulation were investigated from a total point of view for trying to control the fluorine waste in environment. The waste water-Discharge standards of fluorine based on the law on water pollution prevention was reinforced from 15 mg/1 to 8 mg/1 in 2001. Almost 100% of fluorine was imported and 90% of it was fluorspar. Main users of fluorine in Japan were the steel industry and the chemical industry and over 90% of fluorine was consumed in both industries during the period investigated in this study. The amount of fluorine use in Japan decreased totally after reinforcement of waste water-Discharge standards due to the decrease of the steel industry use. Because most fluorine finally changes to slags as a by-product and they are target of reinforcement. On the other hand, fluoride compounds produced in the chemical industry are valuable products. Only the production of Chlorofluorocarbons was stopped to prevent a destruction of ozone layer. The drain management techniques of waste water containing fluorine were also discussed and a simple concept for the recycling of fluorine was proposed.