UK: Tyneside scientists find 'clean' way of turning Teflon into a chemical that goes in water

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From the "Believe It or Not" Department...

Tyneside scientists find 'clean' way of turning Teflon into a chemical that goes in water supply

The Chronicle - January 28, 2026

By Sam Volpe

Scientists at Newcastle and Birmingham universities have discovered a "simple and eco-friendly" way to turn Teflon into a vital chemical that helps our teeth, without releasing "forever chemicals" into the atmosphere. Teflon is a branded material prized for its durability and used, for example, in non-stick pans.

However it has been, until now, very difficult to recycle. It could be broken down by burning - but not without releasing "forever chemicals" with dangerous implications for the environment. Now, researchers at Newcastle University and the University of Birmingham have found that it can be broken down "using only sodium metal and mechanical energy – movement by shaking".

This produces sodium fluoride - which can be used for toothpastes and is routinely added to drinking water. The findings have been published in the the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS).

Dr Roly Armstrong, lecturer in chemistry at Newcastle University, said: "The process we have discovered breaks the strong carbon–fluorine bonds in Teflon®, converting it into sodium fluoride which is used in fluoride toothpastes and added to drinking water.

“Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of Teflon® are produced globally each year – it’s used in everything from lubricants to coatings on cookware, and currently there are very few ways to get rid of it. As those products come to the end of their lives they currently end up in landfill – but this process allows us to extract the fluorine and upcycle it into useful new materials."

Prof Dr Erli Lu and the University of Birmingham added: “Fluorine is a vital element in modern life – it’s found in around one-third of all new medicines and in many advanced materials.

"Yet fluorine is traditionally obtained through energy-intensive and heavily polluting mining and chemical processes. Our method shows that we can recover it from everyday waste and reuse it directly – turning a disposal problem into a resource opportunity.”

Teflon is a brand-name for a material known as Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). It is resistant to heat and chemicals - but almost impossible to recycle.

The research team used a new approach to tackle the problem.

This involved using a sealed steel contained known as a "ball mill" and fragments of sodium metal - which are ground down with the Teflon. This turns the material into carbon and sodium fluoride.

The researchers then showed that the sodium fluoride recovered in this way can also be used, without purification, to create other forms of fluorine like that which are used in the water.

Dr Lu added: “Our approach is simple, fast, and uses inexpensive materials. We hope it will inspire further work on reusing other kinds of fluorinated waste and help make the production of vital fluorine-containing compounds more sustainable."

SOURCE:
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/other/ty ... r-AA1OUWbA