Full Catalytic Dehalogenation of Brominated Flame Retardants

The adequate management of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in polymer mixtures has emerged in recent years as a critical concern in the fields of environmental protection and plastic recycling. Addressing the issue, our study proposes a new approach to effectively mitigate BFRs within a range of different polymer matrices including those derived from waste sources. Specifically, we present an efficient catalytic hydrodebromination (HDB) reaction of conventional BFRs, carried out under mild reaction conditions (75-100 degrees C, 5-10 bar H-2, for 6-24 h) utilizing palladium on carbon (Pd/C) as the active catalyst, to fully convert these toxic compounds into less hazardous or industrially valuable products in high yields (up to 99%). Our method enables in situ HDB of BFRs directly from polymer matrices, without any pretreatment steps. The key advantages of our in situ HDB method are that a broad scope of aliphatic and aromatic BFRs can be debrominated in high yields and that the problematic solvent extraction of BFRs from their plastic matrices, which generally requires large amounts of solvents or may even be impossible, can be avoided. These results highlight the potential of this novel in situ HDB method as a promising and efficient approach for the detoxification of BFRs present in polymers, including those from waste sources, which can have a significant contribution to sustainable practices in environmental remediation and plastic recycling.