The European Union’s plan to ban all PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) would endanger many industrial processes, according to the VDMA, which represents more than 3,600 German and European mechanical and plant engineering companies.  

Textile manufacturing would be affected twice, the organisation says – by excluding important chemicals for technical textile production and leading to a lack of indispensable textile machinery components which would negatively impact the entire supply chain.

Solid PFAS parts are widely used in textile machinery production, especially where extreme conditions prevail.

“Our textile dyeing machines are world leading and set standards in efficiency and sustainability,” explains Verena Thies, managing shareholder of VDMA member Thies. “They work under pressure at temperatures of up to 140°C using highly acidic, highly basic and/or oxidative or even reductive chemicals. This is precisely why PFAS are needed in seals, rings, flaps and valves for a long-lasting and high-quality machine concept – because there are no alternatives with equivalent properties. In addition, PTFE semi-finished products enable a sliding and gentle contact with the textile fabric in ecologically important techniques in the transformation of textile wet finishing.”

PTFE and FKM are fluoropolymers (fluoroplastics and fluoroelastomers) are a group within the broad PFAS range of about 10,000 substances which would be banned for production, use and sale in the EU. They are high-tech materials, and as so-called “polymers of low concern” are not a danger to the environment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). These components are installed inside a machine and exchanged or disposed of properly. PFAS such as PTFE and FKM must be exempted from the ban, the VDMA has urged in its position paper.

“The association supports the approach taken in the UK,” says Dr Sarah Brückner, head of VDMA Environmental Affairs and Sustainability. “With the 10,000 substances the EU is including, everything is lumped together, although the various PFAS groups are very different. We should take our cue from the UK and look at the substance groups in a differentiated way.”

In addition to several types of dyeing machine, PFAS components are indispensable in textile drying machines and damping machines. They are also used in fully automatic chemical dispensing systems and pressure vessels for the thermochemical treatment of textile recycling material, heat recovery systems and wastewater treatment technology. This means that a lot of machines needed for sustainable textile production would be affected by the PFAS ban.

VDMA Textile Machinery will take part in the ongoing EU public consultation and outline the indispensable key functionalities and conditions of use in the textile machinery sector, as well as the consequences for the companies and the customers in the EU if the ban is imposed. The consultation ends on September 25, 2023, and the VDMA is urging its members affected by the planned restriction to participate in the consultation at an early stage. This is the only way to ensure that the broad scope of the mechanical and plant engineering sector is represented.

VDMA companies employ around 3 million people in the EU-27, more than 1.2 million of them in Germany alone. This makes mechanical and plant engineering the largest employer among the capital goods industries, both in the EU-27 and in Germany. In the European Union, it represents a turnover volume of an estimated €860 billion and around 80% of the machinery sold in the EU comes from a manufacturing plant in the domestic market.

www.vdma.org