Patent ID: 6958424

Claim:
A method of reducing environmentally undesirable emissions from a process that produces as a byproduct a chlorinated compound of formula (I) R f —C(R 1 )═C(R 2 )H (I) wherein R f is fluorine or substituted or unsubstituted C 1 –C 20 straight or branched-chain fluorinated alkyl; and R 1 and R 2 are independently H, Cl, Br, or I, provided that at least one of R 1 or R 2 is Cl, the method comprising the steps of: providing a waste by-product containing at least one compound of formula (I); exposing said waste by-product to reaction conditions effective to reduce at least a substantial portion of the compound of formula (I) contained in said waste by-product to at least one fluoroalkene having a lower degree of chlorination than said compound of formula (I) by contacting said waste by-product with at least one formate salt in the presence of a catalyst, said exposing step producing a reaction product stream comprising compound of formula (I) and said at least one fluoroalkene; separating at least a portion of said at least one fluoroalkene produced in said exposing step from said reaction product stream to produce a stream relatively rich in said compound of formula (I); and subjecting said stream relatively rich in the compound of formula (I) to said exposing step.