Simple Solution Could Revolutionize "Forever Chemical" Cleanup

New Study Provides Effective Method to Clean PFAS from Drinking Water

A University of Missouri scientist has created a cost-saving and efficient method of eliminating toxic "forever chemicals" called PFAS from drinking water.

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of industrial chemicals that have permeated non-stick frying pans and pots, waterproof jackets, fire prevention foam, food packaging, and stain-resistant car upholstery. Because they were applied so freely, PFAS have found their way into the environment, the food chain, and even into the human body, where they do not biodegrade for hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of years.

Exposure to PFAS has been linked with health conditions ranging from lowered fertility to delayed development in children and higher chances of some forms of cancer. Researchers have therefore sought methods for removing or annihilating PFAS from polluted sources of water.

Feng "Frank" Xiao, an associate professor in the College of Engineering at the University of Missouri, and his team found a quick solution to this serious problem. The scientists determined that PFAS can be dissolved efficiently by heating the chemicals with GAC.

GAC is a filter medium that has been widely used to purify water or air from contaminants. It is made from carbonaceous materials like wood and coal that have been subjected to high-heat treatment. It is already being used in domestic filters for water and aquarium filters and can be easily and cheaply bought. This new process utilizes the capacity of the GAC to adsorb and degrade toxic substances.

In a recent paper published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, Xiao and colleagues showed that treatment of PFAS with GAC at 572 degrees Fahrenheit caused 90% of the chemicals to mineralize. The process turns the toxic PFAS chemicals into safe inorganic fluorine.

Previously, PFAS degradation was a high-temperature (over 1292°F), high-pressure, or use of organic solvent process and hence an energy-wasteful and expensive process. Xiao's process is much less expensive and ecologically friendly. GAC is cheap and can be recycled, so this process is a workable one for large-scale application.

This finding also has real-world implications for communities that are afflicted with PFAS contamination. Removal of PFAS from contaminated water using GAC can be achieved on a local level using a standard furnace, avoiding more costly treatments like reverse osmosis. This makes the process both efficient and scalable for different communities and industries that handle PFAS waste.

Conclusion:Xiao's work is able to cut down on environmental and health consequences of PFAS, especially where the chemicals build up in the agricultural and industrial environments. Such as in the Midwest, utilization of herbicides and pharmaceutical drugs with PFAS in agriculture tends to cause such high buildup of the chemicals within water and the soil. Xiao's approach is a means to cut down the buildup of the chemicals in these environments, therefore making water supplies cleaner and safe. The effects of the study do not stop at the environment but stretch to other implications for public health. In the removal of PFAS contamination in water bodies, the process is bound to reduce health risk from long-term exposure to the chemicals.Xiao's innovation brings to the forefront the need for efficient, affordable solutions to environmental problems. Being able to eliminate PFAS from water in an efficient and affordable manner is a major leap towards combating one of the most tenacious environmental challenges of the modern era.