Per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) represent a family of emerging and persistent contaminants in water. Very few chemical and biological methods can efficiently remove them from water. Although adsorption with ion exchange resins or activated carbon is recognized as a technically effective PFAS treatment option, the processes are restricted, at a minimum, in two aspects: 1) they only transfer PFAS from one phase to another, but cannot provide an ultimate solution to the toxic contaminants; and 2) they suffer from costly regeneration. In this study, laboratory scale tests were performed to explore chemical destruction of PFOA, a representative PFAS chemical, sorbed on anion exchange resins through chemical oxidation using advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) or through chemical reduction achieved by advanced reduction processes (ARPs). PFOA saturated anion exchange resins (Amberlite IRA 910) were treated using a sulfate radical based AOP (heat/persulfate) and a UV/sulfite ARP system, separately. As the reactions proceeded, fluoride was released into water, indicating the destruction of sorbed PFOA. The extent of fluoride release replied upon solution chemistry (e.g. pH) and operating conditions (e.g. chemical doses). Either of the chemical processes was capable of recovering the resin adsorption capacity for PFOA, so that the resin could be repeatedly used for continuously capturing aqueous PFOA. These encouraging results demonstrate that AOP or ARP is a promising on-site resin regeneration process, which can serve as a basis for the development of technically and economically efficient PFAS treatment designs.

Chemical destruction of PFAS sorbed on ion exchange resins: Solution to the PFAS pollution in water?

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.