Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a large group of anthropogenic substances that have been extensively used for over 60 years. These compounds can resist heat, oil, and water, and hence have been used as coatings in non-stick cookware, carpets, clothing, furnishing, paper as well as stain repellants and in fire-fighting foams. Due to their widespread use and resulting emissions, PFASs have been detected in surface water, groundwater, fish, birds, mammals, and humans worldwide. PFASs are highly persistent and resistant to degradation and have been associated with reproductive toxicity, reduced growth metrics in newborns and elevated cholesterol levels in humans. Conventional water treatment techniques such as coagulation, flocculation and sedimentation have shown to be ineffective in removing these substances. Although techniques such as reverse osmosis (RO), granular activated carbon (GAC) and nanofiltration (NF) have been shown to be effective in removing PFASs, these processes result in the generation of concentrated waste streams that requires further treatment and/or proper disposal. Hence, there is a need to identify techniques for destructive removal of PFASs from contaminated environments. In this study, we used the Accelerator Application Development and Demonstration (A2D2) tool located at the Illinois Accelerator Research Center (Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory) to investigate the efficacy of electron beam in the decomposition of PFASs in drinking water. Preliminary results have shown that this technique is effective in breaking down the persistent long chain PFASs (perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)) due to the formation of highly reactive species including hydrated electrons and hydroxyl radicals. Work is currently ongoing to (i) investigate the decomposition and defluorination efficiencies of long and short chain PFASs at environmentally relevant concentrations (ng/L); (ii) monitor subsequent byproducts formation during treatment, (iii) test the effects of various chemical additives on the overall PFAS removal efficiencies, and (iv) test the technology’s effectiveness for treating PFASs mixtures and simultaneous removal of a co-contaminant, 1,4-dioxane. Results from this study will assess process feasibility and compare the performance of e-beam technology with other commercially available technologies (e.g. advanced oxidation processes) for water treatment.

Application of electron beam for the degradation of short and long chain polyfluoroalkyl substances in drinking 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.