Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), organofluorine surfactants, are an emerging class of water contaminants that are extremely recalcitrant to degradation by many conventional forms of treatment, including modern advanced oxidation processes. Here we demonstrate the ability of non-equilibrium (cold) plasma technologies to degrade perfluoroalkyl acids (e.g., PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, PFHxS) in aqueous solutions. We will present the effects that reverse vortex GlidArc and short-pulsed spark plasma discharge regimes, which are affected by plasma conditions (e.g., pulse amplitude, duration, and frequency of pulsed voltage discharges), gases (e.g., air, oxygen, nitrogen, and methane), on the degradation and extent of defluorination of PFASs. We will also describe results examining the effects of water quality (e.g., dissolved organic carbon) and PFAS compound characteristics (e.g., head group and chain length) on the degree and nature of removal via non-equilibrium plasma treatment. Energy calculations will be provided for determining the most robust and energy efficient plasma treatment configurations that could be scaled-up for removal of PFASs from contaminated waters.

Investigating the application of non-equilibrium cold plasma technologies for the degradation of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances in aqueous solutions

2019 Spring National Meeting

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