Two-step transformation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)

Abstract

In this project, I evaluated a two-step approach to breakdown of long-chain PFAS chemicals into innocuous byproducts. Ideally, UV-activated nanoparticles will cleave long-chain PFAS chemicals into shorter chains, and microbes will remove the fluorines from the smaller compounds. PFAS causes a variety of health problems, and current methods of PFAS transformation have high energy requirements. In contrast, a combination of UV-activated nanoparticles and microbes could transform PFAS with lower energy requirements and would take advantage of infrastructure already in place at wastewater treatment plants. I found that perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) can be transformed by 100-nm nanoparticles in a basic pH solution. In addition, microbes from wastewater treatment plants defluorinated smaller PFAS chemicals like MFA. In conclusion, this work provides promising results that a two-step transformation process of long-chain PFAS chemicals could be feasible.