New water treatment zaps 'forever chemicals' for good

Date:
March 22, 2023
Source:
University of British Columbia
Summary:
Engineers have developed a new water treatment that removes 'forever
chemicals' from drinking water safely, efficiently -- and for good.


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FULL STORY ========================================================================== Engineers at the University of British Columbia have developed a new
water treatment that removes "forever chemicals" from drinking water
safely, efficiently -- and for good.


========================================================================== Forever chemicals, formally known as PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl
substances) are a large group of substances that make certain products non-stick or stain- resistant. There are more than 4,700 PFAS in use,
mostly in raingear, non-stick cookware, stain repellents and firefighting
foam. Research links these chemicals to a wide range of health problems including hormonal disruption, cardiovascular disease, developmental
delays and cancer.

To remove PFAS from drinking water, Dr. Mohseni and his team devised a
unique adsorbing material that is capable of trapping and holding all
the PFAS present in the water supply.

The PFAS are then destroyed using special electrochemical and
photochemical techniques, also developed at the Mohseni lab and described
in part in a new paper published recently in Chemosphere.

While there are treatments currently on the market, like activated carbon
and ion-exchange systems which are widely used in homes and industry,
they do not effectively capture all the different PFAS, or they require
longer treatment time, Dr. Mohseni explained.

"Our adsorbing media captures up to 99 per cent of PFAS particles and
can also be regenerated and potentially reused. This means that when we
scrub off the PFAS from these materials, we do not end up with more highly toxic solid waste that will be another major environmental challenge."
He explained that while PFAS are no longer manufactured in Canada, they
are still incorporated in many consumer products and can then leach into
the environment. For example, when we apply stain-resistant or repellent sprays/ materials, wash PFAS-treated raingear, or use certain foams to
put down fires, the chemicals end up in our waterways. Or when we use PFAS-containing cosmetics and sunscreens, the chemicals could find their
way into the body.

For most people, exposure is through food and consumer products, but
they can also be exposed from drinking water -- particularly if they
live in areas with contaminated water sources.

Dr. Mohseni, whose research group also focuses on developing water
solutions for rural, remote and Indigenous communities, noted:
"Our adsorbing media are particularly beneficial for people living in
smaller communities who lack resources to implement the most advanced
and expensive solutions that could capture PFAS. These can also be used
in the form of decentralized and in-home water treatments." The UBC
team is preparing to pilot the new technology at a number of locations
in B.C. starting this month.

"The results we obtain from these real-world field studies will allow us
to further optimize the technology and have it ready as products that municipalities, industry and individuals can use to eliminate PFAS in
their water," said Dr. Mohseni.

* RELATED_TOPICS
o Matter_&_Energy
# Nature_of_Water # Nuclear_Energy #
Engineering_and_Construction # Civil_Engineering
o Earth_&_Climate
# Water # Drought_Research # Environmental_Issues #
Sustainability
* RELATED_TERMS
o Sewage_treatment o Water_scarcity o Environmental_engineering
o Water_turbine o Brackish_water o Water_resources o Cloud
o Sewer

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_British_Columbia. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Fatemeh Asadi Zeidabadi, Ehsan Banayan Esfahani, Sean T. McBeath,
Kristian L. Dubrawski, Madjid Mohseni. Electrochemical degradation
of PFOA and its common alternatives: Assessment of key parameters,
roles of active species, and transformation pathway. Chemosphere,
2023; 315: 137743 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.137743 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230322140403.htm

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