EAGER: Evaluating the Mechanisms of Perfluorinated Chemical Degradation by a Novel Plasma-Based Water Treatment Process

1630854 mededov全氟烷基化合物，即氟与碳结合的化合物，由于在环境中无处不在，最近受到了相当大的关注。由于缺乏有效的处理技术，全氟烷基化合物的存在是个问题。这项拟议研究的目的是开发一种有效的处理方法，其结果来自pi实验室最近开发的技术，泡沫放电等离子体反应器，可快速有效地降解许多化学品，包括药品，个人护理产品，消毒副产物和全氟烷基化合物。本项目的研究目的是促进对泡沫等离子体反应器产生的反应物质转化水中全氟烷基化合物的化学反应机制的基本认识，评估反应器对其他全氟烷基物质的性能，并确定潜在的降解副产物。本项目要检验的主要假设是，自由电子和水电子是导致全氟烷基化合物初级降解反应的物质。自由基的传播和终止反应涉及形成的自由基和电子，可以由任何其他物质驱动，包括羟基自由基、氢自由基、羟基自由基和氧自由基阴离子。为了验证这些假设，实验计划涉及光谱、自由基清除和最先进的分析技术，以确定负责这些化合物及其副产品降解的物种。开发一种多功能、可靠和具有成本效益的技术，能够在工业废水和地下水中出现的新关注的全氟烷基化合物和其他污染物影响河流和饮用水供应网络之前迅速有效地降解它们，这可能会得到广泛采用，并对水质产生重大的积极影响。该项目旨在回答以下关键问题：等离子体水处理对全氟辛烷酸和全氟辛烷磺酸以外的全氟烷烃物质同样有效吗？2. 在处理过程中，这些化合物的命运是什么？导致它们转化的关键化学物质是什么？最终产物是什么？3. 自由电子能降解短链和长链全氟烷烃物质或其他氧化自由基贡献物质吗？4. 不同的全氟烷烃物质的转化途径相似吗？化合物的物理化学性质（如链长）是否影响其降解程度？5. 共污染物的存在是否会降低处理效率？该项目将涉及研究生和本科生。本科生将作为研究生的助理，将通过该机构的机构管道项目招聘。

1630854MededovicPerfluoroalkyl compounds, that is those compounds that have fluorine attached to a carbon, have recently received considerable attention due to their ubiquitous presence in the environment. The presence of perfluoroalkyl compounds is problematic due to the lack of effective treatment technologies. The objective of this proposed research to develop an effective treatment, results from technology recently developed in the PIs' laboratories, the foaming electrical discharge plasma reactor that rapidly and efficiently degrades many chemicals including pharmaceuticals, personal care products, disinfection byproducts, and perfluoroalkyl compounds.The research objective of this project is to advance the fundamental understanding of the chemical reaction mechanisms by which reactive species produced by the foaming plasma reactor transform perfluoroalkyl compounds in water, evaluate the performance of the reactor for additional perfluoroalkyl substances, and identify potential degradation byproducts. The major hypothesis to be tested in this project is that free and aqueous electrons are the species responsible for the primary degradation reactions of perfluoroalkyl compounds. Radical propagation and termination reactions involving the formed radicals and electrons may be driven by any other species including hydroxyl radicals, hydrogen radicals, hydroperoxyl radicals and oxygen radical anions. To test these hypotheses, the experimental plan involves spectroscopic, radical scavenging, and state-of-the-art analytical techniques to determine the species responsible for the degradation of these compounds and their byproducts. The development of a versatile, robust and cost-effective technology that can rapidly and efficiently degrade perfluoroalkyl compounds and other contaminants of emerging concern in industrial effluent and groundwater before they can impact rivers and drinking water supply networks would likely be widely adopted and have a significant positive impact on water quality. The project is designed to answer critical questions: 1. Is the plasma-based water treatment equally effective for perfluorinated alkane substances other than perfluorinated octyl acids and perfluorinated octyl sulfonates? 2. What is the fate of these compounds during treatment and what are the key chemical species responsible for their transformation and what are the final products? 3. Can free electrons degrade short- and long-chained perfluorinated alkane substances or other oxidative radical contributing species? 4. Are transformation pathways similar for different perfluorinated alkane substances? Do physicochemical properties of the compounds (e.g., chain length) play a role in their extent of degradation? 5. Does the presence of co-contaminants lower the treatment efficiency? The project will involve both graduate and undergraduate students. Undergraduate students, who will serve as assistants to graduate students, will be recruited through institutional pipeline programs at the Institution.