ERASE-PFAS: Understanding the surface-active properties of PFAS for enhanced removal by bubbling-assisted water treatment processes

ERASE-PFAS：了解 PFAS 的表面活性特性，通过鼓泡辅助水处理工艺增强去除效果

• 批准号: 2052772
• 负责人: Arjunkrishna Venkatesan
• 金额: $ 40.07万
• 依托单位: SUNY at Stony Brook
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-08-01 至 2024-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2052772&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: ERASE; PFAS; Understanding; surface; active

PFAS are a group of manufactured chemicals that have been used in hundreds of different applications since the 1950s. One of their most important and life-saving applications is in the production of firefighting foams. The extreme stability of PFAS molecules makes them highly persistent in the environment, which has led to them being referred to as ‘forever’ chemicals. PFAS have been associated with numerous health effects in both humans and animals. PFAS are also widely detected in the environment, including in drinking water, groundwater, and landfill leachate. Unfortunately, commonly used water treatment processes do not remove PFAS efficiently. The goal of this project is to characterize the unique detergent-like properties of PFAS and use that information to develop an air bubble-assisted PFAS water treatment process. Like detergents, PFAS can accumulate at the surface of air-bubbles. The enriched PFAS layer at the water surface can then be removed leaving behind PFAS-free treated water. The specific objectives designed to achieve the goal of this project are to: i) characterize the mechanisms controlling PFAS interactions at air bubble surfaces, ii) identify conditions leading to increased accumulation of PFAS, and iii) use the results to develop an optimized bench-scale reactor using precision-controlled bubbles with commonly used water treatment chemicals to enhance PFAS removal. The simplicity and scalability of the proposed approach are ideal for application in combination with conventional unit processes used in drinking water treatment plants. Successful completion of this research holds promise for the development of cost-saving water treatment technology to help water utilities and other stakeholders address PFAS-related regulations. Additional benefits to society result from education and outreach to underserved populations to increase scientific literacy and diversify the Nation’s STEM workforce.PFAS exhibit both lipophobic and hydrophobic properties, and thus tend to accumulate at air-water interfaces due to surface tension interactions. The mechanisms governing the interaction of PFAS with air-bubbles are relatively understudied, and there are significant gaps in our knowledge of these processes. The proposed research is designed to address this important knowledge gap to provide a mechanistic understanding of air-water interfacial accumulation of PFAS. These results will be used to develop a bubble-assisted water treatment process to efficiently capture and remove PFAS from contaminated water. The governing hypotheses of this study are that: H1) introduction of nano- to micro-sized air bubbles in water can effectively capture and concentrate PFAS molecules at the air-water interface; and H2) the stability and lifetime of the accumulated PFAS at the air-water interface is dependent on the individual PFAS surface tension, presence of cationic modifiers, and self-assembly behavior at concentrations below their critical micelle concentration (CMC). The specific research objectives designed to test these hypotheses are to: i) determine the surface tension, self-assembly structure at the air-water interface, and CMC of selected PFAS using conventional and synchrotron X-ray scattering techniques as a function of water quality composition; ii) assess conditions that can increase air-water interface accumulation of short-chain PFAS to improve separation from source water; iii) elucidate the impact of bubble size on accumulation and subsequent extraction of PFAS from water; and iv) develop an optimized air-bubbling system in combination with conventional coagulants for effective removal of PFAS from water. Successful development of this approach may lead to effective and scalable treatment technology for removal of PFAS and, potentially, aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) from various sources such as drinking water, groundwater, and landfill leachate. More generally, knowledge on the interfacial accumulation of PFAS may reveal previously unrecognized fate and transport mechanisms of PFAS in the environment. Additional benefits to society result from increasing participation in STEM through outreach activities with the Simons Summer Research and Women in Science and Engineering programs to involve high school students and female undergraduates in hands-on research.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

PFAS是一组化学制品，自20世纪50年代以来已被用于数百种不同的应用。其最重要和拯救生命的应用之一是生产消防泡沫。PFAS分子的极端稳定性使它们在环境中具有高度持久性，这使得它们被称为“永久”化学品。PFAS与人类和动物的许多健康影响有关。PFAS还广泛存在于环境中，包括饮用水、地下水和垃圾渗滤液中。不幸的是，常用的水处理工艺不能有效地去除PFAS。该项目的目标是表征PFAS独特的类似洗涤剂的性质，并使用该信息开发气泡辅助PFAS水处理工艺。与清洁剂一样，PFAS可以积聚在气泡表面。然后可以去除水表面的富集PFAS层，留下不含PFAS的处理水。旨在实现本项目目标的具体目标是：i）表征控制PFAS在气泡表面相互作用的机制，ii）确定导致PFAS积累增加的条件，以及iii）使用结果开发优化的实验室规模反应器，使用精确控制的气泡和常用的水处理化学品来增强PFAS的去除。所提出的方法的简单性和可扩展性是理想的应用与传统的单元过程中使用的饮用水处理厂。这项研究的成功完成为开发节约成本的水处理技术提供了希望，以帮助水务公司和其他利益相关者解决PFAS相关法规。通过教育和推广服务不足的人群，提高科学素养，使国家的STEM劳动力多样化，从而为社会带来额外的好处。PFAS具有疏油性和疏水性，因此由于表面张力相互作用，易于在空气-水界面积聚。PFAS与气泡相互作用的机制研究相对不足，我们对这些过程的了解存在重大差距。拟议的研究旨在解决这一重要的知识差距，提供一个机械的理解PFAS的空气-水界面积累。这些结果将用于开发气泡辅助水处理工艺，以有效地捕获和去除污染水中的PFAS。本研究的主要假设是：H1）在水中引入纳微米级气泡可以有效地捕获和浓缩PFAS分子在空气-水界面;和H2）在空气-水界面处积聚的PFAS的稳定性和寿命取决于单独的PFAS表面张力，阳离子改性剂的存在，以及在低于其临界胶束浓度（CMC）的浓度下的自组装行为。为验证这些假设而设计的具体研究目标是：i）使用常规和同步加速器X射线散射技术确定所选PFAS的表面张力、在空气-水界面处的自组装结构和CMC作为水质组成的函数; ii）评估可以增加短链PFAS的空气-水界面积累以改善与源水的分离的条件; iii）阐明气泡大小对PFAS从水中积累和随后提取的影响;以及iv）开发与常规混凝剂组合的优化的空气鼓泡系统，以有效地从水中去除PFAS。这种方法的成功开发可能会导致有效和可扩展的处理技术，用于去除PFAS，并可能从各种来源，如饮用水，地下水和垃圾渗滤液中去除水性成膜泡沫（AFFF）。更一般地说，PFAS的界面积累的知识可能会揭示以前未被认识的命运和环境中的PFAS的运输机制。通过西蒙斯夏季研究和妇女参与科学与工程项目的外联活动，让高中生和女本科生参与实践研究，增加了对STEM的参与，从而为社会带来了额外的好处。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

Functionalized bio‐adsorbents for removal of perfluoroalkyl substances: A perspective

• DOI: 10.1002/aws2.1258
• 发表时间: 2021-11
• 期刊: AWWA Water Science
• 作者: D. Li;Kaushik Londhe;Kai Chi;Cheng‐Shiuan Lee;Arjun K. Venkatesan;B. Hsiao

Efficient removal of short-chain and long-chain PFAS by cationic nanocellulose

• DOI: 10.1039/d3ta01851b
• 发表时间: 2023-04-18
• 期刊: JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A
• 影响因子: 11.9
• 作者: Li, Duning;Lee, Cheng-Shiuan;Hsiao, Benjamin S.
• 通讯作者: Hsiao, Benjamin S.