Collaborative Research: ERASE-PFAS: A "concentrate-and-destroy" technology for treating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances using a new class of adsorptive photocatalysts

合作研究：ERASE-PFAS：一种使用新型吸附光催化剂处理全氟烷基和多氟烷基物质的“浓缩和破坏”技术

• 批准号: 2244985
• 负责人: Dongye Zhao
• 金额: $ 34.8万
• 依托单位: San Diego State University Foundation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-10-01 至 2024-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2244985&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; ERASE; PFAS; concentrate

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been manufactured and widely used in hundreds of consumer products and industrial processes for decades. Release of PFAS into the environment has resulted in drinking water supplies for millions of U.S. residents to become contaminated at levels exceeding United States Environmental Protection Agency health advisory limits. Unfortunately, conventional water treatment processes are not effective at removing or destroying PFAS due to the unique molecular properties of these compounds. This has created an urgent national need for water treatment technology to address this problem. The goal of this research is to address this problem through a multi-phase research project focused on developing “trap and destroy” technology. This technology utilizes a new class of adsorptive materials to efficiently capture PFASs from water, followed by degradation using targeted ultraviolet and sunlight-assisted reaction. Successful completion of this research will benefit society through the production of effective PFAS treatment technology. Additional benefits result from increased scientific literacy through enhanced public awareness of PFAS contamination, as well as by increasing the diversity of the Nation’s STEM workforce by engagement of K-12, undergraduate, and graduate students from underrepresented groups in research and training.The overarching research goal of this project is to develop and fully characterize an innovative technology to cost-effectively remove and degrade PFAS from contaminated water. The technology is based on a new class of adsorptive photocatalysts that can selectively adsorb PFAS from water to the photoactive solid surface, and then destroy PFAS in situ under UV or solar light. This project will target both legacy PFAS and their newer substitutes such as GenX. The research goals will be accomplished through a series of interconnected research tasks to: i) develop adsorptive photocatalysts optimized for treatment of a wide range of PFAS, ii) characterize the speed, selectivity, and capacity of the adsorptive photocatalysts for PFAS treatment, iii) characterize UV- and solar-light solid-phase photocatalysis of the pre-adsorbed PFAS, and iv) explore ways to enhance photocatalysis through amendment with low-cost oxidants and manipulation of reaction conditions. The underlying reaction mechanisms will be investigated through all stages of the research using state-of-the-science microscopic and spectroscopic analyses of the materials, high-resolution spectroscopic analysis of the reaction products, and modern density functional theory calculations. A preliminary cost analysis will be carried out to assess the cost-effectiveness of the technology compared to alternative treatment options. Successful completion of the project will potentially lead to an innovative technology that can cost-effectively treat low concentrations of PFAS in large volumes of contaminated water. More broadly, the knowledge gained from this project will also advance our understanding of the synergistic effects of nanoscale hybrid phases and multiple redox cycles on the overall performance of reactive composite materials, and potentially transform our knowledge on fabrication and application of carbon-modified, multi-phase photocatalysts.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.

几十年来，全氟烷基和多氟烷基物质（PFAS）已被生产并广泛用于数百种消费品和工业过程。PFAS释放到环境中导致数百万美国居民的饮用水供应受到污染，污染程度超过美国环境保护署的健康建议限值。不幸的是，传统的水处理工艺不能有效地去除或破坏PFAS，这是由于这些化合物的独特分子性质。这就产生了对水处理技术的迫切需求，以解决这一问题。这项研究的目标是通过一个多阶段的研究项目来解决这个问题，该项目的重点是开发“陷阱和摧毁”技术。该技术利用一类新的吸附材料从水中有效捕获PFAS，然后使用有针对性的紫外线和阳光辅助反应进行降解。这项研究的成功完成将通过生产有效的PFAS处理技术造福社会。通过提高公众对PFAS污染的认识来提高科学素养，以及通过K-12、本科生、以及来自研究和培训领域代表性不足群体的研究生。该项目的总体研究目标是开发并充分描述一种创新技术的成本-有效去除和降解污染水中的PFAS。该技术基于一类新的吸附性光催化剂，可以选择性地将PFAS从水中吸附到光活性固体表面，然后在紫外线或太阳光下原位破坏PFAS。该项目将针对传统的PFAS及其较新的替代品，如GenX。研究目标将通过一系列相互关联的研究任务来实现：i）开发优化用于处理宽范围的PFAS的吸附性光催化剂，ii）表征用于PFAS处理的吸附性光催化剂的速度、选择性和容量，iii）表征预吸附的PFAS的UV和太阳光固相吸附，以及iv）探索通过使用低成本氧化剂和控制反应条件来提高反应速率的方法。基本的反应机制将通过研究的所有阶段进行研究，使用材料的科学显微镜和光谱分析，反应产物的高分辨率光谱分析和现代密度泛函理论计算。将进行初步的成本分析，以评估该技术与其他处理办法相比的成本效益。该项目的成功完成将可能导致一种创新技术，可以经济有效地处理大量受污染水中的低浓度PFAS。更广泛地说，从这个项目中获得的知识也将促进我们对纳米级混合相和多个氧化还原循环对反应性复合材料整体性能的协同效应的理解，并可能改变我们对碳改性，多的该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的知识产权评估的支持。优点和更广泛的影响审查标准。