SBIR Phase I: A Tunable Deep Ultraviolet (UV)-based Polyfluoroalkyl Substance (PFAS) Destruction Technology for Water Treatment

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目解决饮用水资源中单氟烷基和多氟烷基物质（PFAS）——也称为“永久化学品”——的全球污染问题。该技术旨在开发一种概念验证，具有成本效益的技术，即使在非常低的水平也能破坏PFAS化学物质并将其转化为无毒物质。环境中的良性产品。项目团队的最终目标是提高水的可持续性，保障公众健康。该项目通过促进美国公众的健康和福利，与《美国创新与竞争法》保持一致。对于集中和分散的水处理，预计这些影响将在缺水和经济快速增长的南加州内陆地区得到初步证明。本工作的重点是开发一种高效、经济的光化学处理系统，用于破坏饮用水资源中的PFAS。使用一种新型的可调深紫外光（又名真空紫外线或VUV），该技术旨在实现PFAS的几乎完全破坏，而不会在饮用水中产生二次废物流或有毒副产品。VUV光利用丰富的水分子作为光子敏化剂，可以在普通紫外灯中容易产生，并且易于控制和操作，是最容易获得和高效的水电离光子源之一。将该光源与其他良性化学物质相结合，为有效破坏PFAS创造了一个高度反应的环境，将水性PFAS转化为无毒的氟化物。这项工作将包括化学动力学研究、先进的化学分析和与潜在客户合作的技术扩大。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the global contamination issues of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – also known as “forever chemicals” – in drinking water resources. The technology aims to develop a proof-of-concept, cost-effective technology that destroys PFAS chemicals even at very low levels and converts them to non-toxic. benign products in an ambient environment. Ultimately, the project team aims to provide improved water sustainability and safeguard public health. The project is aligned with the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act by advancing of the health and welfare of the American public. Initial demonstration of these impacts is expected to be felt in the water-scarce and economically fast-growing inland southern California region for both centralized and decentralized water treatment. This effort focusses on the development of a highly efficient and cost-effective photochemical treatment system for the destruction of PFAS in drinking water resources. Using a novel tunable deep ultraviolet light (a.k.a. vacuum ultraviolet or VUV), the technology aims to achieve nearly complete destruction of PFAS without generating secondary waste streams or toxic byproducts in drinking water. VUV light is one of the most accessible and efficient water ionization photon sources because it takes advantage of abundant water molecules as photon sensitizers, can be readily generated from common UV lamps, and is easy to control and operate. Tuning this light source in conjunction with other benign chemicals creates a highly reactive environment for efficient destruction of PFAS, converting waterborne PFAS into non-toxic fluoride. The effort will involve combination of chemical kinetics investigation, advanced chemical analysis, and technology scale-up in collaboration with potential customers.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.