SBIR Phase II: A Cost-Effective Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance (PFAS) Electrolyzer for Groundwater Remediation

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目的更广泛的商业影响是提供一个安全、具有成本效益的水处理系统，从地下水中消除每种和多氟烷基物质(PFAS)，以保护人类健康和环境，同时降低修复的成本和复杂性。全氟辛烷磺酸是世界上最难处理的污染物之一，已经污染了美国和世界各地的地下水和饮用水水源。全氟辛烷磺酸的毒性、流动性和生物累积需要进行补救，因为它们对人类健康造成了一系列不利影响。在美国，迫在眉睫的饮用水法规和超级基金将全氟辛烷磺酸列为危险物质，正在为积极清理全氟辛烷磺酸污染场地奠定执法基础。目前的PFAS处理选择是非破坏性的、昂贵的，并且只需将PFAS转移到固体或浓缩废物流中。该项目的重点是开发一种低成本、不含化学物质的水处理系统，直接将全氟辛烷磺酸矿化为安全的最终产品，而不会产生二次全氟辛烷磺酸废物。它满足了客户实现环境合规性、降低补救成本、加快场地关闭、防止未来环境污染和责任的需求。该项目的技术重点是电解销毁全氟辛烷磺酸。核心技术包括一种新颖的径向场单元电池结构，将这些单元电池阵列堆叠到电解槽中。当地下水通过电解槽的阳极室时，污染物就会被破坏。该处理系统的关键创新包括将单元电池扩展到极大面积的电极，从而形成处理连续水流的大规模电解槽堆栈，以及最重要的是开发了一种低成本的阳极电催化剂，该催化剂可提供高电压、单步矿化全氟辛烷磺酸，包括长链和难以处理的短链，以获得安全的最终产品。该项目的目标是：(1)扩大大面积3D电极的阳极电催化剂涂层工艺，制造全尺寸、低成本的阳极；(2)设计和建造由一系列重复的、放大的单元电池组成的电解槽；(3)使用电解槽建造地下水处理滑板，并进行现场地下水PFAS修复可处理性测试；(4)验证电解槽烟囱水处理系统的PFAS销毁效率和低成本。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，认为值得支持。

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to provide a safe, cost-effective water treatment system that eliminates per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from groundwater to protect human health and the environment while reducing the cost and complexity of remediation. PFAS are one of the world’s most intractable pollutants and have contaminated groundwater and drinking water sources across the US and the world. The toxicity, mobility, and bioaccumulation of PFAS present a need for remediation as they cause an array of adverse impacts on human health. In the US, impending drinking water regulations and listing of PFAS as hazardous substances under Superfund are setting the enforcement foundation for aggressive cleanup of PFAS-contaminated sites. Current PFAS treatment options are non-destructive, expensive, and simply transfer the PFAS to a solid or concentrated waste stream. This project focuses on the development of a low cost, chemical-free water treatment system that directly mineralizes PFAS to safe end-products with no secondary PFAS waste generation. It addresses customers’ need to achieve environmental compliance, reduce remediation cost, accelerate site closeout, and prevent future environmental pollution and liability.This project is technically focused on the electrolytic destruction of PFAS. The core technology consists of a novel radial-field flow unit cell architecture with an array of these unit cells stacked into an Electrolyzer. Contaminants are destroyed as the groundwater passes through the Electrolyzer anode compartments. Key innovations of this treatment system include the scalability of the unit cells to very large area electrodes resulting in large-scale Electrolyzer stacks that handle continuous water flow, and most importantly the development of a low-cost, anode electrocatalyst that provides high voltage, single-step mineralization of PFAS, including the long chains and hard to treat short-chains, to safe end-products. The objectives of this project are: (1) Scale up the anode electrocatalyst coating process for large area 3D electrodes and make full-scale, low cost anodes; (2) Design and build an Electrolyzer Stack composed of an array of repeating, scaled-up unit cells; (3) Construct a groundwater treatment skid with the Electrolyzer Stack and perform on-site groundwater PFAS remediation treatability testing; (4) Verify the PFAS destruction efficiency and low cost of the Electrolyzer Stack water treatment system.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.