L2M NSERC - A process for the removal of forever chemicals

全氟和多氟烷基物质（PFAS）是持久性化学品，由于其潜在毒性和在环境中普遍存在而引起了广泛关注。在美国和加拿大分别发现了近42,000个和6,000个活性或疑似PFAS污染地点。最近，几种PFAS与婴儿的癌症、肝/肾损伤和发育影响有关。因此，在世界各地不同的司法指导方针下，PFAS受到立即行动的管制。更重要的是，全球大多数处理系统采用的常见水处理技术无法去除PFAS。在这项工作中，我们同时使用多种协同技术来有效地实现PFAS的原位修复，克服与替代PFAS处理工艺相关的技术，经济和环境挑战。PFAS首先使用吸附材料从大量给水中浓缩。然后，通过破坏性技术，将滞留物中浓缩的PFAS矿化，耗尽的吸附材料再生进行进一步循环，从而减少碳足迹或对环境的影响。该工艺能够去除长链和短链，前体和新出现的PFAS。它还可以防止通过焚烧或掩埋吸附过程的残留物而进一步向环境释放含氟化学品。

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent chemicals which have drawn substantial attention due to their potential toxicity and ubiquitous presence in the environment. Close to 42,000 and 6,000 active or suspected PFAS contaminated sites have been detected in the US and Canada, respectively. Recently, several PFAS have been linked to cancer, liver/kidney damage and developmental effects in infants. Consequently, PFAS are regulated with immediate action under different jurisdictional guidelines throughout the world. More importantly, PFAS are not removed by the common water treatment technologies employed in majority of the treatment systems across the globe. In this work, we use multiple synergistic technologies simultaneously to effectively achieve in-situ remediation of PFAS, overcoming technical, economical, and environmental challenges associated with alternative PFAS treatment processes. PFAS are firstly concentrated from a large volume of feed water using adsorptive materials. Then, through destructive technologies, concentrated PFAS in the retentate are mineralized and exhausted adsorptive materials are regenerated for further cycles, thereby reducing the carbon footprint or environmental impact. This process is able to remove long- and short-chained, precursor, and emerging PFAS. It also prevents further release of fluorinated chemicals to the environment which happens through incineration or burying adsorptive processes' residue.