PFI-TT: Destroying toxic and persistent perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) with Advanced Materials and Light

这一创新-技术转化伙伴关系项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是通过永久破坏从水中清除有毒的全氟烷基物质（PFAS）化学品。这项技术通过改善人类和环境的整体健康，有可能产生深远的社会影响。根据即将出台的联邦法规，这项技术（一种可重复使用的绿色替代品，只使用光，不使用化学添加剂）将具有成本竞争力，并能满足市场对破坏性PFAS技术的巨大需求。该项目将通过积极招生扩大女性和代表性不足的少数民族学生的参与。学生们将从莱斯大学的创新与创业创意实验室获得培训和交流机会，并通过与合作伙伴的合作和指导获得行业经验。拟议的项目建立在一项基础研究的基础上，即一种安全和商业化的材料如何与光相互作用，在广泛的条件下破坏具有不同寻常的有效性和耐久性的含氟人造有机化合物。这种光催化化学的易用性和环境条件使得水处理过程具有可扩展性，最终可以处理从厨房水龙头中的饮用水到工业场所，废水处理厂和消防培训场所的所有水。该项目将首先使用实际测试水优化催化剂性能。第二项任务侧重于将催化剂合成量扩大到千克，以及使用测试水确定最佳操作参数并确定催化剂稳定性。最后一项任务是在数周内以高达5 GPM的流量在中试规模上验证该技术。基于每个订单所需的电能的成本分析将用于评估潜在的商业应用。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。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation – Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project is to remove toxic perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) chemicals from water by destroying them permanently. This technology has the potential for profound societal impact by improving overall human and environmental health. With upcoming federal regulations, this technology (a reusable and green alternative that uses only light and no chemical additives) will be cost-competitive and responsive to the large market need for destructive PFAS technologies. This project will broaden participation of female and underrepresented minority students through active recruitment. Students will receive training and networking opportunities from Rice University’s Idea Lab for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and industrial experience through collaboration and mentorship with our partners. The proposed project builds upon fundamental research on how a safe and commercially available material interacts with light to destroy fluorine-containing manmade organic compounds with unusual effectiveness and durability under a wide range of conditions. The ease-of-use and ambient conditions of this photocatalysis chemistry makes the water treatment process a scalable one, to eventually treat everything from drinking water in a kitchen faucet to industrial sites, wastewater treatment plants, and firefighting training sites. The project will first optimize catalyst performance using actual test waters. The second task focuses on scaling up the catalyst synthesis to kilogram amounts, as well as determining optimum operational parameters using test waters and determining catalyst stability. The final task is to validate the technology at the pilot scale at flow rates of up to 5 GPM over periods of weeks. Cost analyses based on the electrical energy per order needed will be used to assess potential commercial application.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.