L2M NSERC - A process for the removal of forever chemicals

全氟和多氟烷基物质(PFAS)是一种持久性化学物质，由于其潜在的毒性和在环境中的普遍存在而引起了人们的极大关注。在美国和加拿大，分别发现了近42,000个现役或可疑的全氟辛烷磺酸污染场地。最近，几种全氟辛烷磺酸被认为与婴儿的癌症、肝/肾损伤和发育影响有关。因此，根据世界各地不同的司法指导方针，立即采取行动对全氟辛烷磺酸进行监管。更重要的是，全球大多数处理系统所采用的普通水处理技术并不能消除全氟辛烷磺酸。在这项工作中，我们同时使用多种协同技术来有效地实现对全氟辛烷磺酸的就地修复，克服与替代全氟辛烷磺酸处理工艺相关的技术、经济和环境挑战。全氟辛烷磺酸首先利用吸附材料从大量给水中浓缩。然后，通过破坏性技术，将保留物中的浓缩全氟辛烷磺酸矿化，并将耗尽的吸附材料再生用于进一步循环，从而减少碳足迹或对环境的影响。这一过程能够去除长链和短链、前体和新兴的全氟辛烷磺酸。它还可以防止通过焚烧或掩埋吸附过程的残留物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.