WRRC Seminar

December 15, 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Mānoa Campus, Zoom Meeting

Degradation of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS): Structure-Reactivity Relationships and Treatment Strategies

by Jinyong Liu

University of California, Riverside

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are widely used manufactured chemicals that have been in existence since the 1940s and can be found in our drinking water, food, homes, and workplaces. PFAS are commonly known as “forever chemicals” because they tend to break down very slowly, and can build up in humans, animals, and the environment through decades of exposure. To protect communities, research is focusing on the toxicity of PFAS on human health and the environment, and how to mitigate any harmful effects by implementing a complete, rapid, and cost-effective solution to the degradation of PFAS pollutants. Currently, industrial practitioners consider most PFAS treatment methods too expensive.

To address these challenges, we identified the PFAS structure-reactivity relationships and improved the photochemical system and lowered the EE/O. The optimized system achieved >99.7% removal and >90% overall defluorination of concentrated PFAS mixtures in brine. In this presentation, we will show our results of (1) complete defluorination of legacy PFAS through the existing redox processes and that a simple design is feasible, and (2) a large number of PFAS are not “forever chemicals.”

Zoom Meeting:

https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/97336708712

Meeting ID: 973 3670 8712

Passcode: 898888


Event Sponsor
WRRC, Mānoa Campus

More Information
Keri Kodama, 956-3097, kodamak8@hawaii.edu

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