A team of researchers from Rice University, Carnegie Mellon University and other leading global institutions has outlined a bold new roadmap for harnessing heterogeneous catalysis to destroy per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the so-called “forever chemicals” that have contaminated water supplies worldwide.
A team of researchers from Rice University, Carnegie Mellon University and other leading global institutions has outlined a bold new roadmap for harnessing heterogeneous catalysis to destroy per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the so-called “forever chemicals” that have contaminated water supplies worldwide.
In a study published in Nature Water, the international team of environmental engineers, chemists and catalysis experts assessed current catalytic technologies for PFAS destruction, proposed a suite of innovations to overcome existing limitations and emphasized the urgent need for holistic performance metrics that reflect true environmental and public health benefits.
“Catalysis offers a promising path to completely break down PFAS molecules, but current approaches are still far from optimal,” said Michael Wong, co-author and chair of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice. “We need smarter design, better process integration and a more nuanced way of comparing technologies that accounts for energy, cost and toxicity reduction.”
Read more at: Rice University
Michael Wong, chair of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice. (Photo Credit: Rice University)
