With daily progress, new utilities, including plastics and other materials, have produced chemicals that are harmful to health and our environment, sometimes called “forever chemicals.”
They are formed by thousands of man-made chemicals that are grease, water and heat resistant and are used in products such as non-stick cookware, waterproof clothing and firefighting foam.
The reason these chemicals are called “forever chemicals” is that they do not break down in the environment or the human body, leading to their accumulation and potential health risks such as an increased risk of cancer and hormone disruption.
While considering its harmful impact, a research team from Rice University, working with international collaborators, has created new eco-friendly technology that can capture and destroy PFAS, which is found dangerously in water worldwide.
Scientists have developed the first technology that can quickly capture and break down toxic ‘forever chemicals’ PFAS in water.
Researchers said new technology could break down these “forever chemicals” at record speed and with unprecedented efficiency, marking a potential breakthrough in efforts to tackle one of the most persistent forms of environmental pollution.
The approach focuses on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances PFAS, a large family of synthetic chemicals known for their strong carbon-fluorine bonds, allowing them to persist in the environment for decades.
The new method dismantles these bonds much faster than conventional treatments, converting PFAS into less harmful components rather than simply trapping or concentrating them. The system breaks them down safely and refreshes itself for reuse.
Laboratory tests showed the technology could eliminate high levels of PFAS in minutes, using visibly less energy than thermal or chemical destruction methods.
Scientists say these efficiencies could make large-scale cleanups of contaminated water, soil and industrial waste streams more feasible.
While further testing is needed to confirm performance outside the laboratory, researchers say the findings represent an important step toward scalable solutions to PFAS pollution.
The results come as governments and health agencies intensify efforts to regulate PFAS due to mounting evidence linking them to adverse health and environmental impacts.
The project was led by Youngkun Chung, a postdoctoral researcher, supervised by Michael S. Wong, a professor at Rice’s George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing.
The research Regenerative water remediation platform for ultra-fast collection and mineralization of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances was originally published in the magazine Advanced materials.
