L. Zhang, H. Attigah, I. Jahan, S. Mantripragada, S. Obare
North Carolina A&T State University,
United States
Keywords: PFAS, remediation, nanofibers, electrospinning, filtration, adsorption
Summary:
Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) have been identified as emerging contaminants in water bodies due to their accumulation and adverse health effects. Industry has quickly shifted to short-chain PFAS production to replace traditional long-chain PFAS upon environmental regulations. The ammonium salt of hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA) , commonly known as GenX, has been used as a short-chain substitute to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). According to the recent fact sheet by U.S. EPA, however, GenX turned out to be more toxic than people originally thought. However, there is only limited research outcome up to date to address GenX remediation from water. In this research, for the first time, we developed innovative electrospun nanofibrous filter/adsorbent materials to remediate GenX from water. We studied the capability of electrospun nanofibrous membranes as adsorbent/filter to bind and remove GenX from water and realize a highly efficient way for GenX removal from water. The maximum GenX removal capacity of our electrospun nanofibrous adsorbent/filter material is significantly higher than that of most reported GenX adsorbents as well as that of activated carbon adsorbents. This research paved the way to remove short-chain PFAS from water with economic and natural filter materials.