Q. Huang
University of Georgia,
United States
Keywords: PFAS, Electrochemical Treatment, Wastewater, Oxidation
Summary:
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large, complex group of synthetic chemicals that have been used in consumer products and industrial processes around the world for many decades. PFAS are widely present in the environment because of their extensive uses and extreme persistence. Our studies indicate effective electrochemical degradation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in aqueous solutions using Magnéli phase titanium suboxide (TSO) anodes, providing a promising technology to treat PFAS in wastewater and contaminated groundwater. The results delineated the mechanisms of PFAS degradation on TSO anodes as well as the cathodes. The properties of the TSO anode materials and those of the cathodes governing PFAS degradation efficiency are discussed. PFAS degradation by TSO-based electrochemical tretament (ET) was evaluated using different reactor setups, including batch and reactive electrochemical membrane (REM), under different operation conditions, and their performances were compared. The reactivity of TSO anodes towards PFAS degradation was further improved by doping with selected elements, guided by density functional theory (DFT) computations. The results of our studies provide a basis for design and optimization of the TSO-based ET systems for treatment of PFAS contaminated waters.