Grantee Research Project Results
Biochar-Enabled Platform for Enhanced Destruction and Defluorination of Short-Chain Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Water
EPA Grant Number: SU840873Title: Biochar-Enabled Platform for Enhanced Destruction and Defluorination of Short-Chain Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Water
Investigators: Wang, Dengjun , Jafarinejad, Shahryar , He, Jianzhou
Institution: Auburn University Main Campus , Tuskegee University
EPA Project Officer: Brooks, Donald
Phase: I
Project Period: January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2025
Project Amount: $75,000
RFA: 20th Annual P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet Request for Applications (RFA) (2023) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: P3 Awards , Clean Water , Environment , PFAS Treatment , PFAS Detection
Description:
Providing PFAS-free drinking water using a cost-effective and sustainable technique with a minimized environmental footprint is vital to further EPA’s P3 goals by improved quality of life (drinking safe and clean water), economic prosperity (converting agricultural wastes into energy- and cost-effective biochars), and environmental protection (mitigating PFAS pollution). This is particularly devastating in Alabama due to the alarmingly higher PFAS concentrations in the blood of Alabamians (compared to other Americans in the nation). Through galvanizing resources at Auburn University and Tuskegee University in Alabama, the proposed project will train five students, including four females (in which two will be black females at Tuskegee University) for PFAS remediation technologies. Hands-on experiences of PFAS degradation for the five students, lab-scale demonstrations of PFAS degradation for other STEM undergraduates and graduates in the region, paired with conventional avenues including course curriculum development, lectures, seminars, and presentations at Auburn University, Tuskegee University, and local schools will be included to maximize the P3 sustainability principles and concepts. Most importantly, the two black females at Tuskegee University will coordinate the dissemination of project findings to the historically black, underserved communities in the Alabama Black Belt region. These outreach activities will profoundly enhance equity, equality, justice, and diversity by supplying safer and cleaner water to the underserved, low-income black communities that for many generations have lived in the Black Belt region in Alabama.
Objective:
Removing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from drinking water is recognized as one of the direst challenges, especially for these recalcitrant, short-chain C4–C6 PFAS. The proposed project aims to develop an innovative, highly-rewarding, while cost-effective and sustainable treatment platform to effectively destruct C4–C6 PFAS in water. The treatment platform is based on biochars produced from agricultural wastes (similar to activated carbons but are more energy- and cost-effective) to preconcentrate PFAS from water, followed by deep destruction and defluorination via hydrated electrons (eaq–) generated by ultraviolet (UV) radiation during advanced reduction process (ARP). Centering on the biochar-enabled UV/ARP platforms, the proposed project has three objectives: (1) synthesize, characterize, and select the best biochar-enabled platforms; (2) investigate the effects of water matrices on the destruction and defluorination of C4–C6 PFAS by the best biochar-enabled platforms; and (3) regenerate and reuse the biochar-enabled platforms for PFAS degradation to further lower down the treatment costs and achieve sustainability, while minimizing environmental footprint of the treatment platform. The project outcomes, which closely align with the EPA’s PFAS Strategic Plan,1 will provide us with a cost-effective, efficient, and sustainable destructive technique to combat PFAS pollution in water.
Expected Results:
The research outcomes will include peer-reviewed journal articles, conference presentations, and a manual for the operation of the biochar-enabled platform. Given that our current biochar-enabled platforms can degrade ~50% of C4 perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS) at a defluorination efficiency of ~30% in 1 mM NaCl (preliminary data), we propose a ~80% degradation efficiency in concert with a ~50% defluorination efficiency of different C4–C6 PFAS compounds in complex water matrices as a successful demonstration, since the biochar-enabled platforms will be optimized. The measures of success will also include numbers of peer-reviewed journal publications and attended conferences and seminars to disseminate the project findings to the public.
Supplemental Keywords:
Drinking water, short-chain PFAS, biochars, hydrated electrons, advanced reduction process, degradation, defluorination, and water treatment.The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.