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Final Report: Rapid Field Trace Detection of Perfluoroalkyl Substance in Water

EPA Contract Number: 68HERD19C0010
Title: Rapid Field Trace Detection of Perfluoroalkyl Substance in Water
Investigators: Wang, Qingwu
Small Business: 2WiTech, LLC
EPA Contact: Richards, April
Phase: I
Project Period: May 1, 2019 through October 31, 2019
Project Amount: $100,000
RFA: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) - Phase I (2019) RFA Text |  Recipients Lists
Research Category: SBIR - Water Quality , Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) , Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR): Phase 1 (2019)

Description:

Due to increasing concerns over the long-term health effects of PFAS on the human body, regulatory agencies have set limits for the concentrations of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS) in drinking water. In 2016, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) established a lifetime health advisory (LHA) level of 70 parts per trillion (ppt) for individual or combined concentrations of PFOA and PFOS in drinking water. Currently lab-based PFOA and PFOS water tests cost $200 - $300 per sample with a turnaround time of 2-3 weeks. Hence, the development of low cost field trace detection and monitoring systems for PFOS and PFOA in water is highly necessary. In this EPA Phase I program, 2Wi Tech LLC developed a low-cost fieldable sensing technology for detecting trace amounts of PFOA and PFOS in water.

Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):

In this Phase I program, 2W iTech successfully developed a novel polymeric sensing film with sensitive binding sites specifically for PFOA molecules. A fabrication process for the PFOA sensor has been developed, and PFOA-binding sensors have been fabricated and evaluated. A detection limit of 10ppt was achieved for the trace detection of PFOA in a lab setting. During the sensing process, the signal of the sensor was measured optically using a UV-Vis spectrometer and correlated to the concentration of PFOA in water. This detection limit was obtained through measuring a calibration curve for a range of concentrations from 0 to 10,000ppt of PFOA in water.

Conclusions:

In Phase I, 2W iTech successfully demonstrated the feasibility of field analysis of Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) using a novel polymeric chip with specific binding sites for the target molecules. The developed polymer sensor has shown ultra-low detection limit of 10 ppt for PFOA in a lab setting. Not requiring any complicated instrumentation, this unique analytical technique utilizes a novel polymeric sensing film with high sensitivity and specificity to measure trace amount of fluorocarbons in aqueous solution. The proposed sensor offers the following advanced attributes: high sensitivity, high specificity, fast detection, ease of operation, low power consumption, zero chemical release, and low operation cost. In Phase II of this program, extensive sensor evaluation will be performed, including interference from other PFAS. If the sensor has sufficient specificity, it could be used in arrays of optical sensors in which each individual sensor can detect a different PFAS.
 
PFOA and PFOS are widely spread across the US with different concentrations in drinking water. The highest levels of polyfluorinated compounds (PFCs) were detected in watersheds near civilian airports, military fire training areas, industrial sites that produce or use PFCs, and water treatment plants. A study by a Harvard team in 2016 indicated PFCs were found in 194 out of 4864 public water supplies across 33 US states, serving 16.5 million people. 66 of these, serving 6 million people, were found to have PFOA and PFOS above the EPA Health Advisory Limit. Drinking water from 13 states accounted for 75% of the detections. An author of this study also emphasized that the actual number of people exposed may be even higher than what the study suggest, because government data for levels of these compounds in drinking water is lacking for almost a third of the U.S. population- about 100 million people.
 
The market size characteristics of an emerging space are difficult to estimate, but the available information points to a large and growing opportunity for PFAS remediation and detection. The DOD alone has estimated their liability at $20B over the next 20 years, and public awareness and news stories are driving demand for private lab testing (for example, for private well testing). Prices for sample analysis at private labs can be as high as $475. Most engineering consulting firms in the space are searching for new, efficient solutions that can be deployed in the field rather than sent back to the lab.
 
In Phase I of this program, we performed a commercialization assessment of the proposed technology. We interviewed industry experts and end users from environmental engineering consulting firms for PFAS contaminant investigation and remediation. The interviewees confirmed that the detection of PFAS compounds in the field is absolutely a big problem to solve and expressed tremendous interest in this technology because of the advantages it may bring. Their responses indicated that they currently send all samples back to a lab, which is time consuming and expensive and creates bottlenecks for fairly large projects. The proposed technology should be fieldable, fast (~ minutes vs two weeks for lab measurement), and much cheaper ($20 to $30 per sample vs $200 to $300 (up to $475) per sample for lab measurement) than the techniques currently on the market.
 
The market for PFAS detection and remediation is fragmented, emerging, and large, and there are good opportunities for new products that meet the right matrix of usability, detection limit, type of compounds detected, and cost. Many of the engineering consulting firms that offered feedback during commercialization assessment of this technology displayed high interest in detection technologies for many sectors. A strong commercialization strategy may be to codevelop or at least validate the subject technology with one (or more) of these environmental engineering consulting firms, both as end users and as a means to gain entry to other parts of the supply chain, e.g. companies that buy equipment and rent to engineering firms.

SBIR Phase II:

Rapid Field Trace Detection of Perfluoroalkyl Substance in Water  | Final Report

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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.

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