For nearly a decade, researchers have worked towards eliminating the “forever chemicals” known as PFAS. Now, a University of Missouri professor might have found a simple and inexpensive solution.
PFAS are industrial chemicals found in many consumer products including carpeting, non-stick cookware and clothing. They can last for hundreds or even thousands of years. Exposure to PFAs can result in increased health risks, such as fertility issues, slowed child development and cancer.
But PFAs are found in more than consumer products. At least 45% of the nation’s tap water is estimated to have PFAs, according to the United States Geological Survey.
And removing “forever chemicals” is expensive. The EPA announced last April new regulations to reduce PFAS in drinking water, which are estimated to cost $1.5 billion a year to implement.
But University of Missouri associate professor of engineering Frank Xiao and his team believe they’ve found a partial solution that’s simple and inexpensive. The key is a combination of heat and GAC, a carbon-rich material which is composed of granules of coal, wood or other materials that have been heated.
When Xiao and his team heated PFAs with GAC, they achieved a 90% mineralization of the forever chemicals.
“I’m not gonna say fully solved the problem of PFAs,” Xiao says. “But we’re close.”
Compared to other methods of eliminating PFAs, Xiao’s process is fairly inexpensive. Consumers already use GAC to filter drinking water, and it can be purchased for just a few dollars per pound.
Xiao says this process can be used on an industrial or individual scale.
Through this method, PFAs are broken down into inorganic fluorine, which can still be toxic to the human body. However, Xiao says fluorine is easier to control and break down compared to PFAS.
Xiao says it’s now up to the EPA to recommend the use of GAC to eliminate PFAS.
