Scientists at UC Riverside, led by Professor Haizhou Liu, have discovered a chemical process that could help water providers comply with new federal standards limiting per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in drinking water. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently set stringent limits on these harmful chemicals, prompting the need for effective cleanup solutions.
Liu's team found that high salt levels in wastewater, typically a hindrance in pollutant cleanup, can actually catalyze the breakdown of PFAS compounds when combined with short-wavelength ultraviolet light. This process effectively cleaves the strong fluorine-carbon bonds in PFAS, facilitating their destruction. This innovative method, detailed in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, builds on Liu’s 2022 discovery that PFAS can be eliminated through a one-step UV light treatment without leaving toxic residues.
Liu's discovery could benefit municipal and private water providers using ion exchange technology, which separates PFAS from water but generates brine waste concentrated with PFAS pollutants. Liu’s process can treat this brine waste, extending its applicability to other water treatment methods, such as reverse osmosis, and addressing PFAS pollution in landfill leachate, industrial wastewater and brackish groundwater.
