Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID PA_2023_Saha

Defluorination of PFAS by iron/carbon/nanofiber composites under UVC light

Institute: Pennsylvania
Year Established: 2023 Start Date: 2023-09-01 End Date: 2024-08-31
Total Federal Funds: $25,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $25,065

Principal Investigators: Dipendu Saha

Project Summary: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are the next generation of emerging pollutants of water that have contaminated the water streams across the nation, including Pennsylvania. PFAS is completely anthropogenic, and it does not occur naturally in environment. PFAS is referred to as the “forever chemicals” as it does not degrade naturally in the environment. PFAS can be bioaccumulated in human body by direct or passive exposure causing different types of serious illnesses. Seventeen cities of Pennsylvania have been affected with PFAS and in some areas, the PFAS concentration is orders of magnitude higher than the regulatory limit. Despite granular activated carbon (GAC) has been proven to be effective in removing PFAS from water, it possesses the drawbacks of regeneration and causing secondary pollution while disposing the carbon after reaching the saturation level. The proposed research will develop electrospun nanofiber composite with carbon and iron (Fe3+) that will degrade the PFAS under UVC light in several cycles without any need of regeneration. The objectives of the project include Fabrication of iron (Fe3+)/carbon/nanofiber composites by Electrospinning followed by their materials characterizations and study the degradation characteristics of multiple types of PFAS molecules in fresh water sources. Overall novelty of the proposed research is the reusability of the composite matrix without any need of regeneration, flexible removal media that can be used as both filtration media and coating, and overall sustainability. Overall, the proposed research will establish a new direction of PFAS removal from fresh water.