A New Hope: Today's Initiatives Against Forever Chemicals

Last month, The American Journal of Managed Care^® (AJMC^®) overviewed impactful policy initiatives that have altered the course of research on “forever chemicals” (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances [PFAS]), as well as those that have bolstered advocacy, awareness, and safety efforts related to PFAS pollution. The threats posed by PFAS-contaminated ecosystems, drinking water, food sources, products, packaging, and more have been a main concern of the Biden-Harris administration, who made clear their commitment—in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and others— to protecting citizens from the harmful health impacts of PFAS back in 2021.¹

Their dedication over the years makes sense considering the blossoming research that continually connects PFAS exposure with numerous health issues, including various cancers, puberty delays, metabolic alterations, immune deficiencies, among others.² One of the primary challenges of counteracting PFAS is the fact they do not degrade easily, which has contributed to the gradual buildup of these chemicals in human bodies and the surrounding environment.

As such, among the possibly panic-inducing headlines and literary conclusions, AJMC’s final installment in this series on PFAS will shed a more positive light on the situation, highlighting some of the present research and organizational efforts that are actively seeking to break down PFASs, rectify the damage they have caused, and restore natural purity to surrounding ecosystems for the betterment of public health.

The Process: Foam Fractionation

Foam fractionation has proven to be an effective method for separating PFAS from drinking water | image credit: Nattapol_Sritongcom - stock.adobe.com

“Foam fractionation is a well-studied topic for the removal and enrichment of surface-active substances from aqueous matrices and has been successfully demonstrated in numerous studies,” wrote We, et al, in a 2023 report.³ The way this process works is by using foam bubbles to trap hazardous surface active materials that accumulate at the bubbles’ surface, which are then effectively separated—from, for example, drinking water— as the foam drains away.⁴ This approach has garnered more and more attention not only due to its effectiveness but also its low-cost nature and simplicity.³ The practice itself dates back to the 1960s as a method for removing detergents from streams, which, as AJMC previously reported, harbored PFAS well before there were effective methods for PFAS measuring or testing.

The Spotlight: Crystal Clean, LLC

One of the largest PFAS fractionation projects to date took place earlier this year by Crystal-Clean LLC, a national environmental and waste management services company with headquarters in the Midwest.⁵ “We are enormously proud to be able to bring this solution to businesses seeking large scale PFAS remediation, addressing what is becoming one of the leading environmental issues of the century in an environmentally responsible way,” Brian Recatto, president and CEO of Crystal Clean, said in a statement.

Crystal Clean’s project employed what they refer to as their 4never solution, which begins with the on-site placement of a Surface Active Foam Fractional (SAFF; EPOC Enviro and Allonnia) unit to separate PFAS from an organization’s or business’ wastewater and dramatically reduce PFAS concentration. Once separated, PFAS concentration is transported to an offsite location to be destroyed. Over the course of 3 weeks, Crystal Clean’s project was able to successfully treat over 1.4 million gallons of water contaminated with PFAS. At present, “EPOC Enviro’s patented SAFF technology has now successfully remediated over 260 million gallons of PFAS impacted waters at more than thirty sites around the globe,” said Peter Murphy, president of EPOC Enviro, in a statement, adding, “having a proven and environmentally friendly method of managing PFAS has never been more relevant.”

Novel Developments: Microorganisms and More

In addition to foam fractionation, in 2023, Madjid Mohensi, PhD, professor of chemical, biological, and environmental engineering, University of British Columbia, and his team created a first-of-its-kind silica-based product capable of absorbing a multitude of PFAS in contaminated drinking water.⁶ This absorption can capture up to 99% of PFAS and, by scrubbing PFAS particles off of their absorbing media, can even be effectively reused to avoid the creation of yet another toxic piece of solid waste. After trapping PFAS in this material, photochemical and electrochemical approaches are utilized to essentially destroy the PFAS—all of which is further explored in a paper published in Chemosphere.⁷

Another exciting development comes out of Arizona State University (ASU) and leans on microorganisms to eliminate PFAS contamination.⁸ This effort, led by Bruce Rittmann, director, Biodesign Swette Center for Environmental Technology, built off of his invention of the membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR), which utilizes natural-occuring microorganisms to purify polluted water.

“In the MBfR, we are using hollow-fiber gas-transfer membranes. A hollow fiber is like a very tiny straw. And we use the straw to deliver hydrogen gas to microorganisms. As hydrogen is delivered on the inside of the straw, it diffuses through the wall. On the outside, a biofilm of microorganisms oxidizes the hydrogen,” which is when harmful pollutants are pulled out, he explained in a statement to ASU News. To modify this invention for the purposes of breaking down PFAS, Rittmann created a membrane catalyst film reactor (MCfR), which uses a film made with palladium-based nanoparticle catalysts rather than bacteria in its straw/membrane.

This distinction is imperative to the success of the MCfR, as palladium is known to influence the “knocking off” of fluorine atoms in PFAS—known as defluorination. In this process, Rittman explained, fluorine atoms that keep PFAS so strongly bonded together are replaced by hydrogen atoms, “which transforms a forever chemical into a biodegradable one,” the report noted. After this occurs, the contaminated water is transferred over to the MBfR, where various microorganisms await to consume the PFAS. The next steps in this initiative will include applying this technology/method on a larger scale, expanding its use out of the lab and into meaningful fieldwork.

If there is one takeaway from this series on PFAS, let it be this: these research initiatives, policy efforts, and expansions of knowledge come better late than never, and it is not time to hit the panic button on “forever chemicals” just yet.

References

1. Fact sheet: Biden-Harris administration launches plan to combat PFAS pollution. Whitehouse.gov. News Release. October 18, 2021. Accessed September 6, 2024. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/10/18/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-launches-plan-to-combat-pfas-pollution/

2. Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Updated May 3, 2024. Accessed September 6, 2024. https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/pfc#:~:text=What%20Are%20PFAS?,degrade%20easily%20in%20the%20environment

3. We ACE, Zamyadi A, Stickland AD, Clarke BO, Freguia S. A review of foam fractionation for the removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from aqueous matrices. J Hazard Mater. 2024;465:133182. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.133182

4. Hiraide M. Foam fractionation and flotation. Ency Anal Sci. 2005;2:195-201. doi:10.1016/B0-12-369397-7/00174-6

5. Crystal Clean executes one of the world’s largest PFAS fractionation projects for PFAS remediation in Midwestern United States. Crystal-Clean.com. July 22, 2024. Accessed September 9, 2024. https://www.crystal-clean.com/crystal-clean-4never-pfas-largest-fractionation-project/#:~:text=States%20%7C%20Crystal%20Clean-,Crystal%20Clean%20Executes%20One%20of%20the%20World's%20Largest%20PFAS%20Fractionation,Remediation%20in%20Midwestern%20United%20States

6. Wood J. Scientists have invented a method to break down ‘forever chemicals’ in our drinking water. Here’s how. World Economic Forum. Updated April 17, 2024. Accessed September 9, 2024. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2024/04/forever-chemicals-pfas-drinking-water/

7. Bosshart L. New UBC water treatment zaps ‘forever chemicals’ for good. UBC News. March 22, 2023. Accessed September 9, 2024. https://news.ubc.ca/2023/03/new-ubc-water-treatment-zaps-forever-chemicals-for-good/

8. Baker L. Removing ‘forever’ chemicals from drinking water. ASU News. March 21, 2023. Accessed September 9, 2024. https://news.asu.edu/20230321-discoveries-removing-forever-chemicals-drinking-water