Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) associated with cancer are polluting our drinking water, endangering marine wildlife, and causing some health problems that are not yet fully understood. The lack of effective methods for removing them currently poses a significant environmental challenge.
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03-04, 2025However, two independent international teams of scientists now claim they have found an effective method to break down these so-called "forever chemicals" into harmless products, such as carbon and salt. This groundbreaking discovery offers new hope for addressing PFAS pollution.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are dubbed "forever chemicals" due to their strong carbon-fluorine bonds, which nothing in nature can break. Because of their heat resistance, water resistance, stain resistance, and oil resistance, PFAS have been used in industrial equipment in Australia and overseas for decades. In recent years, however, PFAS have come under increasing scrutiny as their health effects have become more apparent. Studies have shown that these chemicals are linked to elevated cholesterol levels, disruption of human hormones, impaired fertility, and an increased risk of certain cancers.
While some recycling methods are emerging, they often require strong chemicals or extremely high temperatures, which limits their application on a commercial scale. Currently, a research team from China says they have found a way to break down PFAS using a photoactivated catalyst. The catalyst absorbs light and uses this energy to break the carbon-fluorine bonds at temperatures similar to those used to operate a washing machine (40 to 60 degrees Celsius). When this method is used to treat the PFAS polytetrafluoroethylene, it breaks down into carbon and fluoride salts. The researchers also successfully broke down perfluorocarbons, perfluorooctane sulfonate, and perfluorooctanoic acid into carbonates, formates, oxalates, and trifluoroacetates, which can be safely recycled as salts.
In another independent study, researchers from Colorado State University in the United States experimented with a different light-absorbing catalyst. When used in conjunction with fluoride, this blue light-absorbing catalyst was also found to effectively break down PFAS. Scientists say their method uses readily available chemicals and has the potential for large-scale use. The results of both studies have been published in today's issue of the science journal *Nature*.
