Rapid Removal of Poly- and Perfluorinated Alkyl Substances by Poly(ethylenimine)-Functionalized Cellulose Microcrystals at Environmentally Relevant Conditions

By Mohamed Ateia, M. Attia, A. Maroli, N. Tharayil, F. Alexis, Daniel. C. Whitehead, T. Karanfil. Environmental Science and Technology Letters, 2018

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Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are ubiquitous in many consumer products and present serious environmental challenges due to their persistent nature. Currently, conventional water treatment methods fail to remove PFAS, and other newly proposed materials/techniques face challenges when employed under realistic conditions. This study reports on poly(ethylenimine)-functionalized cellulose microcrystals (PEI-f-CMC) that showed a near-instant and high removal of PFAS under concentrations relevant to their actual occurrence in the natural environment (i.e., <1000 ng/L). The selective removal efficiency of 22 PFAS from different classes (i.e., legacy carboxylic and sulfonated PFAS, emerging carboxylic and sulfonated PFAS, and PFAS-precursors) using PEI-f-CMC was confirmed in lake water as well as solutions codosed with two additional types of natural organic matter. The performance of PEI-f-CMC was maintained in eight consecutive adsorption/regeneration cycles to remove PFAS. The PEI-f-CMC with its un...

Subfields: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics, Environmental Chemistry, Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

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