Iron-activated persulfate oxidation degrades aqueous Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) at ambient temperature

Thien Tran; Leif Abrell; Mark L Brusseau; Jon Chorover

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130824

Iron-activated persulfate oxidation degrades aqueous Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) at ambient temperature

Chemosphere. 2021 Oct:281:130824. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130824. Epub 2021 May 18.

Authors

Thien Tran¹, Leif Abrell², Mark L Brusseau³, Jon Chorover⁴

Affiliations

¹ Arizona Laboratory for Emerging Contaminants, The University of Arizona, Gould-Simpson Building #828 & 848, 1040 East 4th Street, Tucson, AZ, 85721, United States; Department of Environmental Science, The University of Arizona, 1177 E. 4th Street, P.O. Box 210038, Tucson, AZ, 85721, United States. Electronic address: tt26@email.arizona.edu.
² Arizona Laboratory for Emerging Contaminants, The University of Arizona, Gould-Simpson Building #828 & 848, 1040 East 4th Street, Tucson, AZ, 85721, United States; Department of Environmental Science, The University of Arizona, 1177 E. 4th Street, P.O. Box 210038, Tucson, AZ, 85721, United States. Electronic address: abrell@email.arizona.edu.
³ Department of Environmental Science, The University of Arizona, 1177 E. 4th Street, P.O. Box 210038, Tucson, AZ, 85721, United States. Electronic address: brusseau@email.arizona.edu.
⁴ Arizona Laboratory for Emerging Contaminants, The University of Arizona, Gould-Simpson Building #828 & 848, 1040 East 4th Street, Tucson, AZ, 85721, United States; Department of Environmental Science, The University of Arizona, 1177 E. 4th Street, P.O. Box 210038, Tucson, AZ, 85721, United States. Electronic address: chorover@arizona.edu.

PMID: 34044301
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130824

Abstract

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, C₈HF₁₅O₂) is an industrial surfactant that is highly resistant to natural breakdown processes such as those mediated by heat, hydrolysis, photolysis, and biodegradation. Many efforts have been developed to breakdown PFOA to less harmful species due to its widespread human exposure and potential toxicity. However, these methods require high temperature or specialized equipment with serious disadvantages of high energy cost for long-term use. We investigated the effectiveness of PFOA degradation by ferrous iron-activated persulfate oxidation (IAPO) under various aqueous geochemical conditions. Approximately 64% of PFOA (initial concentration = 1.64 μmol L^-1) was degraded after 4 h under illuminated anoxic conditions at ambient temperature. This degradation rate and magnitude support the potential use of IAPO as a novel inexpensive and environmentally friendly method to remediate PFOA in soil and groundwater.

Keywords: Emerging contaminants; Environmental remediation; Ferric oxide; Mass spectrometry; PFAS; Perfluorinated compounds.

MeSH terms

Caprylates
Fluorocarbons*
Humans
Iron*
Temperature

Substances

Caprylates
Fluorocarbons
perfluorooctanoic acid
Iron