Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or ‘endless chemicals’, are called substances that contain thousands of chemicals because they can stay in the human body and the environment for a very long time. These chemicals, which can be found in many items in our daily lives, from Teflon pans to dental floss, in the food we eat and even in the water we drink, can cause liver damage, thyroid disease, cancer and many other serious health problems, according to the European Environment Agency.
Studies are carried out on these substances, which we call ‘endless chemicals’, which can have terrible consequences. Now, scientists have announced that they may have found a way to destroy these chemicals in a cost-effective and safe way. The study findings were published Thursday in the journal Science.
Researchers managed to break the bond in PFAS molecules with a mixture
What these substances have in common is that they have a carbon-fluorine bond, which is one of the strongest bonds in organic chemistry. While this works well for things like giving PFASs the ‘non-stick’ property to kitchen utensils, it can also be detrimental to human health. Researchers have been working for many years to find a way to destroy the carbon-fluorine bond of these materials, which can remain in soil and water for years because they are very molecularly stable. New research has revealed that this may finally happen.
Chemists from the University of California (UCLA), Northwestern University, and China have discovered that a mixture of sodium hydroxide, used in many different places from paper to soap, and dimethyl sulfoxide, an organic solvent, can be used for PFASs. The researchers stated that this mixture can break down perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs), a large subgroup of PFASs.
Brittany Trang, one of the authors of the study, stated that they observed that the bond in the PFAS molecules broke when the mixture was heated at 79 to 121 degrees Celsius. It was even stated that the mixture could even form completely harmless molecules after a few days. It was noted that this occurs as a result of sodium hydroxide binding with PFAS molecules after dimethyl sulfoxide accelerates the softening and degradation time.
‘Infinite chemicals’ around the world
One of the authors Prof. William Dichtel stated that they need to do more research before the solution is carried out of the laboratory. Of course, the size of a PFAS problem is also an issue that should not be ignored. It is estimated that 50,000 tons of these chemicals enter the atmosphere every year.
Also, other studies show that all rainwater on the planet contains PFAS and should not be drunk. As you can see, these substances can be found almost everywhere. Still, the findings are exciting as they may help find other ways to eradicate PFAS.
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