Scientists Reveal New Technique for Destroying ‘Forever Chemicals’

Researchers have found a way to break down per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are widely known as “forever chemicals,” using a pair of easy-to-find chemicals.

The researchers shared their findings in a Science article(Opens in a new window) published on Aug. 18. The paper’s lead author, Brittany Trang, has also explained the fundamentals of the research on Twitter:

Tweet(Opens in a new window)

Trang and her co-authors—Yuli Li, Xiao-Song Xue, Mohamed Ateia, K. N. Houk, and William Dichtel—start the paper by explaining why it’s so important to find a way to break down PFAS, which are used in everything from non-stick coating to firefighting foam, safely and efficiently.

“As a result of their widespread global use, environmental persistence, and bioaccumulation,” the researchers say in the paper’s abstract, “PFAS contamination is pervasive and affects drinking water, surface waters, livestock, and agricultural products around the world.”

That’s a problem because “chronic exposure to even low levels of these compounds is associated with negative health effects such as thyroid disease, liver damage, high cholesterol, reduced immune responses, low birth weights, and several cancers,” the researchers say.

The researchers discovered that a combination of sodium hydroxide and dimethyl sulfoxide, both of which are relatively easy to procure, was able to destroy these so-called forever chemicals when they were heated between 175-250 degrees Fahrenheit (79-121 degrees Celsius).

This isn’t the only way to destroy PFAS, but it might be the best scientists have discovered to date. Shira Joudan and Rylan Lundgren say in a separate article(Opens in a new window) in Science that existing methods “require substantial energy input and are usually expensive to operate.” This doesn’t.

“Trang et al. provide insight into how these seemingly robust compounds can undergo nearly complete decomposition under unexpectedly mild conditions,” they say. “Hopefully, the fundamental findings of Trang et al. can be coupled with efficient capture of PFAS from contaminated environmental sites to provide a possible solution to the forever chemical problem.”