A world without PFAS: How to destroy and replace 'forever chemicals' | Euronews Tech Talks

Some stories and dynamics look to repetition themselves passim history.

In 2005, nan European Union (EU) banned each forms of asbestos successful goods, whether produced wrong its borders aliases imported.

Asbestos is simply a group of people occurring mineral fibres erstwhile wide utilized successful nan building manufacture for their strength, power resistance, durability, and comparatively debased cost.

Despite these advantages, asbestos has been classified arsenic a quality carcinogen by nan International Agency for Research connected Cancer, arsenic vulnerability tin origin crab of nan lungs, larynx, ovaries and mesothelioma. 

Following nan ban, remediation measures were introduced to trim nan hazards of existing asbestos aliases dispose of it successful due landfill facilities.

New alternatives to nan mineral were developed, allowing building to proceed utilizing safer materials.

Synthetic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), besides known arsenic ‘forever chemicals,’ are rather different from asbestos, but their stories stock immoderate similarities: some were weighted business materials, some airs wellness risks, and some require master remediation to avoid, aliases astatine slightest reduce, contamination. 

It’s still chartless whether PFAS will yet travel asbestos successful being prohibited successful nan EU. But 1 point is certain: citizens are already moving connected ways to destruct PFAS and create safer alternatives. 

In this section of Euronews Tech Talks, we speak pinch immoderate of them: Fajer Mushtaq, CEO and co-founder of Oxyle; Miika Nikinmaa, task head astatine ZeroF; and Diana Lau, 1 of ZeroF’s task leaders.

Getting free of PFAS from wastewater: The acquisition of Oxyle

Oxyle is simply a Zurich-based h2o curen start-up processing solutions to depollute wastewater contaminated by PFAS.

The institution was founded successful 2020 by Fajer Mushtaq and Silvan Staufert, and successful January of this year, it raised complete €15 cardinal to further create its technology, which  captures and destroys PFAS.

Specifically, Oxyle uses a three-step approach. To statesman with, a instrumentality called OxFoam uses foam fractionation to abstracted PFAS from ample volumes of water. By injecting aerial bubbles into contaminated water, PFAS connect to nan bubbles, emergence to nan aboveground arsenic foam, and tin past beryllium easy removed. 

Next comes Oxlight, a curen that breaks nan unbreakable carbon-fluorine bonds successful PFAS molecules utilizing a chemic guidance driven by light. 

And finally, location is OxSignal, which provides continuous monitoring of nan PFAS attraction successful water. 

According to Mushtaq, these technologies are a cardinal logic for Oxyle’s accelerated popularity.

“We don't conscionable dainty nan agelong and mean chains that galore different technologies tin treat. We spell aft specifically for nan compounds of PFAS that nary 1 other tin dainty today,” she told Euronews Next.

PFAS are, successful fact, a group of much than 10,000 chemicals. Depending connected their characteristics, they tin beryllium classified arsenic long, medium, aliases short-chained, nan second being nan astir difficult to eliminate.

In addition, Mushtaq believes that her company’s expertise to connection client-based solutions, processing personalised approaches to handling contamination, sets Oxyle apart.

Still, she noted that while Oxyle has managed to unafraid backing to reside PFAS, galore water-protection start-ups proceed to struggle to get nan financial support needed to tackle nan problem astatine scale.

Beyond PFAS: The ZeroF project

Like asbestos erstwhile was, PFAS are wide successful our regular lives, commonly recovered successful products specified arsenic nutrient packaging and upholstery textiles.

The task ZeroF intends to alteration this move by uncovering safer materials to switch PFAS successful these 2 applications. Co-funded by nan EU and nan Swiss Secretariat for Education, Research, and Innovation, ZeroF brings together 12 partners from 9 different countries to create technologies that trim reliance connected PFAS.

For nutrient packaging, nan task is utilizing cellulose, applying modifications to summation its lipid and h2o resistance. For textiles, researchers are exploring organically modified ceramics (Ormocers), which harvester nan durability of ceramics pinch nan elasticity of polymers.

“It’s rather a large situation aliases a awesome situation to create PFAS-free coatings pinch really a comparable performance,” Diana Lau, task leader moving connected nan textile branch of ZeroF, told Euronews Next. Lau explained that it’s difficult to replicate nan aggregate characteristics, specified arsenic lipid and h2o repellence, provided by nan carbon-fluorine enslaved successful PFAS. “We cannot only alteration a azygous atom to execute comparable performance,” she continued. 

The ZeroF task is now successful its last stages, and nan technologies it projected stay astatine a preliminary level, arsenic nan task was chiefly a investigation and invention initiative. Nevertheless, according to its coordinator, Miika Nikinmaa, nan results are promising.

He explained that nan costs of accumulation for alternatives to PFAS will beryllium very company- and sector-specific. 

Alternatives to PFAS could win only if they connection further benefits, he told Euronews Next.

In summation to replacing PFAS, we person to supply different properties. The materials must beryllium recyclable and meet caller demands,” he said.