PFAS have become a problem that has contaminated water supplies and soil across the country. These man-made, compounds are in materials we use every day such as non-stick cookware, stain resistant clothing and carpeting, shampoos and even pizza boxes. These compounds have been linked to health concerns such as cancer, thyroid issues and problems with growth and development in children. They have been coined “forever chemicals,” because they have a very strong bond between their carbon and fluorine atoms, which is very difficult to break down and does not biodegrade. It’s one of the strongest bonds known in chemistry. While PFAS can be filtered out of water using activated carbon or ion exchange, this just traps them, leaving behind a waste that will need to be disposed of by incineration, or the problem can continue to go in circles. Scientists and researchers are working on ways to break the carbon-fluorine bond to destroy PFAS.
Researchers at Princeton University are working with a bacterium that has been found in New Jersey’s wetlands and soils. It is called “acidimicrobium strain A6” or just “A6” for short. This bacterium is unusual from others as it lives off of ammonium and iron. A6 has similar characteristics as microbes that researchers have used to break down other harmful chemicals in previous studies, so they tried it with A6 and 20 different PFAS compounds. The bacterium was placed in soil samples contaminated with the compounds and left for different time periods. A6 was able to remove 60% of the contaminant from the soil, and made a meal out of all 20 PFAS compounds.
The problem with A6 is it thrives in iron-rich soils, but they are not as happy in other conditions. Having the bacteria introduced in certain areas could be unsuccessful and the ideal environment may need to be created. This could possibly be done with buried electrodes, which will create energy for the bacterium. Researchers are also working on ways A6 can be kept in chambers and used to digest PFAS left behind on water filtration media.
There is still research to be done on these little guys, and it will take time to develop a way that A6 can be used in treatment on a large scale. Meanwhile, there are researchers and scientists across the country working on other ways to break the carbon-fluorine bond in PFAS. Including using plasma to activate and break the atoms, or adding metal-containing compounds and ultraviolet radiation. With some determined teams on our side, we are bound to find the solution to the PFAS problem in our country.
