Destruction of forever chemicals in water using chemical-free water treatment system

ongoing

To date, more than 150,000 sites have been identified across Europe and US contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as forever chemicals due to their extreme persistency in our environment and bodies. Exposure to PFAS is associated with multiple health risks, such as thyroid disease, infertility, cancer, and immunotoxicity. There is an increasing regulatory and social pressure to address PFAS pollution in water, and at the same time, pronounced lack of technologies that can degrade PFAS in water in a sustainable manner. FOREVER-WATER project aims to provide a solution to this major challenge by development and on-site validation of graphene-enabled electrochemical treatment systems. It builds upon the achievements made by ICRA on the development and application of graphene sponge electrodes for PFAS destruction in water. Furthermore, it relies on the expertise of IKTS to improve the material synthesis scalability and current distribution by developing silicon carbide templates tailored for the electrode production. System-integrated pilot scale units will be validated on-site with the help of industrial and technological partners in different test beds for the treatment of PFAS-contaminated water of varying characteristics, from groundwater to more challenging streams such as landfill leachate and industrial, PFAS-laden semiconductor wastewater. FOREVER-WATER will also include continuous techno-economic assessment, life cycle assessment, and benchmarking against commercially available technologies. End user validated business plan and market analysis will lay the groundwork for the creation of a spin-off company. Technology validation and demonstration of its robustness, efficiency and adequacy for the intended applications will enable translation of the research into innovation and commercialization of graphene-enabled electrochemical water treatment systems as a solution for water pollution by forever chemicals.