Effect of granular activated carbon and other porous materials on thermal decomposition of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances: Mechanisms and implications for water purification

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Presence, Pathways, and Cycling through Drinking Water and Wastewater Treatment

“…Gagliano et al (2021) reported that microwave irradiation was promising as an alternative thermal regeneration technique for PFAS-saturated GAC with reduced treatment times compared to conventional thermal regeneration. Sasi et al (2021) demonstrated that low-temperature thermal PFAS decomposition was accelerated by and pathways were altered in the presence of GAC or other highly porous materials. Interestingly, the porosity of GAC was found to be more influential to PFAS decomposition than the character of its polyaromatic surface.…”

An Overview of the Formation of PFOA and PFOS in Drinking-Water and Wastewater Treatment Processes

“…Spent or exhausted GAC can be thermally reactivated or regenerated, where the carbon is heated with inert gases (e.g., N 2 ), CO 2 , or steam (Marsh and Rodríguez-Reinoso 2006). Heating PFAS-laden GAC at high temperatures (≥ 500 o C) is highly effective for decomposition of PFAS, including PFOA and PFOS (Duchesne et al 2020;Sasi et al 2021;Watanabe et al 2018;Xiao et al 2020). However, at low temperature conditions (< 400 o C), PFAS can transform to shorter-chained homologues or other PFAS species (Sasi et al 2021;Xiao et al 2021).…”

“…Heating PFAS-laden GAC at high temperatures (≥ 500 o C) is highly effective for decomposition of PFAS, including PFOA and PFOS (Duchesne et al 2020;Sasi et al 2021;Watanabe et al 2018;Xiao et al 2020). However, at low temperature conditions (< 400 o C), PFAS can transform to shorter-chained homologues or other PFAS species (Sasi et al 2021;Xiao et al 2021).…”

“…Conversely, although the thermal treatment holds promise for degradation of PFAS chemicals and reactivation of PFAS-laden GAC (Duchesne et al 2020;Sasi et al 2021;Watanabe et al 2018;Xiao et al 2020), carbon loss, energy cost, and volatile decomposition products of PFAS are potential concerns. Further studies are suggested to investigate alternative reactivation methods, such as chemical (Huling et al 2005) or electrochemical (Karimi-Jashni and Narbaitz 2005) approaches, for PFAS-spent GAC.…”

Validation of supercritical water oxidation to destroy perfluoroalkyl acids

“…Multiple studies related to the thermolysis of specific PFAS adsorbed to, or studied as, solid matrices provide compelling data of at least partial defluorination/ decomposition of PFAS (Ellis et al, 2001;Krusic et al, 2005;Krusic & Roe, 2004;Matula, 1968;Tsang et al, 1998;Yamada & Taylor, 2003;Yamada et al, 2005). Recent research has evaluated the efficacy of thermal treatment as it pertains to the reactivation of activated carbon (Sasi et al, 2021;Sonmez Baghirzade et al, 2021;Watanabe et al, 2018;F. Xiao et al, 2020).…”