麻豆淫院

Rice University researchers, in collaboration with international partners, have developed the first eco-friendly technology to rapidly capture and destroy toxic "forever chemicals" (PFAS) in water. The findings, recently published in , mark a major step toward addressing one of the world's most persistent environmental threats.

The study was led by Youngkun Chung, a postdoctoral fellow under the mentorship of Michael S. Wong, a professor at Rice's George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing, and conducted in collaboration with Seoktae Kang, professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), and Keon-Ham Kim, professor at Pukyung National University in South Korea.

PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are synthetic chemicals first manufactured in the 1940s and used in products ranging from Teflon pans to waterproof clothing and food packaging. Their ability to resist heat, grease and water has made them valuable for industry and consumers. But that same resistance means they do not easily degrade, earning them the nickname "forever chemicals."

Today, PFAS are found in water, soil and air around the globe. Studies link them to liver damage, reproductive disorders, immune system disruption and certain cancers. Efforts to clean up PFAS have struggled because the chemicals are difficult to remove and destroy once released into the environment.

Limitations of current technology

Traditional PFAS cleanup methods typically rely on adsorption, where molecules cling to materials like activated carbon or ion-exchange resins. While these methods are widely used, they come with major drawbacks: low efficiency, slow performance, limited capacity and the creation of additional waste that requires disposal.

"Current methods for PFAS removal are too slow, inefficient and create secondary waste," said Wong, the Tina and Sunit Patel Professor in Molecular Nanotechnology and professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, chemistry and civil and environmental engineering. "Our new approach offers a sustainable and highly effective alternative."

A material with real-world promise

The Rice-led team's innovation centers on a layered double hydroxide (LDH) material made from copper and aluminum, first discovered by Kim as a graduate student at KAIST in 2021. While experimenting with these materials, Chung discovered that one formulation with nitrate could adsorb PFAS with record-breaking efficiency.

"To my astonishment, this LDH compound captured PFAS more than 1,000 times better than other materials," said Chung, a lead author of the study and now a fellow at Rice's WaTER (Water Technologies, Entrepreneurship and Research) Institute and Sustainability Institute. "It also worked incredibly fast, removing large amounts of PFAS within minutes, about 100 times faster than commercial carbon filters."

The material's effectiveness stems from its unique internal structure. Its organized copper-aluminum layers combined with slight charge imbalances create an ideal environment for PFAS molecules to bind with both speed and strength.

To test the technology's practicality, the team evaluated the LDH material in river water, tap water and wastewater. In all cases, it proved highly effective, performing well in both static and continuous-flow systems. The results suggest strong potential for large-scale applications in municipal water treatment and industrial cleanup.

Closing the loop: Capture and destroy

Removing PFAS from water is only part of the challenge. Destroying them safely is equally important. Working with Rice professors Pedro Alvarez and James Tour, Chung developed a method to thermally decompose PFAS captured on the LDH material. By heating the saturated material with calcium carbonate, the team eliminated more than half of the trapped PFAS without releasing toxic by-products. Remarkably, the process also regenerated the LDH, allowing it to be reused multiple times.

Preliminary studies showed the material could complete at least six full cycles of capture, destruction and renewal, making it the first known eco-friendly, sustainable system for PFAS removal.

"We are excited by the potential of this one-of-a-kind LDH-based technology to transform how PFAS-contaminated water sources are treated in the near future," Wong said. "It's the result of an extraordinary international collaboration and the creativity of young researchers."