Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are a class emerging contaminants that have been implicated in bladder cancer and other human health problems. Due to the widespread exposure to humans, persistence in the environment, and their negative effects on human health, we need to develop a treatment method to degrade these chemicals into harmless species. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, CโHFโโ Oโ) is one of the top representatives of PFCs commonly reported to be found in water sources, hence it was chosen as the model compound and focus in this project. We examined an iron-activated persulfate oxidation (IAPO) method to decompose aqueous PFOA, and tested the reaction under various conditions, including: oxic, anoxic, and anoxic/dark conditions. We observed ๐๐. 64% of PFOA (beginning with solution phase concentration fo ๐๐. 1.64*10โปโถ mol Lโปยน) was transformed after four hours under anoxic conditions. This was about seven times higher than measured under oxic conditions, and about five times higher than anoxic/dark conditions. Therefore, we concluded that IAPO can decompose PFOA at 25 ยฐC, the ambient condition temperature. This method can potentially be used as an inexpensive and environmentally-friendly PFOA remediation method, with potential application to other PFCs in groundwater and soil. In addition, this method may be applicable for surface water sources such as potable water reservoirs, waste water effluent, and extracted groundwater.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/621559 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Tran, Thien, Tran, Thien |
| Contributors | Chorover, Jon, Brusseau, Mark, Abrell, Leif |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Electronic Thesis |
| Rights | Copyright ยฉ is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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