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The “forever chemicals” poisoning our environment can be cleaned up using LED light at room temperature. It’s nice when the experts announce that they have a quick, cheap and easy solution to some nightmare challenge. That doesn’t happen often. Usually the price tag and complexity turns out to be worse than the problem. Plastic waste for example. Recycling was supposed to be the answer but is actually impossible in the real world.
LED light breakthrough
Thanks to a startling breakthrough in LED light research, forever, it seems, has become a relative term. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are commonly called “forever chemicals.”
That’s because the PFAS molecules “are notorious for their persistence in the environment and human body, making them incredibly difficult to eliminate.” Until now.
Environmental scientists and health experts have been screaming at the top of their lungs that these pollutants simply must be cleaned up because it’s a threat to human reproduction, along with many other species. “A recent study from Japan suggests a potential breakthrough.”
Low-Cost Method to Decompose PFAS Using LED Light and Semiconductor Nanocrystals https://t.co/QED1d1Z8g4
— Winson Tang (@winsontang) July 29, 2024
The idea isn’t that new but the low power requirement is. LED light is much less intense than the lights used to sterilize medical clinics and hospitals. That allows for the cleanup of PFAS substances at room temperature using minimal power.
Researchers at Ritsumeikan University in Japan came up with the idea. Their “intriguing” experiment shows exactly how effective LED light is at breaking the molecular PFAS chains.
They studied “a combination of cadmium sulfide nanocrystals, triethanolamine, and water” which they used to “create a reaction mixture.” They picked perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) to use in their test, adding some to the chemical soup they had whipped up. Then, they turned on the lights.
A photocatalytic reaction
The mixture was exposed to LED light outputting photons with a 405 nanometer wavelength. The system was “operating at a temperature of approximately 100 degrees Fahrenheit.” The goal, researchers explain, “was to initiate a photocatalytic reaction.”
Their theory predicted that the process would “break down and separate the fluorine ions present in the PFAS compounds.” It worked.
The team was amazed to report results literally overnight. The process can “effectively remove these pollutants within just eight hours.” Not just any shade of light will do.
A #newmethod to break down perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) using visible LED light offers a promising solution for #sustainable fluorine #recycling and PFAS treatment: https://t.co/w8cpvhIDUw#Japan #PFAS #research #Chemicals #news25 pic.twitter.com/6UwfmbqJKI
— ecohubmap (@ecohubmapcom) July 25, 2024
Only when exposed to the specific wavelength they chose, “the chemical mixture begins to decompose the fluorine bonds in the PFAS. This breakdown separates the harmful components of the forever chemicals and facilitates their removal.”
Adding an extra bonus, “some of the freed fluorine ions could be repurposed for industrial applications, potentially reducing waste and furthering the utility of the process.” Too bad plastic can’t be broken down with light.
The new technology can be expected to be in use soon. The PFAS pollution is out of control. The chemicals “are commonly used in various products, including water-repellent fabrics, non-stick cookware, and firefighting foams.“
