Scientists Find Simple, Safe Way To Destroy 'Forever Chemicals'

"Forever chemicals" used in daily items like nonstick pans have been linked to serious health issues –- due to their toxicity and resistance to being broken down as waste products.

Photo Insert: PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, were developed in the 1940s and are now found in nonstick pans, water-resistant textiles, and fire suppression foams.

Chemists in the United States and China on Thursday said they had finally found a breakthrough method to degrade these polluting compounds, referred to as PFAS, using relatively low temperatures and common reagents.

Their results were published in the journal Science, potentially offering a solution to a source of harm to the environment, livestock, and humans.

"It really is why I do science -- so that I can have a positive impact on the world," senior author William Dichtel of Northwestern University told reporters during a news conference, Issam Ahmed reported for Agence France-Presse (AFP).

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, were developed in the 1940s and are now found in nonstick pans, water-resistant textiles, and fire suppression foams. PFAS molecules contain long chains of bonds, but the research team was able to identify a weakness common to a certain class of PFAS.

At one end of the molecule, there is a group of charged oxygen atoms that can be targeted using a common solvent and reagent at temperatures of 80-120 degrees Celsius, decapitating the head group and leaving behind a reactive tail.

"Once that happens, that provides access to previously unrecognized pathways that cause the entire molecule to fall apart in a cascade of complex reactions," said Dichtel, ultimately making benign end products.

A second part of the study involved using powerful computational methods to map out the quantum mechanics behind the chemical reactions the team performed to destroy the molecules.

The current study focused on 10 PFAS chemicals including a major pollutant called GenX, which for example has contaminated the Cape Fear River in North Carolina, a water source for 350,000 people. But it represents just the tip of the iceberg, since the US Environmental Protection Agency has identified more than 12,000 PFAS chemicals.

"There are other classes that don't have the same Achilles' heel, but each one will have its own weakness," said Dichtel in a statement. "If we can identify it, then we know how to activate it to destroy it."

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