Department Environmental Chemistry

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a vast and diverse class of contaminants, including several thousand registered compounds. They range from highly polar trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) to volatile fluorinated gases and hydrophobic polymeric substances. By comparison, the number of targeted substances included in monitoring efforts and regulatory limits are on the order of 20-70 substances. In our study of PFASs in wastewater treatment plants, for example, we found around 70% of the extractable organic fluorine mass that could not be accounted for by target analysis (Chow et al.). These unexplained fractions lead to an underestimation of the true environmental burden of PFASs.

Therefore, the overall aim of this project is to develop and apply a wide array of advanced analytical methods to identify, characterize and quantify understudied PFASs and help quantitatively close the mass gap between targeted and untargeted substances. Furthermore, we want to apply these methods to identify and quantify PFAS sources, their fate and transport into the environment. To this end, we seek collaboration with stakeholders interested in understanding these dynamics.