Effect of different co-foaming agents on PFAS removal from the environment by foam fractionation.

Buckley, T; Karanam, K; Han, H; Vo, HNP; Shukla, P; Firouzi, M; Rudolph, V

Effect of different co-foaming agents on PFAS removal from the environment by foam fractionation.

Buckley, T Karanam, K Han, H Vo, HNP Shukla, P Firouzi, M Rudolph, V

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Publisher:: PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Water Res, 2023, 230, pp. 119532
Issue Date:: 2023-02-15

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Buckley, T
dc.contributor.author	Karanam, K
dc.contributor.author	Han, H
dc.contributor.author	Vo, HNP
dc.contributor.author	Shukla, P
dc.contributor.author	Firouzi, M
dc.contributor.author	Rudolph, V
dc.date.accessioned	2024-03-19T04:29:57Z
dc.date.available	2022-12-23
dc.date.available	2024-03-19T04:29:57Z
dc.date.issued	2023-02-15
dc.identifier.citation	Water Res, 2023, 230, pp. 119532
dc.identifier.issn	0043-1354
dc.identifier.issn	1879-2448
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/176918
dc.description.abstract	Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are recalcitrant, synthetic chemicals that are ubiquitous in the environment because of their widespread use in a variety of consumer and industrial products. PFAS contamination has become an increasing issue in recent years, which needs to be urgently addressed. Foam fractionation is emerging as a potential remediation option that removes PFAS by adsorption to the surface of rising air bubbles which are removed from the system as a foam. PFAS concentrations in the environment are often not sufficient to allow for formation of a foam by itself and often a co-foaming agent is required to be added to enhance the foamability of the solution. In this study, the effect of different classes of co-foaming agents, anionic, non-ionic, zwitterionic and cationic surfactants on the removal of PFAS with varying fluorocarbon chain length from 3 to 8 in a foam fractionation process have been investigated. Evaluation of the air-water interface partitioning coefficient (k') in addition with surface tension and PFAS removal results support the contention that using a co-foaming agent with the opposite charge to the PFAS in question significantly facilitates the adsorption of PFAS to the air-water interface, enhancing the efficiency of the process. Using the non-ionic surfactant (no headgroup electrostatic interaction with PFAS), as a reference, it was observed, in terms of PFAS separation and rate of PFAS removal, that anionic co-surfactant performed worst, zwitterionic was better, and cationic co-surfactant performed best. All of the PFAS species were able to be removed below the limit of detection (0.05 µg/L) after 45 minutes of foaming time with the cationic surfactant.
dc.format	Print-Electronic
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
dc.relation.ispartof	Water Res
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.watres.2022.119532
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
dc.subject.classification	Environmental Engineering
dc.subject.mesh	Surface-Active Agents
dc.subject.mesh	Adsorption
dc.subject.mesh	Fluorocarbons
dc.subject.mesh	Water
dc.subject.mesh	Static Electricity
dc.subject.mesh	Water
dc.subject.mesh	Fluorocarbons
dc.subject.mesh	Surface-Active Agents
dc.subject.mesh	Adsorption
dc.subject.mesh	Static Electricity
dc.subject.mesh	Surface-Active Agents
dc.subject.mesh	Adsorption
dc.subject.mesh	Fluorocarbons
dc.subject.mesh	Water
dc.subject.mesh	Static Electricity
dc.title	Effect of different co-foaming agents on PFAS removal from the environment by foam fractionation.
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	230
utslib.location.activity	England
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Strength - C3 - Climate Change Cluster
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access	*
dc.date.updated	2024-03-19T04:29:55Z
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	230

Abstract:

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are recalcitrant, synthetic chemicals that are ubiquitous in the environment because of their widespread use in a variety of consumer and industrial products. PFAS contamination has become an increasing issue in recent years, which needs to be urgently addressed. Foam fractionation is emerging as a potential remediation option that removes PFAS by adsorption to the surface of rising air bubbles which are removed from the system as a foam. PFAS concentrations in the environment are often not sufficient to allow for formation of a foam by itself and often a co-foaming agent is required to be added to enhance the foamability of the solution. In this study, the effect of different classes of co-foaming agents, anionic, non-ionic, zwitterionic and cationic surfactants on the removal of PFAS with varying fluorocarbon chain length from 3 to 8 in a foam fractionation process have been investigated. Evaluation of the air-water interface partitioning coefficient (k') in addition with surface tension and PFAS removal results support the contention that using a co-foaming agent with the opposite charge to the PFAS in question significantly facilitates the adsorption of PFAS to the air-water interface, enhancing the efficiency of the process. Using the non-ionic surfactant (no headgroup electrostatic interaction with PFAS), as a reference, it was observed, in terms of PFAS separation and rate of PFAS removal, that anionic co-surfactant performed worst, zwitterionic was better, and cationic co-surfactant performed best. All of the PFAS species were able to be removed below the limit of detection (0.05 µg/L) after 45 minutes of foaming time with the cationic surfactant.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/176918