New trials say that the adsorbent media developed by Puraffinity, a London-based science materials company, can perform better at treating GenX than current ion exchange and activated carbon technologies.
The trials using Puraffinity’s PFAS adsorbent material were undertaken at two institutions in the United States: the Water Hub at Colorado School of Mines and at the Heritage Research Group. Heritage Research Group is owned by The Heritage Group, which has investments in Puraffinity.
The trials claim that the material can last longer and treat three times the amount of GenX compared to current ion exchange and activated carbon technologies. The media may also remove GenX chemicals to below the 10 ppt (parts per trillion) health advisory proposed by the U.S. Environment Protection Agency.
GenX chemicals belong to the family of per-and polyfluoroalkylated substances commonly known as PFAS. If released, the GenX chemicals are very mobile and pollution spreads around the world.
“Severe exposure to GenX chemicals has been shown to induce tumors in rats and be linked to toxicity for the liver, kidney and blood as well as harm to prenatal development and the immune system,” says Henrik Hagemann, CEO of Puraffinity. “GenX chemicals are both toxic and highly persistent and have been found in drinking water, surface water and seawater across the world. They are not currently removed effectively in water treatment works.”
Using PFAS contaminated tap water in an operational environment with continuous flow, the GenX contaminants bind to Puraffinity’s material through a combination of electrostatic charge attractions and adsorption.
“They bind like Lego blocks as the water flows past,” says Hagemann. “And, once all the Puraffinity material is filled up with GenX, the material is engineered to unclick the bound GenX using a safe regeneration step. The Puraffinity material can then be re-used for non-point of use applications, like industrial or environmental remediation, enabling a circular economy for the future of water filtration materials.”
GenX chemicals are found in products such as food packaging, clothes and firefighting foam and a
The U.S. Department of Health has set provisional health goals relating to GenX chemicals in drinking water and North Carolina has implemented a health advisory. In Europe, GenX chemicals were the first chemicals to be added to the Substances of Very High Concern list.
