Forever gone: degrading per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances with biochar and light

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are human-made chemicals widely used in industry and consumer products for over 70 years, now found worldwide and even in our blood. Soil and water ecosystems cannot break them down, thus nicknamed “forever chemicals”. Due to their potential toxicity, they pose a growing concern for ecosystem and human health and effective simple methods for their destruction in water are thus urgently needed. This project aims at developing novel biochar materials (the stable carbon product of biomass pyrolysis) for PFAS removal and destruction in contaminated waters. Specifically, I propose that doping biochar with boron and nitrogen enables PFAS break down into benign compounds using only water as the reagent and light as the "switch" to activate the reaction. If successful, the project will enable a sustainable and scalable solution for PFAS remediation, reducing environmental contamination and safeguarding public health.