Re­mov­ing PFAS from wa­ter, FHNW School of Life Sciences

Stricter regulatory limits for PFAS pose major challenges for soil and water remediation. In particular, the removal of short-chain PFAS from aqueous systems remains technically demanding.

Conventional technologies such as activated carbon, ion exchangers, and membrane processes show effective performance for long-chain PFAS but suffer from limited selectivity, reduced efficiency, and increased operational complexity for short-chain compounds.

This project introduces a novel, highly selective PFAS adsorber capable of efficiently removing PFAS from water, including short-chain species. The superior performance is enabled by a dual binding mechanism that combines ion-exchange interactions with specific fluorine–fluorine affinities.

The technology offers a scalable and robust solution to meet current and future regulatory requirements for PFAS remediation.