Method to Eliminate Harmful Chemicals Found in Many Goods

Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) or because they can stay in the human body and the environment for too long ‘endless chemicals‘ means substances that contain thousands of chemicals. in our house It is used in many items in our daily lives, from Teflon pans to dental floss.These chemicals, which can be found in the food we eat and even in the water we drink, can cause liver damage, thyroid disease, cancer and many more serious health problems, according to the European Environment Agency.

Studies are carried out on these substances, which we call ‘endless chemicals’, which can have terrible consequences. Now scientists are using these chemicals. cost-effectively and safely He explained that they may have found a way to destroy it. The study findings were published Thursday in the journal Science.

Researchers managed to break the bond in PFAS molecules with a mixture

What these substances have in common is one of the strongest bonds in organic chemistry. carbon-fluorine they have ties. While this works well for things like giving PFASs the ‘non-stick’ property to kitchen utensils, it can also be detrimental to human health. Researchers have been working for many years to find a way to destroy the carbon-fluorine bond of these materials, which can remain in soil and water for years because they are very molecularly stable. New research has revealed that this may finally happen.

Chemists from the University of California (UCLA), Northwestern University, and China have found it to be used in many different places, from paper to soap. sodium hydroxide and organic solvent dimethyl sulfoxide discovered that the mixture could be used for PFASs. Researchers have found that this mixture is a large subset of PFASs. can degrade perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCA) expressed.

Brittany Trang, co-author of the study, At 79 to 121 degrees Celsius He stated that they observed that the bond in the PFAS molecules was broken when heated. It was even stated that the mixture could even form completely harmless molecules after a few days. It was noted that this occurs as a result of sodium hydroxide binding with PFAS molecules after dimethyl sulfoxide accelerates the softening and degradation time.

‘Infinite chemicals’ around the world

One of the authors Prof. William Dichtel stated that they need to do more research before the solution is carried out of the laboratory. Of course, the size of a PFAS problem is also an issue that should not be ignored. According to estimates, it is released into the atmosphere every year. 50,000 tons mixes with these chemicals.

In addition, other studies all the rain water on the planet It shows it contains PFAS and should not be smoked. You see, these items almost everywhere it may appear. Still, the findings are exciting as they may help find other ways to eradicate PFAS.