Studies on the destruction of solid per- and polyfluoroalkyl
substances
(PFAS) chemicals and PFAS-laden solid wastes significantly lag behind
the urgent social demand. There is a great need to develop novel treatment
processes that can destroy nonaqueous PFAS at ambient temperatures
and pressures. In this study, we develop a piezoelectric-material-assisted
ball milling (PZM-BM) process built on the principle that ball collisions
during milling can activate PZMs to generate ∼kV potentials
for PFAS destruction in the absence of solvents. Using boron nitride
(BN), a typical PZM, as an example, we successfully demonstrate the
complete destruction and near-quantitative (∼100%) defluorination
of solid PFOS and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) after a 2 h treatment.
This process was also used to treat PFAS-contaminated sediment. Approximately
80% of 21 targeted PFAS were destroyed after 6 h of treatment. The
reaction mechanisms were determined to be a combination of piezo-electrochemical
oxidation of PFAS and fluorination of BN. The PZM-BM process demonstrates
many potential advantages, as the degradation of diverse PFAS is independent
of functional group and chain configurations and does not require
caustic chemicals, heating, or pressurization. This pioneering study
lays the groundwork for optimizing PZM-BM to treat various PFAS-laden
solid wastes.
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