PFAS are a class of compounds called “forever chemicals” due to their persistence as contaminants in water and soil.  These compounds bio-accumulate and cause many health issues in humans and animals.  Hence, destroying PFAS is of great importance.  PFAS compounds are present in high concentrations in waste materials such as sewage sludge and landfills.  We will investigate the efficiency of a high temperature and pressure process called radical initiated hydrothermal liquefaction (RI-HTL) at removing PFAS compounds in various waste feedstocks.

Faculty Advisor: Geoffrey Tompsett | WPI (Chemical Engineering) Andrew Teixeira | WPI (Chemical Engineering)

Teacher Component: The RET teachers will do the following:

1. Research the literature on hydrothermal destruction of PFAS compounds 
2. Train and operate a batch reactor system for processing waste to oil, water, solid fractions 
3. Train and run analytic procedures to quantify PFAS compounds in the three main phases, including EPA methods to prepare analysis samples and operate the LC-MS instrumentation 
4. Analyze data obtained from experiments and instrumentation 
5. Prepare presentation and poster on their project