Smaili, Hajar
(2024)
Identification and Evaluation of Bio-Based Sorbents for The Remediation of Short-Chain PFAS Contaminated Water.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of thousands of synthetic chemicals that have been produced since the late 1940s and have been used in different consumer products since then. Because human exposure to some of these chemicals have been linked to various health effects, legislative actions and voluntary programs have been set in place to limit the use of long-chain PFAS. This resulted in an increase in the production and use of short-chain PFAS, however these short-chain substances have properties of concern, as comprehensive data on toxicity of all these substances is still lacking. Conventional treatment methods are unable to remove these short-chain PFAS from contaminated aqueous media. Therefore, to help advance the current research on PFAS remediation, this dissertation focused on identifying protein-based sorbents targeting the removal of short-chain PFAS. First, we conducted a comprehensive critical review to understand the current state of the science on the removal of short-chain PFAS from contaminated water. Results highlighted the clear lack of research focus on short-chain PFAS and the limited adsorption capacity of the currently used adsorbent materials. Based on these results, we proposed a treatment train for removal of these short-chain substances. Because of the known interactions between PFAS and proteins, we screened proteins that might be able to bind to short-chain PFAS and tested phospholipase A2, a small commercially available protein, for its use as a bio sorbent of short-chain PFAS using in silico and in vitro approaches. Results showed that while there is promising binding potential of this protein to PFAS of different chain-lengths, therefore opening new areas of research to PFAS remediation route, there may be toxicity implications for organisms expressing this protein. Finally, we employed surface plasmon resonance (SPR) method, for the first time, to investigate binding kinetics between PFAS and proteins in real-time. The results showed promising success of this approach in capturing these interactions, where moderate affinities were observed. This study highlighted some of the challenges of this approach and proposed ways to overcome them. Overall, this work contributes to advancing current research on PFAS remediation via adsorption.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
|
| Date: |
6 September 2024 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
17 June 2024 |
| Approval Date: |
6 September 2024 |
| Submission Date: |
23 July 2024 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
184 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Swanson School of Engineering > Civil and Environmental Engineering |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
PFAS, Bio-Based Sorbents, Adsorption |
| Date Deposited: |
06 Sep 2024 20:04 |
| Last Modified: |
06 Sep 2024 20:04 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/46730 |
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