Hannah McIntyre
Graduate Research Assistant
University of Toronto
Hannah McIntyre is a graduate research assistant at the University of Missouri Kansas City working on a novel remediation technology for treating new and emerging contaminants of concern including PFAS.
PRESENTATION TITLE
Photocatalytic Granular Media for the Destruction and Defluorination of PFOS
PFAS is an emerging contaminant of concern which persists in the environment due to the strength of the C-F bond. This research describes the development of a packed bed media that combines a nucleophilic and photocatalytic destructive attack on the compound. Media is synthesized following a sol gel process during which titanium dioxide is bonded to the surface. Sol gel media is stabilized using a highly alkaline solution and then fired. The resulting highly porous media is both photocatalytic under a wide UV spectrum while slowly diffusing hydroxyls when in contact with the waste stream. The C-F bonds are cleaved producing free fluorine, water, and carbon dioxide. Free fluorine spontaneously mineralizes as fluorite in the pore space which is then removed with the supernatent liquid.