Superfund Research Program

June 2023

Paper of the Month or Year

SRP-funded small business Weaver Labs developed a novel technology to clean up water contaminated with PFAS. Their materials can be reused multiple times and are potentially less expensive than current remediation technologies, the authors said.

Researchers created 12 materials, each with a unique surface chemistry and structural configuration, made of silica and fluorine. They tested the efficiency of each material at removing different types of PFAS from water samples taken from contaminated sites. The best-performing material removed more than 90% of PFAS tested, including new varieties of PFAS — called short-chain PFAS — that other technologies have trouble removing.

The team also noted that their materials could be reused at least five times without losing integrity.

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