Per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) sensing in water

Description:
Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are present in many aquatic settings, exhibiting highly persistent, toxic, and bioaccumulative properties, which show adverse impacts on ecology as well as human health. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), drinking water guidelines for perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFAS) limit is 70 ppt. When this limit is exceeded, adverse health effects for humans can include liver and immune system damage, birth defects, and cancer. Although traditional analytical methods such as liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) represent accurate measurements, their drawbacks include the high costs, time-consuming efforts, bulky instruments, and requirement of highly trained personnel in a laboratory setting. It is urgent to develop a simple and rapid method for the field application of PFAS detection. Among many alternatives, optical and electrochemical sensors have rapidly emerged as promising analytical approaches for the analysis of PFAS in biological and environmental samples. This study is to provide a comprehensive overview of the current advancements in PFAS-detecting sensors including their mechanisms, advantages compared to other methods, and current limitations as well as insight into the future direction of PFAS analyses. These sensors are an innovative solution with characteristics that allow for in situ, low-cost, and easy-to-use capabilities which are essential for developing an overarching and integrated “smart” environmental management system.

Speaker: Woo Hyoung Lee - University of Central Florida
Dr. Woo Hyoung Lee is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering at the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando, FL, USA. His current research includes smart water and wastewater management such as renewable bioenergy production from wastes, harmful-algal blooms (HABs) control and monitoring, bilgewater emulsion characterization and prediction, blackwater/greywater reuse, and microbial fuel cell technology (MFC). He is a registered professional engineer (P.E.) and currently serves as a member of the U.S. EPA’s Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC) Social and Community Science Subcommittee.