Local middle school students learn about PFAS during a workshop at UW-Stevens Point’s STEAM Day.
When it comes to PFAS research and education, Seyed Javad Amirfakhri is professionally and personally invested. Amirfakhri is an Assistant Professor of Paper science and Chemical Engineering at UW-Stevens Point who is conducting innovative PFAS removal research. He also has five children and wants to make sure drinking water is safe for them and others.
PFAS are a group of humanmade chemicals found in thousands of products, such as nonstick cookware and firefighting foam. In recent years, they have been linked to significant health concerns, including cancer. Due to their widespread use, PFAS have contaminated the drinking water across the United Sates. Numerous communities in Wisconsin have reached levels that require residents to drink bottled water.
Amirfakhri and Xuejeun Pan, Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor and Douglas D. Sorenson Professor at UW-Madison, received funding from the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin to test ways to remove PFAS from water. They are also raising awareness of PFAS by hosting educational events for middle school and high school students and teachers. The next event will be a virtual and in-person workshop on April 3 to provide high school educators with PFAS-related lessons and activities for their classrooms.
Identifying Materials That Remove PFAS
One of the biggest challenges is that PFAS are hard to remove from water. Activated carbon, however, has been shown to adsorb PFAS. Amirfakhri has determined that adding silver to activated carbon increases its capacity to adsorb PFAS from water. The PFAS molecules attach to the activated carbon.
Activated carbon can come from a variety of sources. The researchers are determining which sources of activated carbon best adsorb PFAS. The UW-Madison scientists synthesize activated carbon by burning renewable materials, such as corncobs and various nuts. The UW-Stevens Point tests the activated carbon for effectiveness to remove PFAS.
“We looked at adsorption capacity, picked the best ones and optimized the conditions to improve adsorption capacity,” Amirfakhri says. “Activated carbon from kapok fiber and Douglas fir trees have had the highest capacity.”
Several students from UW-Stevens Point and UW-Madison have been trained on PFAS research methods. They’ve learned how to prepare samples, measure PFAS in the samples and remove them from water in a laboratory setting. Amirfakhri and Pan have also incorporated the research findings into courses they teach at their respective campuses.
Ben Zobel, a junior majoring in paper science and chemical engineering, began working on the project in spring 2024. He wanted to gain research experience in chemical engineering before he graduates in 2026.
“It’s been a great opportunity and learning experience,” Zobel says. “And it’s fun to work with Dr. Seyed.”
PFAS Lessons for Youth and Educators
Beyond learning technical skills that will help them in the workforce, the university students help disseminate the research results, engage the community with STEM education, and increase public awareness of PFAS contamination.
For example, Zobel and fellow students Michael Karsten Lilla, Christopher Tomaszewski, and Olivia Stellpflug co-authored a paper that was recently published in Chemosphere, a prestigious peer-reviewed journal in environmental engineering. They also presented a poster at the Jim & Katie Krause CNR Student Research Symposium at UW-Stevens Point. Zobel is completing a review paper that will compile all the research taking place into methods of destroying PFAS. The information will help determine next steps in PFAS research.
Wyatt Braman, a UW-Madison undergraduate, presented the research at the UW-Madison Summer STEM Catalyst poster session. The event is geared toward younger students to spark their interest in water remediation.
Amirfakhri and his student team also developed a workshop for middle schoolers. Students learn about the dangers of PFAS and build a basic water filtration system. The workshop has been offered four times at STEAM Point Days, one-day conferences for students in grades 6-8 that focuses on careers in science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics.
Feedback from the workshop was used to create the virtual and in-person workshop for high school educators on April 3. Educators will receive three to four hours of lessons they can bring into their classrooms. Each lesson includes multiple hands-on activities and experiments. The undergraduates will help prepare materials and lead lessons during the workshop. Register for the workshop here.
“For high school students, a lesson has to include many attractive parts to keep students engaged,” Amirfakhri says. He stresses the importance of raising awareness with younger students. “They will be the future engineers and problem solvers.”
Next Steps for Research
Currently, activated carbon filters that are installed under sinks are an effective option for removing PFAS from drinking water. The researchers hope to use their findings to make more effective filters for PFAS.
Amirfakhri is particularly optimistic about using activated carbon from Douglas firs. Though not native to Wisconsin, the tree species grows well in the state. He sees an opportunity for Wisconsin’s timber industry if effective PFAS filters can be created from Douglas firs.
Once a better filter is created, the next step would be to develop a method to decompose PFAS from the activated carbon to safe final products, such fluoride ions .
“These results can pave the way for more efficient filters to remove PFAS, thus improving water quality substantially in Wisconsin,” Amirfakhri says.
Link to original story: https://freshwater.wisconsin.edu/pfas-removal-and-awareness/