CHARLOTTE — They’re impossible to see, smell or taste in our water, but according to the EPA, manmade chemicals known as PFAs are dangerous to human health even at the smallest levels.
Also known as “forever chemicals” the substances, found in Teflon, firefighting foam and waterproof clothing, don’t break down. That means PFAs can accumulate in our bodies. They have even been linked to higher cancer risks.
That’s why Jordan Poler, a Chemistry professor at UNC Charlotte, has been working on a way to get those chemicals out of water using easy-to-source materials.
“There’s no toxic solvents, there’s no precious metals being used so it’s a nice green sustainable approach,” he said.
He started with something called a zeolite, a naturally occurring, sand-like substance often used to treat soil or as a filter in air purifiers. Safe to handle and inexpensive, Poler said he buys the bags at the hardware store.
Zeolites also have a lot of surface area, which Poler said makes them a great candidate for a water filter. Then to target PFAs specifically, he treats it in a reactor, then attaches it to a material he creates in the lab called a polymer. Together, the combined material has the surface area of the zeolites and a slight positive charge.
“PFAs and pesticides, and all the other materials that we’re kind of concerned about or very concerned about in water, many of them have a slight negative charge,” he said.
As opposites attract, the PFAs gets filtered out of the water in seconds, even at very small concentrations. New EPA guidelines limit these chemicals to a few parts per trillion.
“Normal things we can even detect and deal with are in the parts per million, so this is like a billion times lower,” Poler said.
Poler funded his initial research in part through the National Science Foundation. But as he worked to move the project out of the lab, he knew he’d need a partner to help him access more material, bigger equipment and access to buyers who could put this filtration technology into everyday products.
Goulston Technology, a chemical company in Monroe, has worked with UNC Charlotte students and researchers for years. Nikki Brooks, the chief technical officer, thought Poler’s project would be a great fit.
“Goulston’s goal here is to be able to help bring Dr. Poler’s solution to the marketplace,” she said.
In his lab at the university, Poler said he’d worked his way up to preparing 1kg of material at a time. At Goulston, he’s starting to try 20 to 50 kg. Eventually, he hopes to work his way up to using Goulston’s 50,000L tanks.
“A tank of this size right here for manufacturing purposes, can produce enough material to go into one of the many tanks that can be used at a water facility,” he said.
Once he has enough material, Poler said he will go through testing with the National Sanitation Foundation, which is necessary for any substance involved in water treatment. He plans to use funding from a North Carolina Innovation Grant to cover some of those costs.
If he can secure that approval and scale up his material to a commercial level, Poler said he hopes to sell to filtration companies and get this product inside of point-of-use filters like you’d find in your fridge.
“To be able to give an affordable sustainable solution to people in their home, in their small business in their church, wherever they’re going,” he said.
Poler’s project was one of eight recipients of the NC Innovation Grant, which aims to get projects like his from the lab to public use.
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