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Grand Challenges Project Aims to Develop A New Adsorbent for the Removal of PFAS in the Environment

September 25, 2024

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are ubiquitous emerging contaminants (ECs) that are persistent throughout the environment, and ultimately enter human bodies via the food web, threatening the public health and ecosystem safety. Currently, the presence of PFAS in all types of waters and human bodies throughout the U.S. has been documented. However, cost-effective individual techniques for simultaneously removing PFAS compounds are still not available. 

A Grand Challenges Grant supported project led by Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Guangbin Li is aimed at developing a new adsorbent through an innovative bio-chemically process for enhancing the removal of both short- and long- chain PFAS in environments.

Student Engagement

Dr. Li has prioritized student engagement for the project. In the 2023-2024 school year, he worked with Oxon Hill High School to create a Research Internship Cohort, which included eight high school students. The students joined Dr. Li’s lab to engage in cutting-edge research aimed at sustainably addressing environmental challenges caused by emerging contaminants. Through this eight-month experience, they gained invaluable real-world insights into civil and environmental engineering that offer the potential to shape their futures. In April 2024, the students presented their work at a symposium at Oxon Hill High School, and three of them were selected to participate in the county Science Fair.

The 2024-2025 Oxon Hill High School Research Internship Cohort kick-off meeting will be held on Sep. 26, 2024.

Publications

Dr. Li’s project has yielded two research publications thus far:

Proano CA, Liu R, Xu X, Meisler S, Hassanein A, Lansing S, Tian K, Li G, Impacts of Free Nitrous Acid on Stabilizing Food Waste and Sewage Sludge for Anaerobic Digestion, Bioresource Technology, 2024 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2024.130819

Chen X, Jiang L, Aghilinasrollahabadi K, Proano CA, Meisler S, Anderson MO, Li G, Impacts of Crude Glycerol on Anaerobic Ammonium Oxidation (Anammox) Process in Wastewater Treatment, Bioresource Technology, 2023, DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.130271

Research Presentations

The Grand Challenges project research has been featured in four invited presentations:

Li G, (Apr. 10th, 2024) Engineering Solutions for Treating Emerging Organic Contaminants in the Environment, Seminar, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of

Technology, GA. [Invited Speaker]

Jiang L*, Li G. (Apr 17th, 2024) Investigation of microbiological aging effects on the surface properties of colloidal activated carbon (CAC) and its capacity for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) removal in the subsurface areas. 2024 National Groundwater Association Conference, Tucson, AZ, USA. [Platform]

Chen X*, Li G. (Apr 8th, 2024) Impacts of Azoles on Anaerobic Ammonium Oxidation (Anammox) Process under Different Substrate Conditions. 2024 Chesapeake-Potomac Regional Chapter (CPRC) SETAC 2024 Spring Meeting, Baltimore, MA, USA. [Platform]

Jiang L*, Li G. (June 23rd, 2024) Assessment of Microbiological Aging Effects on Colloidal Activated Carbon for Per- and Poly-fluoroalkyl Substances Removal. 2024 Environmental Sciences: Water Gordon Research Conference, Holderness School in Holderness, NH, USA. [Poster]


For more information about this Grand Challenges project, visit: https://research.umd.edu/contaminants