Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) or because they can remain in the human body and environment for too long’endless chemicals‘ means substances containing thousands of chemicals. in our house It is used in many things in our daily lives, from Teflon pans to dental floss.These chemicals, found in the food we eat and even the water we drink, can cause liver damage, thyroid disease, cancer and many more serious health problems, according to the European Environment Agency.

These substances, which we call ‘endless chemicals’, are constantly being researched and can have dire consequences. Now scientists are using these chemicals. cost-effective and safe He explained that they might have found a way to destroy it. The study results were published Thursday in the journal Science.

Researchers have succeeded in breaking the bond in PFAS molecules with a mixture

What these substances have in common is one of the strongest bonds in organic chemistry. carbon-fluorine they have ties. While this works well for things like giving kitchen utensils a non-stick coating, it can also be harmful to human health. Researchers have been working for years to find a way to destroy the carbon-fluorine bond of these materials, which can remain in soil and water for years because they are highly molecularly stable. New research has found that this could finally happen.

Chemists from the University of California (UCLA), Northwestern University and China have found it used in many different places, from paper to soap. sodium hydroxide and organic solvent dimethyl sulfoxide discovered that the mixture can be used for PFASs. Researchers have found that this mixture is a large subset of PFASs. can break down perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCA) expressed.

Brittany Trang, study co-author, At 79 to 121 degrees Celsius He stated that they saw that the bond in the PFAS molecules was broken when heated. It was even claimed that the mixture could even form completely harmless molecules after a few days. It was noted that this occurs due to binding of sodium hydroxide with PFAS molecules after dimethyl sulfoxide accelerates the softening and degradation time.

‘Infinite chemicals’ around the world

One of the authors Prof. William Dichtel stated that they need to do more research before carrying the solution out of the lab. Of course, the magnitude of a PFAS problem is also one that should not be ignored. It is estimated that it is released into the atmosphere every year. 50,000 tons mixes with these chemicals.

In addition, other studies all the rainwater on the planet It shows that it contains PFAS and should not be smoked. You see, these items almost everywhere it can appear. Still, the findings are exciting because they could help find other ways to eradicate PFAS.