Utah Method Destroys PFAS at Lower Heat
University of Utah researchers report a laboratory method that breaks down forever chemicals at temperatures far below conventional incineration.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Chemistry
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University of Utah researchers have developed a method that destroys PFAS, often called forever chemicals, under mild conditions. The approach uses reactive nucleophiles to sever carbon-fluorine bonds and release nearly all fluorine as fluoride.
Why it matters
PFAS resist natural breakdown, so they persist in water and soil once released. A treatment that works at lower temperatures could help destroy these chemicals after they are removed from water, preventing contamination from moving into another waste stream.
Most tests ran at 110 degrees Celsius (230 degrees Fahrenheit) or below, while some materials required up to 150 degrees Celsius, compared with the 1,000 degrees Celsius or higher typically used to incinerate PFAS. The work has not yet been tested on real waste streams, and treatment costs remain unassessed.
The players
University of Utah
A public research university in Salt Lake City whose researchers conducted the study on PFAS destruction.
The details
The method uses nucleophiles to break carbon-fluorine bonds in a process called defluorination, and it removed fluorine efficiently from PFOA, trifluoroacetic acid, and the fluorinated plastics PVDF and PCTFE. It works in ordinary air without specialized inert gas atmospheres or high pressure.
Timeline
October 28, 2026: Study published in Communications Chemistry.
The Big Picture
Incineration at 1,000 degrees Celsius or higher has been the standard approach for destroying PFAS, and this laboratory method points toward destruction at roughly 110 to 150 degrees Celsius. The approach remains at the laboratory stage, and future work will test alternative reagents and reaction conditions.
If the method is developed further, it could eventually let PFAS be captured, concentrated and destroyed rather than simply moved between waste streams. Any practical use would depend on future studies testing real waste and assessing cost.
The takeaway
Destroying PFAS at lower temperatures could ease one of the hardest cleanup problems, but the approach is still in the lab and must prove itself on real waste before it changes practice.
Further reading
Explore more Chemistry coverage to see how researchers are tackling persistent environmental pollutants.
Source note: This article includes information reported by AZoCleantech.
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