Examining volatile fluorine emission, including fluorinated greenhouse gases, in the atmosphere: sources, fate and toxicity – Is thermal remediation an indirect source? How can we prevent it?

In Europe, over 20,000 sites are contaminated with PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), yet many are not treated. PFAS are of global concern due to their negative effects on the environment and humans. Their thermal and chemical stability complicates remediation efforts.

A common remediation method is thermal treatment; however, there are serious concerns regarding release of volatile PFAS such as fluorinated greenhouse gases, into the environment. Current methods fail to capture and identify many PFAS in gases.

The project goal is to enhance understanding of emissions of volatile PFAS in the atmosphere, as well as the impact of current thermal remediation techniques.

To achieve this, a novel methodology will be developed utilizing several advanced techniques such as combustion ion chromatography, aiming to detect unknown fluorinated compounds from PFAS-contaminated sites and emission from thermal processes.

Further, the project will try to find a sustainable and safe treatment by optimizing the conditions for thermal treatment and investigate the unknown toxicity after remediation.

The effort in this project will enhance the knowledge of volatile fluorinated compounds, including fluorinated greenhouse gases, sources, and fate in the atmosphere, together with mitigating the PFAS contamination.

This project addresses the knowledge gaps and issue of rising fluorinated greenhouse gas emissions, which can be extremely persistent and of high global warming potential.