Forever chemicals such as PFAS and FPOA are being captured and removed in a new solution trial being run in the USA.
Forever chemicals must be removed in water purification across a range of industries and are associated with multiple cancer types, hormone disruption, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Their resistance to breaking down over time has resulted in their steady accumulation in air, water, and soil since their introduction to manufacturing processes in the 1940s. Contamination has proliferated to every corner of the planet, and emerging scientific research shows that no amount of exposure is safe.
Finding an effective and efficient way to remove these chemicals has proven to be elusive.
A new partnership between BNNano, Inc. of Burlington, North Carolina and TruSpin of Birmingham, Alabama has developed new materials technologies that have demonstrated the ability to remove PFAS from water samples and are currently undergoing rigorous peer review.
The new material solution may have the ability to filter PFAS easily, quickly, and at costs that could make the insurmountable clean-up feasible. 57,412 PFAS sites have been identified in the United States alone, including 49,145 industrial facilities and 4,255 wastewater treatment plants.
TruSpin’s nanofiber production platform, the first of its kind to utilize alternating current to electrospin fibers, has unique capabilities that facilitate the incorporation of BNNano’s NanoBarb materials into water filtration membranes.
“Our partnership with TruSpin Nanomaterial Innovation will help us to improve the way we blend and compound our NanoBarbs into materials that are specifically designed to be used in water purification,” said Steve Wilcenski, co-founder and CEO of BNNano. “Clean water is important for everyone across the globe and we are excited that our NanoBarb materials technologies will enable new ways to remove Forever Chemicals and other emerging contaminants from water supplies around the world.”
Robert Agnew, CEO of TruSpin said: “Throughout history, advanced materials have always been the enabling factor for technologies just beyond our grasp. Our partnership with BNNano combines the power of two advanced materials to bridge a technology gap that could impact everyone on earth.”
BNNano’s current product line includes nano-powders, high-performance polymers (polycarbonate, nylon, PEEK, PEKK and ULTEM) for injection molding and additive manufacturing, aluminum master alloys, and water filtration materials.
TruSpin is an advanced materials company using a platform manufacturing process to affordably mass-produce nanofibers. This process, based on technology invented at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, is the first of its kind to utilize alternating current to produce nanofibers and represents a step-change in nanofiber production capabilities. TruSpin is a graduate of Techstars and a grant awardee of the National Science Foundation
