An environmental engineering team from the University of California, Riverside (UCR) has found a type of bacteria that can break down certain PFAS chemicals commonly used in waterproofing outerwear and footwear. PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” have strong carbon-fluorine bonds that make them hard to break down and have been linked to cancers and other health issues.
Researchers have discovered a potential solution for breaking down PFAS compounds. Bacteria from the genus Acetobacterium, typically found in wastewater environments, can break the carbon-fluorine bonds and dismantle the chemical structures.
“This is the first known bacterium that can perform reductive defluorination of PFAS structures,” said Yujie Men, an associate professor at UCR’s Bourns College of Engineering. Men emphasized that these bacteria are only effective on unsaturated PFAS compounds, which have double carbon-to-carbon bonds. The research team also identified the specific enzymes within the bacteria that break the carbon-fluoride bonds. This discovery could help bioengineers improve these enzymes to work on other PFAS compounds.
Using bacteria to break down PFAS compounds is both effective and cost-efficient, the research showed. This method involves injecting bacteria into groundwater with nutrients to help them grow, breaking down the compounds before the water reaches wells, rather than treating it industrially afterward.
Swisstulle adopted JigMaster for its dyeing and finishing operations, especially for high-quality technical textiles used in fashion and automotive industries.
Birla Cellulose, a leader under the Aditya Birla Group, has announced a long-term partnership with Circ, a U.S.-based textile recycling…
CARBIOS has collaborated with leading brands Patagonia, PUMA, Salomon etc. to create a groundbreaking polyester garment made entirely from textile…
Yangi, renowned for its renewable packaging solutions, has launched a fiber-based food tray as a sustainable alternative to plastic trays…
The European Tarpaulife Project is working on polyolefin-coated fabrics, such as polyethylene, that can be manufactured to compete with PVC-coated…
Better Cotton has joined the global non-profit alliance, Cascale, in a three-year project aimed at standardising LCA methods across the…