Recent Advances in Adsorption and Degradation Technologies of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)
A special issue of Separations (ISSN 2297-8739). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Separations".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2026 | Viewed by 527
Special Issue Editor
Interests: environmental/analytical chemistry; environmental toxicology; emerging contaminants
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) represent a significant group of emerging contaminants due to their extreme chemical persistence, strong C-F bonds, and resistance to conventional environmental treatment. Their widespread occurrence in water, soil, and biota, along with bioaccumulation and toxicity risks, highlights the urgent need for effective remediation strategies.
Recent developments emphasize adsorption as a leading approach, with activated carbon, biochar, ion-exchange resins, and advanced nanomaterials demonstrating strong PFAS capture. Complementary degradation strategies, including electrochemical oxidation, photocatalysis, sonolysis, and reductive defluorination have shown potential for mineralization, moving beyond mere sequestration. Moreover, hybrid techniques that integrate sorption with destructive processes are gaining prevalence for enhanced treatment performance.
Broader remediation strategies are also emerging such as sorption, filtration, and sonochemical destruction (which help reduce PFAS toxicity), while water treatment technologies increasingly rely on adsorption, reverse osmosis, ion exchange, oxidation, and incineration. For soils, novel techniques such as thermal desorption, phytoremediation, and soil washing are being explored to reduce long-term environmental and health risks.
This Special Issue emphasizes advances in PFAS remediation, highlighting adsorption, degradation, and integrated approaches to guide sustainable solutions for environmental protection and human health. Contributions addressing novel material development, fundamental insights into PFAS remediation, field-scale applications, and sustainability assessments are particularly welcome.
Dr. Chinemerem Ruth Ohoro
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- PFAS
- adsorption
- degradation
- sorption
- filtration
- sonolysis
- reverse osmosis
- ion exchange
- thermal desorption
- phytoremediation
- remediation technologies
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