Recent advances in the remediation of perfluoroalkylated and polyfluoroalkylated contaminated sites

Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are compounds used since 1940 in various formulations in the in-dustrial and consumer sectors due to their high chemical and thermal stability. In recent years, PFASs have caused global concern due to their presence in different water and soil matrices, which threatens the environ-ment and human health. These compounds have been reported to be linked to the development of serious human diseases, including but not limited to cancer. For this reason, PFASs have been considered as persistent organic compounds (COPs) and contaminants of emerging concern (CECs). Therefore, this work aims to present the advances in remediation of PFASs-contaminated soil and water by addressing the current literature. The per-formance and characteristics of each technique were addressed deeply in this work. The reviewed literature found that PFASs elimination studies in soil and water were carried out at a laboratory and pilot-scale in some cases. It was found that ball milling, chemical oxidation and thermal desorption are the most efficient techniques for the removal of PFASs in soils, however, phyto-microbial remediation is under study, which claims to be a promising technique. For the remediation of PFASs-contaminated water, the processes of electrocoagulation, membrane filtration, ozofractionation, catalysis, oxidation reactions -reduction, thermolysis and destructive treatments with plasma have presented the best results. It is noteworthy that hybrid treatments have also proved to be efficient techniques in the removal of these contaminants from soil and water matrices. Therefore, the improvisation and implication of existing techniques on a field-scale are greatly warranted to corroborate the yields obtained on a pilot-and laboratory-scale.

Automated summary

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), widely used since 1940 for their stability, have raised global concern due to their presence in water and soil, posing threats to the environment and human health. This work reviews the literature on remediation techniques for PFASs-contaminated soil and water. Ball milling, chemical oxidation, and thermal desorption are effective techniques for soil remediation, while electrocoagulation, membrane filtration, and various types of treatments show promising results for water remediation. The improvisation and application of these techniques on a larger scale are necessary to confirm their efficiency.