A recent BBC News item highlights growing awareness of the threat from emerging pollutants:
‘Forever chemical’ TFA found in all but one of tested UK rivers – BBC News
Prof Frederic Coulon of EBNet’s PFAS WG said, “The appearance of these chemicals in drinking water sources, particularly trifluoroacetic acid or TFA, is of concern. If biotechnology-based treatment options can be developed, they have the potential advantage of being able to deal with pollutants in dilute form and at low cost. One possible approach is the development of enzymes capable of breaking down these compounds, with a view to their application in packed-bed columns for treatment or polishing”.
EBNet has supported work on this area, in a POC Project on Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations for assessing biodegradation of PFAS awarded to Dr Tao Lyu: see here for a summary report on the project, and here for a Position Statement by the PFAS WG on Addressing PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ Contamination in the Environment.
