Aerosolisation of new generation perfluoroalkyl ether carboxylic and sulfonic acids from aeration of contaminated aqueous solutions

IF 4.2 2区环境科学与生态学 Q2 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Atmospheric Environment Pub Date : 2025-04-02 DOI:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2025.121218

Jishnu Pandamkulangara Kizhakkethil, Ivan Kourtchev

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

There has been an industrial shift towards replacing legacy per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) with perfluoroalkyl ether carboxylic and sulfonic acids (PFECA and PFESA) including hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA), also known as GenX. These compounds have been detected in the atmosphere but their potential sources remain poorly understood.

In this study, aerosolisation of six PFECA and PFESA from PFAS-contaminated water at concentrations and pHs representative of industrial sewage was investigated. All studied PFECA and PFESA were observed in the aerosols from the aeration of PFAS-fortified water at pH 6, 7 and 8. The aerosolisation behaviour of PFECA and PFESA increased with the analyte's carbon chain length and was influenced by the PFAS functional groups and pH of the aerated solution. PFESA with sulfonic acid groups aerosolised more from the solutions than PFECA with carboxylic acid groups. The ability of new generation PFAS to transfer from contaminated waters and become airborne (aerosolise up to a mass fraction 30.4 ± 2.7 %) raises concerns due to their potential health and environmental impacts. Our findings indicate that industrial and water management processes involving aeration of water contaminated with PFECA and PFESA could serve as potential sources of new-generation atmospheric PFAS.

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受污染水溶液曝气产生的新一代全氟烷基醚羧酸和磺酸的气溶胶化作用

工业上出现了一种转变，即用全氟烷基醚羧酸和磺酸（PFECA和PFESA）取代传统的单氟烷基和多氟烷基物质（PFAS），包括六氟环氧丙烷二聚酸（HFPO-DA），也称为GenX。这些化合物已在大气中被检测到，但对其潜在来源仍知之甚少。在本研究中，以工业污水的浓度和ph值为代表，研究了pfas污染水中6种PFECA和PFESA的雾化情况。所有研究的PFECA和PFESA都在pH值为6、7和8的pfas强化水曝气后的气溶胶中观察到。PFAS和PFESA的雾化行为随分析物碳链长度的增加而增加，并受PFAS官能团和曝气溶液pH的影响。含磺酸基团的PFESA比含羧酸基团的PFESA更能从溶液中雾化。由于其潜在的健康和环境影响，新一代PFAS从受污染的水中转移并成为空气传播（雾化质量分数高达30.4±2.7%）的能力引起了人们的关注。我们的研究结果表明，涉及PFECA和PFESA污染的水曝气的工业和水管理过程可能是新一代大气PFAS的潜在来源。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Atmospheric Environment 环境科学-环境科学

CiteScore

9.40

自引率

8.00%

发文量

458

审稿时长

53 days

期刊介绍： Atmospheric Environment has an open access mirror journal Atmospheric Environment: X, sharing the same aims and scope, editorial team, submission system and rigorous peer review. Atmospheric Environment is the international journal for scientists in different disciplines related to atmospheric composition and its impacts. The journal publishes scientific articles with atmospheric relevance of emissions and depositions of gaseous and particulate compounds, chemical processes and physical effects in the atmosphere, as well as impacts of the changing atmospheric composition on human health, air quality, climate change, and ecosystems.