Recent advances in electrochemical decontamination of perfluorinated compounds from water: a review

Highlights

● Recent advances in the electrochemical decontamination of PFAS are reviewed.

● Underlying mechanisms and impacting factors of these processes are discussed.

● Several novel couped systems and electrode materials are emphasized.

● Major knowledge gaps and research prospects on PFAS removal are identified.

Abstract

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pose serious human health and environmental risks due to their persistence and toxicity. Among the available PFAS remediation options, the electrochemical approach is promising with better control. In this review, recent advances in the decontamination of PFAS from water using several state-of-the-art electrochemical strategies, including electro-oxidation, electro-adsorption, and electro-coagulation, were systematically reviewed. We aimed to elucidate their design principles, underlying working mechanisms, and the effects of operation factors (e.g., solution pH, applied voltage, and reactor configuration). The recent developments of innovative electrochemical systems and novel electrode materials were highlighted. In addition, the development of coupled processes that could overcome the shortcomings of low efficiency and high energy consumption of conventional electrochemical systems was also emphasized. This review identified several major knowledge gaps and challenges in the scalability and adaptability of efficient electrochemical systems for PFAS remediation. Materials science and system design developments are forging a path toward sustainable treatment of PFAS-contaminated water through electrochemical technologies.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Perfluorinated compounds / Electrochemical approach / Working mechanisms / Impacting factor / Coupled process

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52170068 and U21A20161) and the Open Project of State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology (No. QAK202108).

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-023-1618-z and is accessible for authorized users.

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