Occurrence, Transport, and Full-Scale Adsorptive Removal of PFAS in Electroplating Parks in China
By Xiangzhe Jiang, Ziming Zhou, Zhiqiang Qin, Tao Ou, Qianxin Zhang, Huiyi Zhang, Xuan Wu, Shanshan He, Bojiang Meng, Yuxi Ge, Jun Huang, Yang Zhang, Zheng Peng, Gang Yu, and Shubo Deng
Environ. Sci. Technol.
December 11, 2024
DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c08065
The electroplating industry is an important source of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination, but there is a lack of comprehensive studies on the occurrence, transport, and removal of PFAS in electroplating parks. In this study, we investigated typical electroplating parks in China and conducted the first full-scale removal of PFAS from chromium-plating wastewater using pore-enlarged granular activated carbon (GAC) and hydrophobic anion exchange resin (AER). The results showed that 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonate (6:2 FTS) gradually replaced perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) in China’s electroplating industry. The conventional reduction-sedimentation process hardly removed 6:2 FTS from chromium-plating wastewater, while the special air flotation process resulted in over 60% of PFOS entering the chromium sludge cake. Based on the full-scale evaluation, GAC and AER adsorption were feasible technologies for removing PFAS from chromium-plating wastewater, among which AER had higher adsorption capacity and removal efficiency for PFAS but poorer selectivity for 6:2 FTS than for PFOS. It is estimated that GAC and AER adsorption have the potential to reduce the discharge of PFAS by 5030–8000 kg/year in China. This study reveals the current status of PFAS contamination in China’s electroplating industry and provides feasible technologies for PFAS control.
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