Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Treatments to Remove Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances from Water—Are We Using the Right Approach? Proposal of a Paradigm Shift from “Chemical Only” towards an Integrated Bio-Chemical Assessment

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have been under intense investigation by the scientific community due to their persistence in the environment and potentially hazardous effects on living organisms. In order to tackle the presence of these compounds in water, to date, the research has been...

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Main Authors: Marco Carnevale Miino, Taťána Halešová, Tomáš Macsek, Jakub Raček, Petr Hlavínek
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-09-01
Series:Clean Technologies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8797/5/4/60
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author Marco Carnevale Miino
Taťána Halešová
Tomáš Macsek
Jakub Raček
Petr Hlavínek
author_facet Marco Carnevale Miino
Taťána Halešová
Tomáš Macsek
Jakub Raček
Petr Hlavínek
author_sort Marco Carnevale Miino
collection DOAJ
description Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have been under intense investigation by the scientific community due to their persistence in the environment and potentially hazardous effects on living organisms. In order to tackle the presence of these compounds in water, to date, the research has been strongly focused on the evaluation of the effectiveness of different types of technologies. Considering the extreme complexity of the matter of PFASs and our relatively low knowledge in this topic, the following question arises: is the “chemical only” approach that is followed for evaluating the effectiveness of technologies for PFAS removal from water reliable enough? In this work, some limitations of the present approach are discussed, highlighting the reasons why it cannot be considered a reliable tool to correctly estimate the effectiveness of technology when referring to emerging compounds such as PFASs. Bioassays can play a key role in moving towards an integrated bio-chemical evaluation (chemical analysis and ecotoxicological evaluation), which is strongly encouraged. This represents the only way to completely characterize a water matrix and fully evaluate the impact of technologies when dealing with micropollutants in water, such as PFASs. Future research should focus on defining an optimal battery of bioassays that specifically fit to best represent changes in water quality in terms of short- and long-term impacts on living organisms.
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spelling doaj.art-8d1c0c13da1947a78a31404af286c8952023-12-22T14:00:52ZengMDPI AGClean Technologies2571-87972023-09-01541203121310.3390/cleantechnol5040060Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Treatments to Remove Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances from Water—Are We Using the Right Approach? Proposal of a Paradigm Shift from “Chemical Only” towards an Integrated Bio-Chemical AssessmentMarco Carnevale Miino0Taťána Halešová1Tomáš Macsek2Jakub Raček3Petr Hlavínek4AdMaS Research Center, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Purkyňova 651/139, 612 00 Brno, Czech RepublicAdMaS Research Center, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Purkyňova 651/139, 612 00 Brno, Czech RepublicAdMaS Research Center, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Purkyňova 651/139, 612 00 Brno, Czech RepublicAdMaS Research Center, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Purkyňova 651/139, 612 00 Brno, Czech RepublicAdMaS Research Center, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Purkyňova 651/139, 612 00 Brno, Czech RepublicPer- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have been under intense investigation by the scientific community due to their persistence in the environment and potentially hazardous effects on living organisms. In order to tackle the presence of these compounds in water, to date, the research has been strongly focused on the evaluation of the effectiveness of different types of technologies. Considering the extreme complexity of the matter of PFASs and our relatively low knowledge in this topic, the following question arises: is the “chemical only” approach that is followed for evaluating the effectiveness of technologies for PFAS removal from water reliable enough? In this work, some limitations of the present approach are discussed, highlighting the reasons why it cannot be considered a reliable tool to correctly estimate the effectiveness of technology when referring to emerging compounds such as PFASs. Bioassays can play a key role in moving towards an integrated bio-chemical evaluation (chemical analysis and ecotoxicological evaluation), which is strongly encouraged. This represents the only way to completely characterize a water matrix and fully evaluate the impact of technologies when dealing with micropollutants in water, such as PFASs. Future research should focus on defining an optimal battery of bioassays that specifically fit to best represent changes in water quality in terms of short- and long-term impacts on living organisms.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8797/5/4/60PFASemerging contaminantstoxicitybioassaysecotoxicologypersistent compounds
spellingShingle Marco Carnevale Miino
Taťána Halešová
Tomáš Macsek
Jakub Raček
Petr Hlavínek
Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Treatments to Remove Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances from Water—Are We Using the Right Approach? Proposal of a Paradigm Shift from “Chemical Only” towards an Integrated Bio-Chemical Assessment
Clean Technologies
PFAS
emerging contaminants
toxicity
bioassays
ecotoxicology
persistent compounds
title Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Treatments to Remove Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances from Water—Are We Using the Right Approach? Proposal of a Paradigm Shift from “Chemical Only” towards an Integrated Bio-Chemical Assessment
title_full Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Treatments to Remove Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances from Water—Are We Using the Right Approach? Proposal of a Paradigm Shift from “Chemical Only” towards an Integrated Bio-Chemical Assessment
title_fullStr Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Treatments to Remove Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances from Water—Are We Using the Right Approach? Proposal of a Paradigm Shift from “Chemical Only” towards an Integrated Bio-Chemical Assessment
title_full_unstemmed Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Treatments to Remove Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances from Water—Are We Using the Right Approach? Proposal of a Paradigm Shift from “Chemical Only” towards an Integrated Bio-Chemical Assessment
title_short Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Treatments to Remove Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances from Water—Are We Using the Right Approach? Proposal of a Paradigm Shift from “Chemical Only” towards an Integrated Bio-Chemical Assessment
title_sort evaluation of the effectiveness of treatments to remove per and polyfluoroalkyl substances from water are we using the right approach proposal of a paradigm shift from chemical only towards an integrated bio chemical assessment
topic PFAS
emerging contaminants
toxicity
bioassays
ecotoxicology
persistent compounds
url https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8797/5/4/60
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