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Scientists Discover Bacteria That Can Break Down Certain “Forever Chemicals”
TOPICS:BacteriaChemical EngineeringEnvironmentPollutionUC Riverside
By UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - RIVERSIDE JULY 23, 2023
Scientists at the University of California, Riverside, have identified two bacteria species that can degrade a stubborn group of pollutants, known as “forever chemicals” or PFAS. These naturally-occurring bacteria can break the chemical bonds in these pollutants, making them harmless and offering a cost-effective, biological approach to cleaning up industrial contaminants.
Researchers have recently discovered two naturally-occurring bacteria capable of breaking down chlorinated “forever chemicals,” also known as PFAS.
Scientists specializing in chemical and environmental engineering at the University of California, Riverside have discovered two types of bacteria in the soil capable of breaking down a class of stubborn “forever chemicals,” giving hope for low-cost biological cleanup of industrial pollutants.Assistant Professor Yujie Men and her team at the Bourns College of Engineering have found that these bacteria are able to eradicate a specific subgroup of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, particularly those that contain one or more chlorine atoms within their chemical structure. Their findings were published in the scientific journal, Nature Water.
Unhealthful forever chemicals persist in the environment for decades or much longer because of their unusually strong carbon-to-fluorine bonds. Remarkably, the UCR team found that the bacteria cleave the pollutant’s chlorine-carbon bonds, which starts a chain of reactions that destroy the forever chemical structures, rendering them harmless.
University of California, Riverside, Assistant Professor Yulie Men and graduate student Josen Jin. Credit: UCR photo by Sizhuo Zhang
“What we discovered is that bacteria can do carbon-chlorine bond cleavage first, generating unstable intermediates,” Men said. “And then those unstable intermediates undergo spontaneous defluorination, which is the cleavage of the carbon-fluorine bond.”
Scientists Discover Bacteria That Can Break Down Certain “Forever Chemicals”
Researchers have recently discovered two naturally-occurring bacteria capable of breaking down chlorinated "forever chemicals," also known as PFAS. Scientists specializing in chemical and environmental engineering at the University of California, Riverside have discovered two types of bacteria in t
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