New Tech Eliminates PFAS, Tackles Water Pollution in Europe

Nearly all coastal waters and more than half of rivers in some European countries contain elevated levels of chemicals that will never break down. But one Swiss startup says it has developed a piezoelectric catalyst that can eliminate 99 percent of these forever chemicals in wastewater streams and prevent them from entering water supplies.

On 30 January, Zurich-based Oxyle announced it had raised US $16 million to scale up its technology and deploy its first commercial units, which aim to eliminate the chemicals from industrial wastewater. Oxyle last year built and began operating its first full-scale system at a contaminated site in Switzerland.

The company developed its technology around eliminating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS or “forever chemicals.” PFAS are incredibly stable molecules due to their strong carbon-fluorine bonds, which has led to widespread use of them in industrial processes and consumer products such as waterproof fabrics and long-lasting coatings.

But their durability has also resulted in the spread of PFAS throughout the environment, into potable water, and into the food chain. Exposure to PFAS has been linked to health issues such as decreased fertility, increased risk of some cancers, and reduced ability to fight infections. The amount of PFAS-carrying micro- and nanoplastics getting into human brains has increased significantly over the past 50 years, according to new research in Nature Medicine.

Finding cost-effective ways to reduce PFAS on a large scale has proven challenging, in part because of the energy required to break down the persistent chemicals.

Innovative PFAS Removal Technology

Many legacy PFAS treatment methods focus on extracting PFAS from water rather than destroying them. But many of these approaches aren’t environmentally friendly or energy efficient. “These methods fail to break down PFAS, leaving behind hazardous waste that often ends up in landfills or incinerators, reintroducing contamination into the environment and perpetuating an endless cycle of treatment,” says Fajer Mushtaq, CEO and cofounder of Oxyle.

Oxyle aims to address these shortcomings. The company’s approach electrochemically breaks down PFAS into their chemical constituents such as carbon dioxide and fluorides, which then exit wastewater streams. “Instead of simply filtering PFAS, our solution actively degrades and mineralizes broad-spectra PFAS into harmless byproducts, eliminating the need for polluting, costly, and complex secondary waste management,” says Mushtaq.

To achieve this, Oxyle uses a nanoporous material coated with apiezoelectric catalyst that offers a massive surface area for immobilizing PFAS. When water flows across the material, the piezoelectric effect generates electrical charges. This triggers reduction and oxidation reactions that gradually degrade PFAS into their harmlesscompounds. For example, PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), a type of PFAS, gets broken down into fluoride ions…