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Advanced Water Treatment System for On-Site PFAS Capture and Destruction

Award Number: R43ES036038
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 05/15/2024
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 04/30/2026

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Advanced Water Treatment System for On-Site PFAS Capture and Destruction - PROJECT SUMMARY Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) comprise a class of thousands of toxic compounds that have been found in drinking water sources in 34 US states and in the blood of 97% of people tested. Exposure to PFAS has been linked to immune toxicity, cancer, high cholesterol, and several other health effects. More than 57,000 sites across the US are estimated to have PFAS pollution, and the total remediation market is estimated at $160 billion. Adsorption technologies are widely used for removing PFAS from water sources, but these produce secondary waste in the form of PFAS-laden spent sorbent media or complex regenerate solutions. Disposal or incineration of this secondary waste is costly and becoming highly regulated or even banned in some states. Enspired Solutions is commercializing a patented PFAS destruction technology called micelle- accelerated photoactivated reductive defluorination (PRD). We are developing a micelle-accelerated PRD reactor to degrade PFAS on spent ion exchange (IX) resin and regenerate the resin for further PFAS removal. The commercial system is the size of two large refrigerators, fully automated and modular to accommodate site- specific flow rates of 1,000 to 1,000,000 gallons per day of water contaminated with ng/L to µg/L concentrations of PFAS. Treatment cost estimates are competitive with PFAS capture and disposal. Our proprietary chemical formulation traps PFAS in solution inside a micelle, where an electron donor generates a hydrated electron upon exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light. The hydrated electron breaks the carbon-fluorine bonds of PFAS molecules, which degrades them to environmentally benign by-products. Compared to other PFAS destruction technologies, micelle-accelerated PRD is more efficient, safer and requires a smaller footprint. When paired with suspended spent IX resin, the positively charged resin surface can localize PFAS and our electron donor for selective PFAS destruction. Any PFAS that desorbs from the resin will be captured in a micelle in solution and similarly degraded. Bench scale micelle-accelerated PRD reactions will be performed on suspensions of IX resin loaded with PFAS from a synthetic solution. Defluorination of PFAS will be monitored in real time as a function of UV dose and confirmed with individual PFAS compound analysis. Reaction conditions will be optimized to achieve ≥ 99% (two orders of magnitude) PFAS destruction. We will test the reusability of the resins after micelle-accelerated PRD by measuring the adsorption capacity after regeneration, targeting 60 – 80 % capacity retention after each regeneration cycle. In Phase II, we will test the reaction with a range of real PFAS-laden wastewater samples, which will have complex matrices and a broader range of PFAS compounds. We will also expand testing to other media used for PFAS adsorption (ionomers, biochar, modified cornstarch, etc.) and larger sample volumes. This system will provide a complete, on-site PFAS capture plus destruction solution that will eliminate secondary waste generation and put an end to the spread of PFAS.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2025	2024	ENSPIRED SOLUTIONS INC.	3610 FOREST RD STE 136	LANSING	MI	48910	INGHAM	USA	NIEHS Superfund Hazardous Substances_Basic Research and Education	000	1	4/11/2025	NEW	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $179,465 )
2024	2024	ENSPIRED SOLUTIONS INC.	3610 FOREST RD STE 136	LANSING	MI	48910	INGHAM	USA	NIEHS Superfund Hazardous Substances_Basic Research and Education	000	1	5/14/2024	NEW	$179,465
														Subtotal = $179,465

Grand Total All Awards = $179,465

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Advanced Water Treatment System for On-Site PFAS Capture and Destruction

Award Number: R43ES036038

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 05/15/2024

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 04/30/2026

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