Critical review of thermal decomposition of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances: mechanisms and implications for thermal treatment processes
Abstract
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are fluorinated organic chemicals that are concerning due to their environmental persistence and adverse human and ecological effects. Remediation of environmental PFAS contamination and their presence in consumer products have led to the production of solid and liquid waste streams containing high concentrations of PFASs, which require efficient and cost-effective treatment solutions. PFASs are challenging to defluorinate by conventional and advanced destructive treatment processes, and physical separation processes produce waste streams (e.g., membrane concentrate, spent activated carbon) requiring further post-treatment. Incineration and other thermal treatment processes are widely available, but their use in managing PFAS-containing wastes remains poorly understood. Under specific operating conditions, thermal treatment is expected to mineralize PFASs, but the degradation mechanisms and pathways are unknown. In this review, we critically evaluate the thermal decomposition mechanisms, pathways, and byproducts of PFASs that are crucial to the design and operation of thermal treatment processes. We highlight the analytical capabilities and challenges and identify research gaps which limit the current understanding of safely applying thermal treatment to destroy PFASs as a viable end-of-life treatment process.
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PFBA is a product of the thermochemical treatment of longer-chain PFAS.
“PFBA is a product of the thermochemical treatment of longer-chain PFAS (Wang et al., 2022; Watanabe et al., 2016).”
From PFAS in Iowa drinking water sources: Chemical and geospatial patterns (2025) · cites this paper as Wang et al., 2022
PFBA is a volatile and mobile compound capable of quickly moving through sediment and into groundwater.
“In particular, PFBA is a volatile and mobile compound capable of quickly moving through sediment and into groundwater (Ding and Peijnenburg, 2013; Wang et al., 2022).”
From PFAS in Iowa drinking water sources: Chemical and geospatial patterns (2025) · cites this paper as Wang et al., 2022
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Recent Advances on PFAS Degradation via Thermal and Nonthermal Methods
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PFAS in Iowa drinking water sources: Chemical and geospatial patterns
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- Authors
- Wang, J., Lin, Z., He, X., Song, M., Westerhoff, P., Doudrick, K., & Hanigan, D.
- Affiliations
- University of Nevada, Reno (US)
- Arizona State University (US)
- University of Notre Dame (US)
- Corresponding author
- Doudrick, Kyle
- Hanigan, David
- Venue
- Environmental Science & Technology
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2022-04-21
- Volume
- 56
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 5355-5370
- ISSN
- 0013-936X (ISSN-L)
- 1520-5851
- OpenAlex
- W4224244625
- Cited by
- 263
- References
- 17
- Citations by year
- 2026: 72 · 2025: 77 · 2024: 58 · 2023: 42 · 2022: 14
- FWCI
- 3.38
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Environmental Science & Technology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Defense
- National Science Foundation (2128407)
- Nevada Water Reuse Association
- Air & Waste Management Association
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Water Science and Technology › Advanced oxidation water treatment
- Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmaceutical Science › Fluorine in Organic Chemistry
- Keywords
- per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS, thermal decomposition, incineration, heat treatment, defluorination, degradation mechanism, mineralization, by-product formation, waste incineration, analytical challenges
- MeSH terms
- Charcoal, Fluorocarbons, Humans, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Incineration
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