Mabaso Nonhle Siphelele Neliswa, Tshangana Charmaine Sesethu, Muleja Adolph Anga
Institute for Nanotechnology and Water Sustainability, College of Science, Engineering and Technology, University of South Africa, Johannesburg 1709, South Africa.
Membranes (Basel). 2024 Oct 14;14(10):217. doi: 10.3390/membranes14100217.
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are persistent compounds characterized by stable C-F bonds giving them high thermal and chemical stability. Numerous studies have highlighted the presence of PFASs in the environment, surface waters and animals and humans. Exposure to these chemicals has been found to cause various health effects and has necessitated the need to develop methods to remove them from the environment. To date, the use of photocatalytic degradation and membrane separation to remove PFASs from water has been widely studied; however, these methods have drawbacks hindering them from being applied at full scale, including the recovery of the photocatalyst, uneven light distribution and membrane fouling. Therefore, to overcome some of these challenges, there has been research involving the coupling of photocatalysis and membrane separation to form photocatalytic membrane reactors which facilitate in the recovery of the photocatalyst, ensuring even light distribution and mitigating fouling. This review not only highlights recent advancements in the removal of PFASs using photocatalysis and membrane separation but also provides comprehensive information on the integration of photocatalysis and membrane separation to form photocatalytic membrane reactors. It emphasizes the performance of immobilized and slurry systems in PFAS removal while also addressing the associated challenges and offering recommendations for improvement. Factors influencing the performance of these methods will be comprehensively discussed, as well as the nanomaterials used for each technology. Additionally, knowledge gaps regarding the removal of PFASs using integrated photocatalytic membrane systems will be addressed, along with a comprehensive discussion on how these technologies can be applied in real-world applications.
全氟烷基和多氟烷基物质（PFASs）是持久性化合物，其特征在于稳定的C-F键，赋予它们高的热稳定性和化学稳定性。大量研究突出了PFASs在环境、地表水以及动物和人类中的存在。已发现接触这些化学物质会导致各种健康影响，因此有必要开发从环境中去除它们的方法。迄今为止，利用光催化降解和膜分离从水中去除PFASs已得到广泛研究；然而，这些方法存在一些缺点，阻碍了它们的大规模应用，包括光催化剂的回收、光分布不均匀和膜污染。因此，为了克服其中一些挑战，已有研究涉及将光催化与膜分离相结合，形成光催化膜反应器，这有助于光催化剂的回收，确保光分布均匀并减轻污染。本综述不仅突出了利用光催化和膜分离去除PFASs的最新进展，还提供了关于光催化与膜分离集成以形成光催化膜反应器的全面信息。它强调了固定化和悬浮体系在去除PFASs方面的性能，同时也解决了相关挑战并提出了改进建议。将全面讨论影响这些方法性能的因素，以及每种技术所使用的纳米材料。此外，还将解决使用集成光催化膜系统去除PFASs方面的知识空白，并全面讨论这些技术如何应用于实际应用中。
