Polymer That Cleans PFAS-Contaminated Water

If you’ve ever seen firefighters tackling a fire, you may have noticed the foam they use to smother a flame.

The problem with this foam, as well with certain protective coatings and lubricants, is that it contains toxins which can contaminate water.

Now a team out of Flinders University and the University of South Australia has developed an absorbent polymer able to clean water affected by these pollutants.

To discuss this work, I’m joined by Dr Justin Chalker, Senior Lecturer in Synthetic Chemistry at Flinders University and co-director of the study.