Sustainable filter/adsorbent materials from cellulose-based electrospun nanofibrous membranes with soy protein coating for high-efficiency GenX fluorocarbon remediation from water

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been widely used in consumer products but recently became emerging contaminants in water bodies with adverse health effects. Industry quickly shifted to short-chain PFAS, e.g. GenX, to replace traditional long-chain PFAS in response to environmental regulations. However, GenX also raised big health concerns. In this research, for the first time, we developed innovative renewable nanofibrous filter/adsorbent materials to remediate GenX from water with cellulose (CE) and its derivative cellulose acetate (CA). We studied the capability of electrospun CA and CE nanofibrous membranes to bind and remove GenX from water and further coated these membranes with low-cost soy protein isolate (SPI) and obtained highly effective filter/adsorbent materials for GenX remediation from water. The introduction of SPI coating to CA and CE nanofibrous membranes greatly promoted GenX removal efficiency from water. The maximum GenX removal capacity reached ~ 1.1 mmol/g, which is significantly higher than that of most published GenX adsorbents and 40% higher than activated carbon adsorbents. The interaction between SPI and CA/CE nanofibrous membranes as well as GenX adsorption mechanism was studied by using both experiment and simulation. This research shed light on the development of sustainable adsorbent materials for practical short-chain PFAS remediation from water.