New Technology Eliminates “Forever Chemicals” at Unprecedented Speed and Efficiency
December 25, 2025 — A groundbreaking eco-friendly technology developed by researchers at Rice University and international collaborators promises a revolutionary approach to tackling one of the world’s most persistent environmental threats: PFAS, popularly known as “forever chemicals.” These toxic substances are now commonly found in water supplies worldwide and have been notoriously difficult to remove and destroy—until now.
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are synthetic chemicals used since the 1940s in a variety of products including non-stick cookware, waterproof clothing, and food packaging. Their chemical structure grants them exceptional resistance to heat, grease, and water, but this same durability means they do not readily break down in the environment. This persistence has led to widespread contamination of water, soil, and air, raising serious public health concerns including links to liver damage, immune disorders, reproductive issues, and certain cancers.
The new technology centers on a specially engineered layered double hydroxide (LDH) material composed of copper and aluminum. This novel LDH compound, first identified during research at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and further developed in collaboration with Rice University, exhibits remarkable capacities to adsorb PFAS molecules with astounding speed and efficiency. Lead author Youngkun Chung, a postdoctoral fellow at Rice’s WaTER (Water Technologies, Entrepreneurship and Research) Institute and Sustainability Institute, explained that the material adsorbs PFAS over 1,000 times more effectively than current commercial filters, and operates approximately 100 times faster, capturing large quantities of contaminants within minutes.
The unique microscopic structure of the copper-aluminum LDH, featuring ordered layers and subtle charge imbalances, creates a highly attractive surface that enables swift and firm attachment of PFAS molecules. This design allows the technology to outperform traditional approaches that rely on activated carbon or ion-exchange resins, which tend to be slower, less efficient, and generate secondary waste that poses additional disposal challenges.
Crucially, the researchers demonstrated that the LDH system maintains its exceptional performance in real-world conditions, including tests conducted with river water, tap water, and wastewater. The system excelled in both static environments and continuous-flow scenarios, suggesting strong potential for integration into municipal water treatment plants and industrial remediation efforts.
Removing PFAS from water, however, is only part of the solution. Complete elimination requires destroying the chemicals safely. To this end, the team collaborated with Rice professors Pedro Alvarez and James Tour to develop a thermal decomposition process. After the LDH material captures PFAS, it is heated with calcium carbonate, effectively breaking down more than half of the trapped contaminants without producing harmful byproducts. This procedure also regenerates the LDH material, enabling its reuse multiple times without significant loss of effectiveness.
Initial experiments have shown the material can undergo at least six full cycles of PFAS capture, destruction, and system renewal, constituting the first environmentally sustainable, regenerative approach to PFAS remediation that integrates rapid cleanup with repeated reuse.
“This one-of-a-kind LDH-based technology represents a transformative advance in the fight against PFAS contamination,” said Michael S. Wong, professor at Rice’s George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing. “It combines speed, efficiency, and sustainability in a way that has not been achieved before and demonstrates the power of international collaboration and innovative research.”
The study detailing this technology was recently published in the journal Advanced Materials. It was the result of a partnership between Rice University, KAIST, and Pukyung National University in South Korea, supported by various funding programs including the National Research Foundation of Korea, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rice’s WaTER and Sustainability Institutes, and Saudi Aramco-KAIST CO2 Management.
As global concern mounts over the health and environmental impacts of PFAS, this new LDH-based platform stands out as a promising tool to enhance water safety and protect ecosystems while minimizing waste and resource consumption.
For more information, refer to the original publication:
Kim, K.-H., Chung, Y., et al. (2025). Regenerable Water Remediation Platform for Ultrafast Capture and Mineralization of Per‐ and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances. Advanced Materials. DOI: 10.1002/adma.202509842
Contact:
Rice University, George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing
WaTER Institute and Sustainability Institute
[Website and contact information]
Related Topics:
- Environmental Science
- Water Pollution
- Sustainable Technology
- Hazardous Waste Management
- Global Water Quality
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