A novel technology for using bioremediation to clean chemical pollutants has been developed by a collaborative team that includes Joshua Yuan, chair and professor of energy, environmental and chemical engineering at Washington University in St. Louis’ McKelvey School of Engineering.
The material has the potential for commercial application for disposing of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals.” A certain type of firefighting foam — used to put out gasoline fires, among others — is one of the more notorious sources of PFAS. These substances can threaten human health and ecosystem sustainability when released into the environment.
Published July 28 in the journal Nature Communications, the research was a collaboration between Yuan and Susie Dai, associate professor at the Texas A&M Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology and Bioenvironmental Sciences Program.
“This is a new concept of treatment train integration,” said Yuan, former director of the Synthetic and Systems Biology Innovation Hub at Texas A&M. An expert in biomaterial and bioprocess design, Yuan contributed to the design of the new plant-based material, which absorbs PFAS. The combined materials can then be fed to a microbial fungus.
Read more on the the Texas A&M website.
Read more stories from McKelvey School of Engineering
Visit McKelvey School of Engineering
Comments and respectful dialogue are encouraged, but content will be moderated. Please, no personal attacks, obscenity or profanity, selling of commercial products, or endorsements of political candidates or positions. We reserve the right to remove any inappropriate comments. We also cannot address individual medical concerns or provide medical advice in this forum.
Divided City grant proposals due Sept. 7
Arts & Sciences provides building updates
Liu elected president of Chinese American Pathologists Association
Marketing, communications team wins eight Silver Telly Awards
DOLF Project’s role in effort to eliminate tropical disease recognized
Obituary: Jacob Schaefer, professor emeritus of chemistry in Arts & Sciences, 83
Gregory I. Goldberg, former dermatology professor, 74
Justin Hardy, recent graduate, Bears basketball player, 22
Cell memory’s role in migration to new tissues explored
Parker receives grant to study mechanics behind ‘dicamba drift’
NSF grant to help Zhang lab build better muscle with synthetic biology
Amy Hauft: The space between abstract and experiential knowledge
©2022 Washington University in St. Louis