EFFECTIVE DEGRADATION OF PFAS IN CATTLE DRINKING WATER BY LIQUID PLASMA TREATMENT TO PREVENT MILK CONTAMINATION

The long-term goal of this proposal is to maintain US dairies in business by producing milk without per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination. Cattle drinking water polluted by PFAS has led to contaminated milk that, if consumed by humans, will cause severe health issues. To that purpose, this proposal will initiate a novel and efficient technology based on liquid-phase plasma discharge to decompose PFAS in water so cows will have a safe drinking water source and will not produce milk with hazardous PFAS levels. The specific objectives of this project are to 1) study the technical feasibility and mechanism of effective remediation of typical PFAS substances (PFOA and PFOS) by the improved continuous flow liquid-phase plasma discharge (CFLPPD) process designed for on-farm use;2) identify significant factors that influence the PFAS degradation efficiency and water quality, and the best operational mode andPFAS removal effciency from waterby the CFLPPD process.