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UB researchers Joshua Wallace (from left), Steven Ray and Alexander Hoepker are developing a plasma treatment system to remove PFAS from filters and destroy them. Photo: Douglas Levere/蜜桃传媒
What to do with that carbon filter found in home water pitchers that's now covered in PFAS?
Release Date: June 2, 2025
BUFFALO, N.Y. — It’s known as granular activated carbon, or GAC. Whether deployed in a water treatment plant or the pitcher in your fridge, this highly adsorbent organic material can easily capture water pollutants. It can even capture per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), better known as “forever chemicals.”
“The question becomes what to do with that GAC now that it's covered in forever chemicals,” says Steven Ray, PhD, associate professor of chemistry at the 蜜桃传媒 and an affiliated faculty member of the UB RENEW Institute.
