Transformation of Perfluorinated Compounds During Enzyme Catalyzed Oxidative Humification Reactions.

Perfluorinated Compounds (PFCs), such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), are a class of compounds used in manufacturing various industrial and military products. Over the last 50 years, PFCs have been manufactured in large quantities and used in diverse applications such as surface protector of carpets, leather, paper, packaging, and surfactants in aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF), etc. PFCs have been consistently found in soil and groundwater. PFCs draw public and regulatory concerns due to their resistance to degradation, bioaccumulation tendency, and toxicity to animals. The unique structural features of PFCs render them resistant to all current treatment technologies involving oxidation and microbial degradation. We have made an important finding that PFCs can be effectively degraded in soil via enzyme-catalyzed oxidative humification reactions (ECOHR). This finding suggests that the humification reactions mediated by certain extracellular enzymes may be a major pathway that can lead to the environmental transformation of PFCs and can be potentially used for soil and groundwater remediation.