Mark Kushner
University of Michigan, MI·Engineering
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are industrial chemicals built from carbon and fluorine. Even tiny amounts in drinking water can harm health, and they break down so poorly that they are called "forever chemicals." Plasma, an energized gas full of fast electrons, ions (charged particles) and light, can break PFAS into smaller, less harmful pieces when it touches contaminated water.
- Fields
Engineering
Physics
Earth & Environmental Science
- Topics
per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances
forever chemicals
low temperature plasma
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Aug 2028
What they work on
- Develop computational models of the interface between an atmospheric-pressure plasma and water, emphasizing how electrons and ions accelerate into the water surface where PFAS 'forever chemicals' collect.
- Implement new algorithms to compute the energy distributions of electrons and ions striking the water surface, and build reaction mechanisms for PFAS breakdown.
- Validate the kinetic models against laser measurements, including electric field induced second harmonic generation and vibrational sum frequency generation, to infer reaction rates.
- Use the validated models to predict hard-to-measure quantities such as the vacuum-ultraviolet light flux that the plasma delivers onto the water.
More about the research
How this happens at the water's surface, and how to control it, is not well understood. This collaborative project combines experiments and computer models to find out.
Why it matters
PFAS contamination threatens drinking water supplies, and these chemicals resist ordinary breakdown. Understanding how plasma destroys PFAS at the water surface could guide the design of better plasma-based treatment systems for removing PFAS and other pollutants. The same insights may also inform plasma–liquid processes used in medicine, chemical conversion and materials synthesis.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
John Foster
University of Michigan, MI·Engineering
Test whether plasma breaks down PFAS through a non-oxidative route in which electrons and photons produce short-lived hydrofluorocarbons that hydroxyl radicals then oxidize to release fluoride ions.
Sarah Wu
University of Idaho, ID·Engineering
Build theoretical and thermodynamic models of liquid-phase plasma discharge in PFAS solutions to quantify energy delivery, plasma–liquid interactions and the generation of hydrated electrons, free electrons held among water molecules.
Timothy Schroeder
Bennington College, VT·Earth & Environmental Science
Characterize how PFAS ("forever chemicals") spread from contamination sources through groundwater, surface water, soils, vegetation and wildlife at Vermont field research sites.
The school
University of Michigan: 124 labs on PI Pages, $2.1B a year on research, 963 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
A start for your email. Fill in the brackets.