SERDP FY 2025 New Start Projects

 Environmental Restoration (ER) Program Area

The objective of this Statement of Need (SON) was to seek innovative research that leads to a better understanding of the physical-chemical properties of PFAS in order to predict their behavior within various environmental systems, engineered treatment systems, and biota. Specifically, the goal was to address the following research needs:

  • Evaluate data on conventional physical-chemical properties for PFAS that have been reported in order to clarify inconsistencies in reporting, and identify and address critical data gaps. 
  • Develop fundamental chemistry-based models that better estimate PFAS distributions between environmental phases and organism phases of individual PFAS in legacy and modern fluorotelomer-based aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF).
  • Develop models that can predict properties from structure-activity relationships such as linear solvation energy relationships (LSERs) and poly-parameter linear free energy relationships (pp-LFERs). 
  • Develop an improved understanding of the environmental phases/interfaces and corresponding phase distribution behavior that are controlling partitioning in the subsurface and impact fate and transport. 
  • Develop an improved understanding of the organisms and organism compartments that most strongly accumulate PFAS mass. 

The projects listed below were selected to address the objectives of this SON. Additional information on individual projects can be found by clicking the project title. 

  • PFAS Transport Through the Vadose Zone: Effects of Heterogeneity, Non-equilibrium and Co-occurring Chemicals
    • Lead Investigator: Kevin Mumford, Queen’s University
  • Measurement and Prediction of Black Carbon-Water Partition Coefficients of PFAS: Isothermal Titration Calorimetry and Poly-parameter Linear Free Energy Relationships
    • Lead Investigator: Zhijiang Lu, Wayne State University
  • Systematically Determining the Physical-chemical Properties of PFAS by Experimental Measurement and Predictive Modeling
    • Lead Investigator: Xiaoyu Liu, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  • Development of an Accurate, Robust, and High-Throughput Photophysical Assay and Prediction Model for PFAS Critical Micelle Concentration – A Synergistic Experimental and Computational Study
    • Lead Investigator: Lei Guo, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
  • Experimental Measurement of Physical-Chemical Properties of PFAS Through Robust Deconvolution and Internal Redundancy Techniques
    • Lead Investigator:  Blaney, University of Maryland Baltimore County
  • Measurement and Modeling: Filling the Gaps on PFAS Phys-Chem Properties
    • Lead Investigator: Jennifer Field, Oregon State University
  • Elucidating PFAS Bioaccumulation Mechanisms in Fish for Developing a Novel Biomimicking Approach
    • Lead Investigator: Jitka Becanova, University of Rhode Island

Research should lead to an improved understanding of the physical-chemical properties of PFAS is critical to ultimately understanding their fate in the environment. Such information will ultimately lead to improved management of PFAS in the environment.