Sustainable Product Design & Toxics Use Reduction

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) represent a category of thousands of chemicals that are widely used in manufacturing and consumer products. PFAS chemicals are used in a wide range of products across almost every industrial sector to add water, stain, and oil repellency, chemical and temperature resistance, friction reduction, and surfactant properties. This class of chemicals is often described as “forever chemicals” because they never fully break down in the environment. PFAS have been detected in drinking water, and affect the endocrine and metabolic system, including the liver and thyroid.

Faculty and graduate students at UMass Lowell have started a new research project to find safer alternatives to PFAS based surfactants. The Toxics Use Reduction Institute is funding Professor Ramaswamy Nagarajan and doctoral students Rashmi Sharma (Department of Chemistry) and Shreyas Shelke (Department of Plastics Engineering) to work with Transene Company of Danvers, Massachusetts to research safer chemicals, to replace PFAS surfactants used in electronic processing chemicals. The research team will study the compatibility and stability of pectin-based and other surfactants in etching solutions. This work is expected to help Transene phase out the use of PFAS surfactants used for various etching and photolithography processes. The research will also provide useful results for other industries that use PFAS surfactants in manufacturing.

More Information

For questions or to get more information please contact Greg Morose by email: gregory_morose@uml.edu.