PFAS Related Publications - NJ PFAS

Wen Zhang, Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering - NJIT

Yao, Ying, Xinting Wang, Fangzhou Liu, Wen Zhang, Francisco J. Artigas, and Yuan Gao. "Distributions and partitioning of airborne Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in urban atmosphere of Northern New Jersey." Science of the Total Environment 970 (2025): 179037.

Nanyang Yang, Shasha Yang, Qingquan Ma, Claudia Beltran, Yunqiao Guan, Madison Morsey, Elizabeth Brown, Sujan Fernando, Thomas M. Holsen, Wen Zhang, and Yang Yang. Solvent-Free Nonthermal Destruction of PFAS Chemicals and PFAS in Sediment by Piezoelectric Ball Milling. Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett. 2023.

Yang, Nanyang, Yunqiao Guan, Shasha Yang, Qingquan Ma, Caitlyn Olive, Sujan Fernando, Wen Zhang, Thomas M. Holsen, and Yang Yang. "PFAS Destruction and Near-Complete Defluorination of Undiluted Aqueous Film-Forming Foams at Ambient Conditions by Piezoelectric Ball Milling." Environmental Science & Technology (2025).

Ma, Qingquan, Jiahe Zhang, Guangyu Zhu, Neel Ahuja, Boris Khusid, and Wen Zhang. "Effects of surfactants, ion valency and solution temperature on PFAS rejection in commercial reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) processes." Journal of Water Process Engineering 66 (2024): 106039.

Ma, Qingquan, Qian Lei, Fangzhou Liu, Zimu Song, Boris Khusid, and Wen Zhang. "Evaluation of commercial nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membrane filtration to remove per‐and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): Effects of transmembrane pressures and water matrices." Water Environment Research 96, no. 2 (2024): e10983.

Ma, Qingquan, Jianan Gao, Kayla Cheng, Joshua Young, Meng-Qiang Zhao, Avner Ronen, and Wen Zhang. "Electrooxidation of Perfluorocarboxylic Acids by an Interfacially Engineered Magnéli Phase Titanium Oxide (Ti4O7) Electrode with MXene." ACS ES&T Engineering 4, no. 5 (2024): 1102-1112.

Ma, Qingquan, Jianan Gao, Botamina Moussa, Joshua Young, Mengqiang Zhao, and Wen Zhang. "Electrosorption, Desorption, and Oxidation of Perfluoroalkyl Carboxylic Acids (PFCAs) via MXene-Based Electrocatalytic Membranes." ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. 2023, 15, 24, 29149–29159

Chen Chen, Qingquan Ma, Fangzhou Liu, Jianan Gao, Xinyang Li, Shaobin Sun, Hong Yao, Changqing Liu, Joshua Young, Wen Zhang, Photocatalytically Reductive Defluorination of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) using Pt/La2Ti2O7 Nanoplates: Experimental and DFT Assessment, Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2021, 126452

Fangzhou Liu, Likun Hua, Wen Zhang, Influences of microwave irradiation on performances of membrane filtration and catalytic degradation of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), Environment International, Volume 143, 2020, 105969

Arjun K. Venkatesan, Associate Professor Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, NJIT - *As corresponding author

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Shaffer KW, Lee CS, Ye X, Graffam M, Paulsen RJ, McDonough CA, Venkatesan AK, Gobler CJ. Fate and Transport of Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Across the Groundwater-to-Estuary Continuum in an Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF)-Impacted Watershed. Environmental Pollution. 2025 Dec 3:127486.

Zhang, Y., Lee, C. S., Li, D., Zheng, S., Hsiao, B. S., & Venkatesan, A. K.* (2025). Hydrophobic Ion Pairing as a Pretreatment to Enhance the Removal of Short-Chain Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances by Granular Activated Carbon. Environmental Science & Technology. 59(38), 20761-20771

C. A. Cooper, S. Grdanovska, K. Londhe, A. K. Venkatesan, and C. C. Lange, Destruction of PFAS in Water via Electron Beam in Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Treatment Technologies, ed. Y. Deng, Q. Huang, and S. (. Chiang, Royal Society of Chemistry, 2025, vol. 16, ch. 6, pp. 112-136.

Woke, J., Maroli, A., Zhang, Y., Venkatesan, A.K.* (2025). Impact of Coexisting Nitrate and Sulfate Ions on Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Removal by Anion Exchange Resins. Chemical Engineering Science, 122126

Smolinski, R., Oates, M., Venkatesan, A.K., Gobler, C., & McDonough, C. (2025). Emerging investigator series: Identification and transformation of per/polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in residential wastewater and effluent from alternative treatment systems. Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts.

Alulema-Pullupaxi, P., Zhang, Y., Saleh, N. B., Venkatesan, A.K., & Apul, O. G. (2025). Analyzing the Release of Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances from Spent Granular Activated Carbons by Standard Leaching Procedures. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2025, 59, 17, 8681–8693

Hannan, M., Evrendilek, F., Leclair, D., Choudhary, M., Mensah, K., Aeppli, C., Venkatesan, A.K. and Apul, O.G., 2025. Aftermath of a major firefighting foam spill in Brunswick, Maine: Spatiotemporal dynamics of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances in the downstream surface waters. Journal of Hazardous Materials Letters, p.100150

Li, D., Das, R., Zhang, Y., Zheng, S., Oltulu, M., Venkatesan, A.K., Hsiao, B.S. (2025). Alkylamine Modified Dialdehyde Cellulose Nanofibers for PFAS Adsorption. ACS ES&T Water, 5(4), 1582-1594

Shaffer, K. W., Ye, X., Lee, C. S., Shipley, O. N., McDonough, C. A., Venkatesan, A. K., & Gobler, C. J. (2025). Accumulation and trophic transfer of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in estuarine organisms determined via stable isotopes. Science of The Total Environment, 967, 178742

Londhe, K., & Venkatesan, A. K.* (2025). Air Bubbling Assisted Soil Washing to Treat PFAS in High Organic Content Soils. Environments, 12(1), 20

Maroli, A. S., Zhang, Y., Lubiantoro, J., & Venkatesan, A.K.* (2024). Surfactant-enhanced coagulation and flocculation improves the removal of perfluoroalkyl substances from surface water. Environmental Science: Advances, 3(12), 1714-1721. DOI: 10.1039/D4VA00093E. (Best Paper Award 2024).

Lee, C. S., & Venkatesan, A. K.* (2024). Cationic surfactant-assisted foam fractionation enhances the removal of short-chain perfluoroalkyl substances from impacted water. Chemosphere, 142614

Londhe, K. and Venkatesan, A.K.* (2024). Effect of chain length, electrolyte composition and aerosolization on the removal of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances during electrochemical oxidation process. Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology. (In Press)

Londhe, K., Lee, C.S., Grdanovska, S., Smolinski, R., Hamdan, N., McDonough, C., Cooper, C. and Venkatesan, A.K.* (2024). Application of electron beam technology to decompose per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water. Environmental Pollution, 348, p.123770

Zhang, Y., Thomas, A., Apul, O., & Venkatesan, A. K.* (2023). Coexisting ions and long chain per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) inhibit the adsorption of short chain PFAS by granular activated carbon. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 132378

D. Li, C.S. Lee, Y. Zhang, R. Das, F. Akter, A. K. Venkatesan*, B.S. Hsiao* (2023). Efficient removal of short-chain and long-chain PFAS by cationic nanocellulose. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 11(18), 9868-9883. DOI: 10.1039/d3ta01851b

K. Londhe, C.S. Lee, C.A. McDonough, Venkatesan, A.K.* (2022). The Need for Testing Isomer Profiles of Perfluoroalkyl Substances to Evaluate Treatment Processes. Environmental Science & Technology, 56(22), 15207-15219

A.K. Venkatesan*, Lee C-S., Gobler, C.J. Hydroxyl-radical based advanced oxidation processes can increase perfluoroalkyl substances beyond drinking water standards: Results from a pilot study. Science of The Total Environment, 847, 157577

D. Li, K. Londhe, K. Chi, C.S. Lee, A. K. Venkatesan*, B.S. Hsiao* (2021). Functionalized Bio-adsorbents for Removal of Perfluoroalkyl Substances: A Perspective. AWWA Water Science. 3(6), e1258

Sonmez, B., Zhang, Y., Reuther, J., Saleh, N., Venkatesan, A.K., Apul, O.G. (2021). Thermal Regeneration of Spent Granular Activated Carbon Presents an Opportunity to Break the Forever PFAS Cycle. Environmental Science and Technology. Environmental Science & Technology, 55(9), 5608-5619

Londhe, K., Lee, C.S., Zhang, Y., Grdanovska, S., Kroc, T., Cooper, C., Venkatesan, A.K.* (2021). Energy Evaluation of Electron Beam Treatment of Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Water: A Critical Review. ACS ES&T Engineering, 1(5), 827-841

Venkatesan, A.K., and Halden. R.U. (2014). Loss and in situ production of perfluoroalkyl chemicals in outdoor biosolids–soil mesocosms. Environ. Res. 132, 321–327

Venkatesan, A.K. and Halden. R.U. (2013). National inventory of perfluoroalkyl substances in archived U.S. biosolids from the 2001 EPA National Sewage Sludge Survey. J. Hazard. Mater. 252-253, 413-418

Hao Chen, Professor, Chemistry and Environmental Science - NJIT

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Yongqing Yang, Md Tanim-Al Hassan, Juana Perez Sanchez, Quentin A. Young, Richard N. Zare, Hao Chen*, Ultrafast PFAS degradation using oxidant-containing microdroplets, Chem Comm, 2025, 61, 17629–17632.

Francis J. Osonga, Gaddi B. Eshun, Huize Xue, Stephen Kurilla, Md. Tanim-Al Hassan, Areej Qamar, Hao Chen and Omowunmi A. Sadik*, IMPACT: Innovative (nano)Materials and Processes for Advanced Catalytic Technologies to Detect and Degrade PFOA in Water, Chemosphere, 2024, 364, 143057

Chen Wu, Sandra Goodrow, Hao Chen, Mengyan Li*, Distinctive Biotransformation and Biodefluorination of 6:2 versus 5:3 Fluorotelomer Carboxylic Acids by Municipal Activated Sludge, Water Research, 2024, 254, 121431

Md. Tanim-Al- Hassan, Xingzhi Chen, Praneeth Ivan Joel FNU, Francis J. Osonga, Omowunmi A. Sadik, Mengyan Li, and Hao Chen*, Rapid Detection of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Using Paper Spray-Based Mass Spectrometry, Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2024, 465, 133366

Chen Wu, Qi Wang, Hao Chen*, Mengyan Li*, Rapid Quantitative Analysis and Suspect Screening of Per-and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances (PFAS) in Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFFs) and Municipal Wastewater Samples by Nano-ESI-HRMS, Water Research, 2022, 219, 118542

Omowunmi "Wunmi" Sadik, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs Distinguished Professor of Chemistry & Env. Sci. Fellow ACS, RSC, AIMBE & NAI Office of Faculty Affairs - NJIT

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Manavi Manavi, Francis Osonga, Omowunmi Sadik, Unveiling nano-empowered catalytic mechanisms for PFAS sensing, removal, and destruction in water, Science of the Total Environment, 912, 169279, 2024

Md.Tanim-Al-Hassan, X. Chen, P. Ivan Joel FNU, F. Osonga, O. Sadik, M. Li, and H. Chen, Rapid detection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) using paper spray-based mass spectrometry, J. Hazardous Materials, 465, 133366, 2024.

Francis J. Osonga, Gaddi B. Eshun, Stephen Kurilla, Areej Qamar*, Huize Xue, Md. Tanim-Al Hassan, Hao Chen & Omowunmi A. Sadik, IMPACT: Innovative (nano)Materials and Processes for Advanced Catalytic Technologies to Degrade PFOA in Water, Chemosphere 364, 143057, 2024

Jay N. Meegoda, Ph. D., P. E., Professor & Director of Geotech. Lab. Department of Civil & Env. Engineering - NJIT

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Meegoda, J. N., Kewalramani, J. A., Li B and Marsh, R. W., (2020), “A Review of the Applications, Environmental Release, and Remediation Technologies of Perand Polyfluoroalkyl Substances,” Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 2020, 17, 8117; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17218117

Meegoda, J.N., Bezerra de Souza, B., Casarini, M.M., and Kewalramani, J.A., (2022) “A Review of PFAS Destruction Technologies” Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 19, 16397. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192416397

Perera, D. C.; Meegoda, J. N. (2025), PFAS: The Journey from Wonder Chemicals to Environmental Nightmares and the Search for Solutions. Appl. Sci. 2024, 14, 8611, https://doi.org/10.3390/app14198611

Christina M. Brenckman, Ashish D. Borgaonkar, William H. Pennock III and Jay N. Meegoda, (2026), Combined Environmental Impacts and Toxicological Interactions of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and Microplastics (MPs), Environments 2026, 13, 38, Review Article, https://doi.org/10.3390/environments13010038

Jay N. Meegoda, Ravisha N. Mudalige and Duwage C. Perera, (2026), Maximum Adsorption Capacity of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) on Clays, Environments 2026, 13, 37, Review Article, https://doi.org/10.3390/environments13010037

Kewalramani, J. A., Wang, B., Marsh, R., Meegoda, J. N., Freire, L. (2022) "Coupled high and low-frequency ultrasound remediation of PFAS contaminated soils, Ultrasonics Sonochemistry, 88, article no. 106063, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultsonch.2022.106063

Kewalramani, J. A., Meegoda, J. N., (2023), Kinetics Effects of the Power Density and Initial Concentration on the Sonochemical Degradation of PFOS and PFOA in Concentrated Waste, Journal of Water Process Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2023.103752

Kewalramani, J. A., Bezerra de Souza, B., Marsh, R., Meegoda, J. N., (2023), Contributions of Reactor Geometry and Ultrasound Frequency on the Efficiency of Sonochemical Reactor, Ultrasonics Sonochemistry, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultsonch.2023.106529

Marsh, R. W., Kewalramani, J. A., Bezerra de Souza, B., and J. N. Meegoda, (2024), The use of a fluorine mass balance to demonstrate the mineralization of PFAS by high frequency and high power ultrasound, Chemosphere, Volume 352, March 2024, 141270, https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1iYlGAOMA5BDW

Meegoda, J. N., Bezerra de Souza, B., Teymourian, T., Perera, D. C., Juriasingani, P. and Davis, J., Ultrasound for Degradation of Complex Matrices of PFAS Mixtures, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-025-37055-2

Juriasingani, P., Arnseth, R., Heyser, H., Forester, D., Davis, J, & Meegoda, J. N., (2026), Field Demonstration of a High-frequency Ultrasonic Treatment Reactor for PFAS Destruction in Contaminated Groundwater, Groundwater Monitoring and Remediation, https://doi.org/10.1111/gwmr.70045

Bezerra de Souza, B., Hewage, S. A., Kewalramani, J. A., van Duin, A., and Meegoda, J. N., (2023), A ReaxFF-based Molecular Dynamics study of the Destruction of PFAS due to Ultrasound, the Journal of Environmental Pollution, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122026

Bezerra de Souza, B., and J. N. Meegoda, (2024), Insights into PFAS Environmental Fate Through Computational Chemistry: A Review, Journal of the Science of the Total Environment, https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1iorbB8cd0K1z

Bezerra de Souza, B.; Kewalramani, J.A.; Marsh, R.W.; Meegoda, J. (2025) Molecular Dynamics Simulation of the Impact of Functional Head Groups and Chain Lengths of PFAS Degradation Using Ultrasound Technology. Water 2025, 17. 1025. https://doi.org/10.3390/w17071025

Bezerra de Souza, B., Perera, D. C., Teymourian, T. and Meegoda, J., (2025), Mechanism of Sonolytic PFAS Degradation into Inorganic Products: A Combined Reactive Molecular Dynamics and DFT Approach, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 699 (2025) 138215, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2025.138215

Jay N. Meegoda, Targol Teymourian, Duwage C. Perera, (2026), Incineration of PFBA with temperature: Reaction mechanisms, kinetics, and residence time from molecular level simulations, Chemosphere Volume 401, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2026.144914 Grants Role PI Agency Title May

Peter Jaffé, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton

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Pearson, M.C., P.J Novak, S. Huang, P.R. Jaffe, M.A. Hillmyer, W.A. Arnold, “Towards Enhancement of Feammox-based Perfluorooctanoic Acid Biotransformation using Porous Polyethylene-supported Zeolite Carriers,” in review.

Sima, M.W., S. Huang, and P. R. Jaffé, “Stimulation of Acidimicrobium sp. Strain A6 Biodegradation of PFOS in AFFF Impacted Sediment Columns using PAA-Coated Goethite,” in press.

Sima, M.W., S. Huang, and P. R. Jaffé, “The Current Status of PFAS as Environmental and Health Pollutants: Sources, Impacts, Mitigation, and Policy,” to appear in Advanced Agronomy, Vol. 199.

Huang, S., G. Pilloni, T. Key, and P.R. Jaffé, “Defluorination of Various Perfluoro Alkyl Acids and Selected PFOA and PFOS Monomers by Acidimicrobium sp. Strain A6 Enrichment Cultures,” J. of Hazardous Materials, Vol. 480, 2024, 136426,

Huang, S., C. Smorada, C.E. Schaefer and P.R. Jaffé, “Stimulating Acidimicrobium sp. Strain A6 in iron-rich, acidic sediments from AFFF-impacted sites for PFAS defluorination,” Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 955, 2024, 176801

Smorada, C.M., M.W. Sima, and P.R. Jaffé, “Bacterial Degradation of Perfluoroalkyl Acids,” Current Opinions in Biotechnology, Vol. 88,2024, 103170

Jaffé, P.R. and S. Huang, “Rebuttal to Correspondence on Defluorination of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) by Acidimicrobium sp. Strain A6,” Environmental Science and Technology, 2023, 57, 48, 20443–20447

Huff Chester, A.L., N. Gallagher, S. Huang, P. Jaffé, P. Novak, “Stormwater applications of zeolite-coated biofilm carriers for ammonium removal with possible applications to PFAS biotransformation,” Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology, 2023, Vol. 9, pp. 3227 – 3242

Park, J., S. Huang, B.E. Koel, and P.R. Jaffé, “Effects of polyacrylic acid (PAA)-coated ferrihydrite as an electron acceptor for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) degradation by Acidimicrobium sp. Strain A6,” J. of Hazardous Materials, 2023, Vol. 459, No. 5

Sima, M.W., S. Huang, and P.R. Jaffé, “Modeling the Kinetics of Perfluorooctanoic and Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid Biodegradation by Acidimicrobium sp. Strain A6 during the Feammox Process,” J. of Hazardous Materials, 2023, Vol. 448

Ruiz-Urigüen, M., W. Shuai, S. Huang, and P.R. Jaffé, “Biodegradation of PFOA in Microbial Electrolysis Cells by Acidimicrobiaceae sp. Strain A6,” Chemosphere, 2022, Vol. 292, p. 133506

Huang, S., M. Sima, Y. Long, C. Messenger, and P.R. Jaffé, “Degradation of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) in Biosolids by Acidimicrobiumsp. Strain A6,” J. of Hazardous Materials, 2022, Vol. 424, Part D, p. 127699

Sima, M., and P.R. Jaffé, “A Critical Review of Modeling Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the Soil-Water Environment,”Science of the Total Environment, 2021, Vol. 757, 143793

Huang, S., and P.R. Jaffé, “Defluorination of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) by Acidimicrobium sp. strain A6,” Environmental Science and Technology, 2019, Vol. 53, No 19, pp 11410-11419

Mengyan Li Professor, Chemistry and Environmental Science