Page 18 - report

Sustainability 2023, 15, x FOR PEER REVIEW 10 of 37

automotive, military, aerospace, and electronics sectors [141]. Consumer goods like shampoo and cosmetics, 511

paints, pesticides, fast food packaging, non-stick cookware, stain-resistant products and oil, and ink production 512
[142]. 513

The 3 M business started the industrial manufacturing of PFAS in 1930, and DuPont continued to develop it 514

to create Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), which is commercially marketed as "Teflon" and has a wide range 515

of uses as a stable non-reactive polymer. PFAS have a great chemical/thermal stability and resistance to heat, 516

water, grease, stains, and an exceptionally low coefficient of friction because they include the highly stable 517

carbon-fluorine bonds. Particularly, PFAS are both lipo- and hydrophobic, which accounts for their 518

widespread application in "non-stick" coatings. PFAS are utilised in a variety of commercial and consumer 519

items, including non-stick cookware, food wrappers, pesticides, paints, and drink can lining materials. They 520

are also employed in the military, leather, aerospace, textile, paints, and pesticide industries [143]. In 521

comparison to hydrocarbons, PFAS exhibit better qualities such as higher surface activity, better dielectric 522

properties, higher thermal stability, more chemical resistance, and physiological inertness [144]. Because of 523

their low coefficient of friction, low surface energy, resistance to chemicals and high temperatures, and 524

dielectric properties, PFAS are excellent materials for creating products that are robust, resilient, and highly 525
versatile [145]. In a recent study it was found that they have been utilised in medicinal applications, non-stick 526

cookware, firefighting foams, biocides (pesticides and herbicides), textiles, and wiring insulation for 527

electronics as surgical instruments [146]. Studying the carbon chain length of the PFAS can help you 528

understand the differences in environmental occurrence since it is one of the key characteristics of PFAS 529

creation. Since short chain PFAS have a lower potential for bioaccumulation, they have been brought to the 530

market. In contrast to longer chain PFAS, they are more hydrophilic and mobile, which makes them more 531

likely to contaminate all types of waterbodies, including sources of drinking water. For uses such as food 532

packaging, floor wax, and carpets, perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS), a four-carbon short-chain PFAS, was 533

created as a replacement for PFOS (long-chain PFAS). In comparison to PFOS, PFBS was more frequently 534

found in wastewater, drinking water, and surface water sources. In contrast, proteins, organic carbon, and 535

sewage sludge produced in a wastewater treatment plant are more affine to long-chain per fluorinated carbon 536

(PFCs) (WWTP) [147, 148]. 537

538