To Örebro University

Per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) are man-made chemicals with a widespread environmental occurrence around the globe. This group of compounds has been associated with negative effects on human health and the environment. A recent estimation on the number of PFAS using the revised PFAS definition from the OECD in 2021 reached over 7 million compounds in the PubChem database. PFAS monitoring usually aims towards a small number of compounds in comparison to the potential total number of PFAS. In this thesis, target analysis for short- and long-chain PFAS, extractable organofluorine (EOF) analysis, target analysis after oxidative conversion was performed for a comprehensive assessment of PFAS in drainage water from different sections within a waste management facility. Other, not as common fluorinated compounds were also analyzed. For water remediation purposes, the ability to reduce PFAS concentrations using pine and spruce barks was also assessed. The drainage water contained PFAS in the magnitude of low μg/L with minor contribution from precursor compounds. Interestingly, the inorganic fluoride anions tetrafluoroborate (BF4) and hexafluorophosphate (PF6) were detected. The composition of 50% pine and 50% spruce demonstrated the greatest ability to remove PFAS with 100 μg/kg sorbent. Addition of calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) was not observed to be beneficial when the bark material was thermally treated.