Deciphering the role of commercial nanofiltration membranes in removing 30 per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances: performances, mechanisms and implications

, compared to PFCAs with the same carbon chain length, showing that electrostatic repulsion and hydrophobic interactions resulted in better efficiency. Furthermore, coexisting pollutants in the actual wastewater could have different impacts on the treatment outcomes by influencing factors such as pH and blocking membrane pores. This work presents an environmentally friendly and efficient method for removing PFASs from wastewater and provides insights into the separation mechanism of NF membranes for dozens of PFASs.