Award for innovation in the detection of PFAS compounds
Thuringian startup and Fraunhofer Institute receive Lothar Späth Award
The use of perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) has not only been controversial for a long time, but is also facing a possible EU-wide ban. The associated challenges for manufacturers, who will have to rely on extensive testing of chemicals in the future, are complex. In a collaboration between the MikroTribologie Centrum µTC and the Thuringian start-up Kompass GmbH, an innovative measuring system has now been developed that far surpasses previous devices for detecting PFAS compounds in terms of ease of use, flexibility and accuracy. On November 16, the system was awarded the Lothar Späth Award, which is presented for particularly groundbreaking innovations.
PFAS are a group of chemicals that are used in a variety of industrial applications due to their unique water and grease repellent properties. These substances are often found in products such as impregnating agents for textiles, food packaging, fireproof foams and numerous lubricants. In addition to their longevity, which has a significant impact on the environment, PFAS also pose potential health risks. Restrictions or even a comprehensive ban on the use of PFAS - as is already being sought in Germany - means that manufacturers, suppliers and local authorities must carry out comprehensive tests, which are costly and time-consuming.
As an alternative to conventional measuring methods, which are expensive and time-consuming and are also not suitable for use in the field, a new type of measuring device for PFAS detection has been developed in a collaboration between Kompass GmbH and the MikroTribologie Centrum µTC. The system is about to be launched on the market and will serve all sectors that will be affected by a PFAS ban. The innovation was awarded the Lothar Späth Award on 16 November, which recognizes particularly groundbreaking innovations resulting from cooperation between industry and science.
Novel measuring device developed in transnational cooperation
As part of an order from the World Ski Federation (FIS) to detect PFAS compounds in ski waxes, a prototype for an easy-to-use "PFAS tester" was developed in close cooperation between the Thuringia-based start-up Kompass GmbH and the MikroTribologie Centrum µTC, a joint venture between the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM in Freiburg and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), which is now about to be launched on the market. The close collaboration benefited greatly from the technical expertise of the respective partners: the work of Kompass GmbH, which specializes in sensor technology and includes the development and manufacture of components and sensors, was complemented by the expertise of the MikroTribologie Centrums µTC, which has many years of experience in the fields of tribosystem evaluation and optimization as well as materials analysis.
"Previous PFAS detection methods, such as those based on infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), are usually not mobile. This means that samples containing PFAS can only be analyzed in measuring laboratories at great expense on site," explains Prof. Matthias Scherge, Head of the MicroTribology Center µTC and Head of the Tribology Business Unit at the Fraunhofer IWM. Another problem is the nature of the samples: The different molecular vibrations that are excited in the samples can be superimposed, so that the evaluation in the FTIR analyses according to energy and signal strength is not sufficient. Accurate evaluation therefore requires the implementation of a model that relates various characteristic peaks in the spectrum.
The newly developed PFAS tester, in a handy handheld scanner format, meets these challenges. "The device uses a measuring head that excites samples with infrared and ultraviolet light and records signals that cover a wide range of energy ranges," explains Prof. Scherge. Roughness effects are minimized by the measuring head measuring reflectively and diffusely in different directions to the surface. Additional sensors compensate for effects caused by the sample color. The variety of sensors requires machine data processing with tools based on artificial intelligence and machine learning. The integrated AI solution is hardware-coded and enables the use of additional algorithms for a comprehensive database through cloud connectivity. By suitably adapting the device with information from infrared and X-ray spectra, almost all PFAS compounds can be quantified.
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
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