Date of Award

6-2025

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Geological and Environmental Sciences

First Advisor

Donald M. Reeves, Ph. D.

Second Advisor

Daniel P. Cassidy, Ph. D.

Third Advisor

Kathryn M. Docherty, Ph. D.

Keywords

Contaminants, foam formation, PFAS enrichment, sampling, surfactants

Access Setting

Masters Thesis-Open Access

Abstract

Surface Water Foam (SWF) and underlying Surface Water (SW) were collected from six distinct sites across Michigan using a novel sampling device. PFAS were detected in all SWF samples with total PFAS concentrations (Σ41 compounds, n=14) varying widely from 2,693 to 402,172 ng/L .SWF samples were enriched in high and intermediate molecular volume PFAS relative to SW samples (n=10) which were dominated by low molecular volume, short-chain PFAS with total PFAS concentrations ranging from 4.4 to 31 ng/L. Wet and dry SWFs were distinguished by appearance, liquid content, and PFAS composition. Dry SWFs had higher total PFAS concentrations than wet SWFs. Intermediate molecular volume PFAS constituted a greater percentage of total PFAS concentrations in wet SWFs, whereas dry SWFs were dominated by high molecular volume PFAS. A conceptual model is proposed to describe changes in PFAS composition during the evolution and aging of SWFs. Bubbles created from turbulence in surface waters initially accumulate to form wet SWFs. Liquid drains as wet SWFs evolve towards dry SWFs and lower molecular weight PFAS with lower air-water interface (AWI) adsorption drain with the liquid. This enriches dry SWFs with higher molecular volume PFAS that have higher AWI adsorption (up to five orders of magnitude). This study demonstrates the value of SWFs as a complementary sampling matrix for quantifying high and intermediate volume PFAS in natural surface water systems.

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Vitale SI Graduate College Submission.pdf (1689 kB)
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