Challenges and Opportunities in PFAS Waste Management for Semiconductor Manufacturing

Devashish Gokhale¹, Gabriel A Cerrón-Calle², Mitchell L Kim-Fu³, Kenneth Flores², Anaira Román Santiago¹, Shao-Wei Tsai¹, Diana S Aga⁴, Nirupam Aich⁵, Mamadou S Diallo⁶, Kyle Doudrick⁷, David Hanigan⁸, Raúl Hernández Sánchez^{9

10

11

12}, John Howarter^{13

14}, Jianbing Jimmy Jiang¹⁵, Gerrad D Jones¹⁶, Linda S Lee^{14

17}, Haizhou Liu¹⁸, Katherine E Manz¹⁹, Erica R McKenzie²⁰, Lokesh P Padhye^{21

22}, R Mohan Sankaran²³, Scott M Shepard²⁴, Timothy J Strathmann²⁵, Arjun K Venkatesan²⁶, Michael S Wong²⁷, Robert Leet²⁸, David Speed²⁹, Jennifer A Field³⁰, Paul Westerhoff², Xiao Su¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.
² School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States.
³ Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, United States.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, New York 14260, United States.
⁵ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, Unites States.
⁶ Division of Engineering and Applied Science, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, United States.
⁷ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, United States.
⁸ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, Nevada 89557, United States.
⁹ Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
¹⁰ Rice Advanced Materials Institute, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
¹¹ Rice Sustainability Institute, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
¹² Rice WaTER Institute, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
¹³ School of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States.
¹⁴ School of Sustainability Engineering and Environmental Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States.
¹⁵ Department of Chemistry, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221, United States.
¹⁶ Department of Biological and Ecological Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, United States.
¹⁷ School of Agronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States.
¹⁸ Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, California 92521, United States.
¹⁹ Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States.
²⁰ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122, United States.
²¹ The New York State Center for Clean Water Technology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, United States.
²² Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand.
²³ Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering, The Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.
²⁴ CHIPS R&D Office, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States.
²⁵ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States.
²⁶ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey 07102, United States.
²⁷ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
²⁸ Leet Environmental Consulting, Portland, Oregon 97219, United States.
²⁹ GlobalFoundries, Inc., Malta, New York 12020, United States.
³⁰ Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, United States.

PMID: 41530997
DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5c10109

Review

Challenges and Opportunities in PFAS Waste Management for Semiconductor Manufacturing

Devashish Gokhale et al. Environ Sci Technol. 2026.

. 2026 Jan 13.

doi: 10.1021/acs.est.5c10109. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.
² School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States.
³ Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, United States.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, New York 14260, United States.
⁵ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, Unites States.
⁶ Division of Engineering and Applied Science, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, United States.
⁷ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, United States.
⁸ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, Nevada 89557, United States.
⁹ Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
¹⁰ Rice Advanced Materials Institute, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
¹¹ Rice Sustainability Institute, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
¹² Rice WaTER Institute, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
¹³ School of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States.
¹⁴ School of Sustainability Engineering and Environmental Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States.
¹⁵ Department of Chemistry, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221, United States.
¹⁶ Department of Biological and Ecological Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, United States.
¹⁷ School of Agronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States.
¹⁸ Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, California 92521, United States.
¹⁹ Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States.
²⁰ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122, United States.
²¹ The New York State Center for Clean Water Technology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, United States.
²² Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand.
²³ Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering, The Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.
²⁴ CHIPS R&D Office, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States.
²⁵ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States.
²⁶ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey 07102, United States.
²⁷ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
²⁸ Leet Environmental Consulting, Portland, Oregon 97219, United States.
²⁹ GlobalFoundries, Inc., Malta, New York 12020, United States.
³⁰ Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, United States.

PMID: 41530997
DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5c10109

Abstract

Semiconductor manufacturing is rapidly expanding alongside tightening environmental regulations and increasing public concern around per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Because of their unique chemical properties, PFAS are used across numerous processes in semiconductor manufacturing. Given process complexity and lengthy development timelines for alternatives, eliminating PFAS use in this industry is not currently feasible. Developing practical technologies for PFAS waste management is therefore critical but uniquely challenging in semiconductor manufacturing due to the nature of waste streams (parts-per-billion PFAS concentrations, complex backgrounds including hundreds of chemicals, prevalence of ultrashort PFAS, total stream volumes up to 35,000 m³ per day per facility, and distribution across gas, liquid, and solid phases) and significant constraints on space and systems redesign. This review describes recent developments and key questions that must be addressed to develop impactful and commercially viable detection and abatement methods for PFAS waste management in semiconductor manufacturing. Integrating these technologies into compact, high-performance systems and testing them under realistic conditions (complex PFAS mixtures, high fluoride/ionic strength, pH 6-11, low contact time, process variability) through industrial collaborations is essential for scalable, cost-effective solutions. Research addressing semiconductor industry-specific PFAS waste is essential to enable environmental compliance while supporting the continued growth of semiconductor manufacturing.

Keywords: PFAS monitoring; advanced oxidation processes; electrochemical degradation; fluorine mass balance; industry; membrane separation; semiconductor wastewater.

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Challenges and Opportunities in PFAS Waste Management for Semiconductor Manufacturing

Affiliations

Challenges and Opportunities in PFAS Waste Management for Semiconductor Manufacturing

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources