Can biology destroy PFAS?

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) have long been considered nearly indestructible. Their extremely strong carbon-fluorine (C‑F) bonds makes them resistant to heat, chemical attack and most natural degradation pathways. That same chemical resilience is why PFAS persist in groundwater, soils, sediments and even in the human body. 

In the journey to remove PFAS, remediation has strongly relied almost entirely on physical removal (e.g. granulated activated carbon, ion-exchange resins or membranes) followed by high-temperature incineration or disposal. While effective at removing PFAS from water, these approaches are often expensive, energy‑intensive and often simply transfer contamination from one place to another rather than truly destroying it. 

In recent years, bio-based and biological approaches have started to gain momentum. These strategies use living systems, enzymes, or bio‑derived catalytic processes to transform PFAS or facilitate their removal. The goal is not necessarily to replace existing technologies, but to complement them with more selective, sustainable, and potentially lower‑energy solutions. 

This article explores where bio-based PFAS removal stands today, what innovations are emerging, and what is realistically achievable in the years ahead. 

Why PFAS are so hard for biology to remove?

PFAS are exceptionally difficult for biology to deal with. Their strong carbon-fluorine bonds make them chemically inert and biologically unappealing. Many PFAS are already highly oxidised, offering little usable energy. Some PFAS are also toxic to microbes, suppressing growth rather than supporting it. In addition, unlike hydrocarbons or chlorinated solvents, PFAS provide no obvious metabolic payoff, so microbes don’t ​‘eat’ them. As a result, traditional bioremediation approaches that work well for other pollutants simply fail with PFAS. 

Modern bio-based approaches therefore take a very different approach – they focus on uncovering rare natural biological activities that can attack PFAS and engineering those activities to be faster, safer and scalable. These technologies are often embedded within tightly controlled, engineered treatment systems rather than relying on uncontrolled environmental biodegradation. 

Recent innovations in bio-based PFAS removal

Research and early‑stage companies are exploring several approaches across detection, separation and destruction of PFAS. 

Novel detection technologies include biosensors to track PFAS transformation and fluoride release in real time, helping researchers measure biological activity more precisely and optimise treatment conditions. For example: 

• La Trobe Biomedical and Environmental Sensor Technology (BEST) Research Centre (Australia): Published research showing a portable, protein-based electrochemical sensor for on-site, rapid detection of particular PFAS compounds. 

• PFASense – Wyss Institute, Harvard (USA): Protein-engineered PFAS biosensor utilising synthetic biology circuits. 

Certain bacteria and microbial consortia can also transform PFAS into compounds that are easier or cheaper to destroy. For example, by removing fluorine atoms, shortening chain lengths, or converting precursors. Recent innovation include: 

• Allonia (USA): Engineered microbial consortia designed to break down PFAS into less harmful components. 

• Daphne Water Solutions (UK): Bio‑based systems using aquatic organisms to help capture or separate PFAS. 

Enzyme-based degradation involves using individual enzymes capable of attacking fluorinated compounds, including dehalogenases, oxygenases or reductive enzymes involved in anaerobic metabolism. Engineering biology can also be used to increase enzyme activity against PFAS, improve stability under wastewater conditions and design enzymes that work in reactors rather than cells. These enzyme-based systems are attractive because they can be contained, controlled and regulated more easily than live engineered microbes. Recent innovations include: 

• Bioglobe (Cyprus/​UK): Bespoke enzyme formulations. 

• BluumBio (USA): Biobased degradation using enzymes found in nature. 

• CellX Biosolutions (Switzerland): Using microfluidics to selectively capture bacterial consortia to biologically degrade PFAS. 

New high-throughput screening platforms also use metagenomics, microfluidics and fluoride‑sensing reporters to search thousands of microbes or enzymes for rare PFAS‑reactive properties. 

In practice, many innovations include pairing bio-based approaches with physical and chemical technologies to drive success, including: 

• Bioelectrochemical systems, where microbes interact with electrodes to drive energetically unfavourable reactions. 

• Enzyme-photocatalyst hybrids that use light to assist defluorination. 

• Sequential systems where biology transforms PFAS, followed by chemical or thermal destruction. 

Can the human microbiome provide a solution?

Recent studies suggest that some gut bacteria can absorb and accumulate PFAS inside cells. In mouse models colonised with these strains, ingested PFAS were captured by microbes and excreted more rapidly, reducing accumulation in tissues. This finding raises the possibility of probiotic interventions that lower the human PFAS burden. 

Companies such as Cambiotics (Denmark & UK) are exploring whether engineered or enhanced microbial communities could help humans eliminate PFAS more efficiently. In parallel, environmental species such as Pseudomonas have shown partial defluorination capabilities, sometimes achieving moderate degradation efficiencies under laboratory conditions. 

Synthetic biology could potentially combine these traits by introducing de-fluorinating enzymes into safe gut microbes, engineering pathways that transform PFAS into less harmful intermediates or pairing absorption with degradation for a two-tier detoxification strategy. 

However, these concepts remain early stage, and probiotic benefits have not yet been confirmed in human trials. 

The challenges in bio-based PFAS removal

Despite growing momentum, bio‑based PFAS removal faces significant scientific and engineering hurdles. 

Complete biological mineralisation has yet to be convincingly demonstrated for most long‑chain PFAS. Transformation products may still be toxic and require additional treatment. Enzymes and microbial systems can also be slow, sensitive to environmental conditions, and expensive to scale. 

A further complication is concentration. Environmental PFAS levels are often extremely low, making it difficult for microbes to detect or metabolise them. Because biodegradation typically depends on concentration‑driven enzyme induction and energy return, PFAS may simply be too scarce to sustain meaningful biological activity. 

For these reasons, most technologies remain at the pilot or demonstration stage and are integrated into broader treatment trains rather than deployed alone. Few credible groups currently claim full biological mineralisation at scale and this caution reflects scientific realism rather than lack of progress. 

Looking ahead

In the short term, progress will focus on strengthening the scientific foundation: identifying better enzymes, improving stability, and validating performance in pilot‑scale reactors. Early deployments will likely act as polishing steps alongside adsorption, filtration or chemical oxidation rather than replacing them. 

As the technology matures, engineered enzymes may be packaged into modular treatment units that utilities can plug into existing infrastructure. Hybrid bio‑electro‑chemical systems could combine biological specificity with electrochemical destruction for deeper breakdown. Clearer regulatory frameworks will also be needed to support adoption. 

Over the longer term, biology may become a routine component of PFAS remediation. Advances in protein engineering, metabolic design and enzyme manufacturing could lower costs and enable partial mineralisation of a wider range of compounds. Rather than eliminating physical and chemical methods, biological tools will likely complement them, making treatment more efficient and sustainable overall. 

How CPI can support bio-based PFAS removal?

At CPI, we collaborate with innovators at every stage of their bio-based development journey, from early concept to commercial scale-up. Leveraging our extensive expertise across discovery, development and scale‑up, we support companies creating bio-based PFAS removal solutions by offering: 

• Technology assessment and market insight to identify opportunities and risks. 

• Bio-process development and scale-up from lab to pilot. 

• Enzyme production, optimisation and scale-up. 

• Design, development, and scale-up of biocatalytic processes. 

• Advanced modelling and simulation, including life-cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis, to ensure scalability and commercial viability. 

• Bespoke pilot-scale process design and operation tailored to client needs. 

• End-to-end commercialisation support to accelerate market readiness. 

Our integrated approach helps transform innovative bio-based concepts into commercially viable solutions, driving the journey to a PFAS-free future. 

The future of bio-based PFAS removal

PFAS earned the label ​“forever chemicals” because they resist everything that we throw at them. Biology won’t change that overnight. But with modern tools — enzyme engineering, synthetic biology, high-throughput discovery — it is beginning to bend the rules of chemical persistence. 

The future of PFAS removal is not purely biological. Instead, it will be increasingly bio‑enabled: integrating enzymes, microbes and hybrid systems into conventional treatment trains. That shift may prove to be one of the most important developments in environmental remediation over the next decade.