FABIOLA YANCEL RODRÍGUEZ 

University of Florida, PhD Environmental Engineering Sciences

Evergreen Surety Bond Scholar 2025

Fate, Transport, Behavior and Mechanochemical Degradation of PFAS in Biosolids

My current project focuses on developing materials and processes that can safely destroy “forever chemicals” (PFAS) in biosolids using a low-temperature and ambient-pressure mechanical treatment. The complex mix of organics, salts, and minerals in biosolids has historically made PFAS removal costly and incomplete, often relying on high heat and creating additional waste streams. However, recent advances in impact-activated materials and mechanochemical milling generate the possibility to break PFAS’s strong bonds with an accessible, easy-to-use system. This research aims to design and test the capacity of these materials, tune operating conditions, and verify that no harmful byproducts are produced, while comparing energy use, product quality, and costs to current options. The goal is to develop a practical, lower-cost tool that helps utilities prevent PFAS from entering soil and water, thereby reducing exposure.

Biography

Fabiola Y. Rodríguez Roríguez graduated from the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez with a BS in Chemical Engineering (2017-2023). She is currently a PhD student in Environmental Engineering Sciences at the University of Florida, where she started in 2024 and expects to graduate in 2028. Her research focuses on developing sustainable mechnochemical technologies to destroy PFAS in biosolids, combining materials science with life-cycle assessment. During her undergraduate research, she was involved in a sustainable chemistry and resource recovery project from agricultural waste. After earning her undergraduate degree, she supported a project on the recovery and recycling of electronic waste as a GEM Fellow during her internship with the Department of Energy. These experiences sparked her interest in resource recovery, which eventually led her to her current studies at UF, where she concentrates on testing materials and processes for breaking down synthetic organic compounds, specifically per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substances in biosolids. She has oriented her journey toward delivering sustainable solutions to evolving environmental concerns.