30 april 2025
PFAS – Persistent Micropollutants in the Water Cycle
This report presents the final course material that was developed for the online learning module on persistent micropollutants – PFAS. The document can be used as a stand-alone manual to fully individually follow the entire course, from week to week. It includes the links to the video materials that were developed for the course within the project, fully integrated within the reading material. The course forms a bridge between scientists and professionals working in the water cycle. So far, the information on PFAS has been available in a scattered manner, making it difficult for non-experts to get a complete introductory overview. This course was designed to compile information on PFAS through the water cycle, from production to use and final treatment. The course is built up in an intuitive way: it starts with a general introduction on the origin, chemistry and nomenclature of PFAS; national standards and reported concentrations in the urban water cycle are presented; analytics are explained; the course concludes with technologies for separation and final destruction of PFAS. Each chapter (or week) contains written textbook material, videos and additional reading material. Development of the course has been a co-production between PROMISCES and TU Delft, as TU Delft has an extensive educational support system including a professional recording studio and an expert learning assessment system for engineering education. All materials including videos are freely available for the general public. If the learner wants the full experience of having virtual classmates, get access to all exercises and receive a certificate and credit points after successful completion of the course, one can register at online-learning.tudelft.nl. The course was developed by two environmental engineers with a professional educational background (Mariska Ronteltap and Kim Lompe). The educational videos include knowledge clips (recorded lectures in a studio), videos in laboratories, interviews with PROMISCES project partners and videos on location. To be able to follow the course a basic understanding of chemistry is required; other than that, the course is fully understandable for non-experts. Collaboration between TU Delft, Delfland Water Authority, and the EU Project PROMISCES.