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Simple mix of soap and solvent could help destroy ‘forever chemicals’

science.org

31–40 of 239 posts

Re: Simple mix of soap and solvent could help destroy ‘forever chemicals’

#31

The paper: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abm8868 The "soap and solvent" is sodium hydroxide (lye) and DMSO at 120 degC. Those are... fairly... well behaved chemicals, but lye is stout stuff and DMSO attacks nitrile gloves. You could imagine a remediation process that uses this process but the combo ain't exactly Dawn dish soap. I'd almost prefer pyroprocessing over it.

What I know about DMSO:

DMSO is used in pain relief in other countries (eg Mexico). It's also excellent for burns as it allows the body to repair a tiny amount of nerve damage or prevents it. Hard to say. This is demonstrable by burning yourself, I guess. My family and I have used it for burns for over 20 years. Granted, we don't get burned/encounter people who have been burned at home that often. I had a close friend with a rare disease (McCune Albright's Syndrome) who used it for pain relief, after I treated a burn she received.

It has been reported that it use has repaired massive nerve damage, which is probably coincidental. It is sold in healthfood stores in the US, but you want to dilute it 1/100 parts water. While it is primarily used as an industrial lubricant, on contact, it immediately travels through the skin to the nervous system. Most people get the strange reaction of the taste of oysters, when it's absorbed. There is a small percentage of people with various allergic reactions, like with many chemicals.

I would never mix it with soap, for any reason. It's like mixing shoe polish or granola with soap, you just end up with a mess of concerns.

Re: Simple mix of soap and solvent could help destroy ‘forever chemicals’

#32

Slightly off topic, I’m keen to dispose of our Teflon frying pan. Does anyone have a good recommendation for an alternative, ideally one that doesn’t take too much “maintenance”? We also have a Teflon milk pan but that is never used at a high tempriture so I’m less concerned about that.

I’m using hard anodized aluminum pan. I know there’s a lot of stigma around aluminum, but not sure if it’s real or not

Re: Simple mix of soap and solvent could help destroy ‘forever chemicals’

#33
post #25
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

High temperatures do not bother Teflon, there's no reason to dispose of it because of that. According to the EPA Teflon frying pans do not leech any PFOA into food, that's not where people are exposed. I've noticed that for some reason a ton of people think they get exposure to PFOA from cookware, and that's simply not true. PFOA exposure mainly comes from waterproofing coatings, slippery coatings (like the bottom of…

Leaching isn't the worry with non-stick coatings, flaking is. Everyone's seen pans flake off teflon into food.

Teflon is very non-reactive and any small pieces you ingest should pass through unchanged pretty quickly. You likely ingest a lot more plastic from other sources.

Re: Simple mix of soap and solvent could help destroy ‘forever chemicals’

#34

Slightly off topic, I’m keen to dispose of our Teflon frying pan. Does anyone have a good recommendation for an alternative, ideally one that doesn’t take too much “maintenance”? We also have a Teflon milk pan but that is never used at a high tempriture so I’m less concerned about that.

I bought a couple of SolidTeknics[1] wrought iron pans, and I love them. You have to season them first, which essentially involves blackening them by burning good cooking oils onto them. I used rice bran oil for that. It's a bit of a mission, but you only do it once.

They are great because you can get them really hot and they have excellent heat inertia. You can put them in the oven if needed. And cleanup is simple: just hot water & a brush. No chemicals. I've often got the pan clean and back in the cupboard while my protein is resting.

But if it's not protein that your cooking on your pan, but instead perhaps its an acidic sauce, then I would recommend a stainless steel pan for that.

For pots I would go with stainless also. Or copper if you can afford it.

[1] https://www.solidteknics.com/

Re: Simple mix of soap and solvent could help destroy ‘forever chemicals’

#35
post #9

Slightly off topic, I’m keen to dispose of our Teflon frying pan. Does anyone have a good recommendation for an alternative, ideally one that doesn’t take too much “maintenance”? We also have a Teflon milk pan but that is never used at a high tempriture so I’m less concerned about that.

High temperatures do not bother Teflon, there's no reason to dispose of it because of that. According to the EPA Teflon frying pans do not leech any PFOA into food, that's not where people are exposed. I've noticed that for some reason a ton of people think they get exposure to PFOA from cookware, and that's simply not true. PFOA exposure mainly comes from waterproofing coatings, slippery coatings (like the bottom of…

I don't know what's released from Teflon pans at high heat, but Teflon kills birds. I know this because I killed two birds by forgetting about a pan I was warming up. Wasn't enough to make the pan look any different; was enough to instantly kill the birds.

https://www.teflon.com/en/consumers/teflon-coatings-cookware...

Re: Simple mix of soap and solvent could help destroy ‘forever chemicals’

#36
post #12

Slightly off topic, I’m keen to dispose of our Teflon frying pan. Does anyone have a good recommendation for an alternative, ideally one that doesn’t take too much “maintenance”? We also have a Teflon milk pan but that is never used at a high tempriture so I’m less concerned about that.

Nothing beats cast iron. They aren't hard to take care of.(In spite of the rhetoric.) Actually easier, once you get a good surface on them. Pots, frying pans, woks, etc. They work very well. The most important thing is to give them time to heat up. Once they are, they hold the heat very well, so can cook at any temperature.

Geez https://www.solidteknics.com/

They make some nice stainless and iron gear :) no joints either so nothing to break over time.

Re: Simple mix of soap and solvent could help destroy ‘forever chemicals’

#37

Slightly off topic, I’m keen to dispose of our Teflon frying pan. Does anyone have a good recommendation for an alternative, ideally one that doesn’t take too much “maintenance”? We also have a Teflon milk pan but that is never used at a high tempriture so I’m less concerned about that.

I bought a couple of SolidTeknics[1] wrought iron pans, and I love them. You have to season them first, which essentially involves blackening them by burning good cooking oils onto them. I used rice bran oil for that. It's a bit of a mission, but you only do it once. They are great because you can get them really hot and they have excellent heat inertia. You can put them in the oven if needed. And cleanup is simple:…

Big fan of solidteknics gear. Slowly going to migrate all my pans to their products.

Also geez flax seed oil for seasoning. It gives a near glass like finish.

Re: Simple mix of soap and solvent could help destroy ‘forever chemicals’

#38

The paper: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abm8868 The "soap and solvent" is sodium hydroxide (lye) and DMSO at 120 degC. Those are... fairly... well behaved chemicals, but lye is stout stuff and DMSO attacks nitrile gloves. You could imagine a remediation process that uses this process but the combo ain't exactly Dawn dish soap. I'd almost prefer pyroprocessing over it.

We just need to boil the world's oceans now

Re: Simple mix of soap and solvent could help destroy ‘forever chemicals’

#39
post #12

Slightly off topic, I’m keen to dispose of our Teflon frying pan. Does anyone have a good recommendation for an alternative, ideally one that doesn’t take too much “maintenance”? We also have a Teflon milk pan but that is never used at a high tempriture so I’m less concerned about that.

Nothing beats cast iron. They aren't hard to take care of.(In spite of the rhetoric.) Actually easier, once you get a good surface on them. Pots, frying pans, woks, etc. They work very well. The most important thing is to give them time to heat up. Once they are, they hold the heat very well, so can cook at any temperature.

For any purpose benefitting from sloped sides, carbon steel beats cast iron. They’re otherwise pretty much the same.

Re: Simple mix of soap and solvent could help destroy ‘forever chemicals’

#40
post #12

Slightly off topic, I’m keen to dispose of our Teflon frying pan. Does anyone have a good recommendation for an alternative, ideally one that doesn’t take too much “maintenance”? We also have a Teflon milk pan but that is never used at a high tempriture so I’m less concerned about that.

Nothing beats cast iron. They aren't hard to take care of.(In spite of the rhetoric.) Actually easier, once you get a good surface on them. Pots, frying pans, woks, etc. They work very well. The most important thing is to give them time to heat up. Once they are, they hold the heat very well, so can cook at any temperature.

I prefer carbon steel more. They heat up faster and are smooth (unlike a lot of cast iron pans which are rough).

But both works well enough.

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