Clarkson Researchers’ Startup Uses Plasma to Destroy ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Water

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A company born from Clarkson University research is helping solve one of the world's toughest water pollution problems: PFAS, often called "forever chemicals."

DMAX Plasma, Inc, a startup founded by Clarkson University researchers, uses plasma technology to destroy PFAS in contaminated water. Most other technologies only remove them from water, leaving a waste that must be managed. The company was recently named Sustainable Water Treatment Solution of the Year 2025 by Utilities Tech Outlook for its impact and innovation

PFAS are man-made chemicals used in products like firefighting foam, nonstick cookware, and waterproof fabrics. They do not break down naturally and have been linked to health risks. Many water treatment systems can only capture PFAS, leaving behind waste that must still be handled.

DMAX Plasma's technology works differently. It uses non-thermal plasma-an energized gas-to break PFAS apart at the molecular level. This process destroys the chemicals instead of moving them somewhere else.

The technology began at Clarkson University in 2012 during EPA-funded research led by professors Selma Mededovic Thagard and Thomas Holsen. At the time, the research team was testing a plasma-based water treatment system on many contaminants. PFAS were added almost as an afterthought.

The results were unexpected. Out of more than 20 chemicals tested, PFAS broke down the fastest.

"We didn't think it was possible," the researchers said at the time. The team repeated the tests many times before believing the results.

That discovery led to more research and, in 2014, the creation of DMAX Plasma to bring the technology into the real world.

Today, DMAX Plasma systems are being used to treat PFAS in contaminated groundwater, industrial wastewater, landfill leachate, and firefighting foam rinses. The systems can be deployed on-site and scaled to address different applications and higher volumes.

The company's leadership team includes Clarkson faculty members and a Clarkson alumnus and former corporate executive at a global filtration company. Graduate students have played a key role in developing and testing the technology that is being commercialized by DMAX Plasma, gaining hands-on experience while working on a real environmental challenge.

"Clarkson research is about solving real global problems," said Mededovic Thagard. "This work shows how ideas from the lab can become solutions in the field and that will benefit the world."

As PFAS regulations increase across the globe, DMAX Plasma aims to help communities and industries protect water supplies by eliminating these chemicals for good.