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Innovate and React · May 22 · 27 min

Stopping PFAS at the Source: Innovating Industrial Wastewater Treatment

Contributors: Dr. Rhea Machado LinkedIn Dr. Kevin Hares LinkedIn Thanks for considering to support the show on buymeacoffee.com/innovateandreact ☕️ In this episode of Innovate and React, I met with Dr. Rhea Machado, the CEO and co-founder of Porelio, to discuss their solution for removing forever chemicals from our drinking water. We explore the widespread issue of PFAS accumulating in our water, our food, and even unborn children, and how short-chain PFAS remain a massive challenge because traditional methods like activated carbon and ion exchange resins fail to capture them. Rhea shares Porelio’s journey as a spinoff from the Technical University Berlin, where they took highly efficient but traditionally hard-to-produce functionalized ordered meso-porous silica and successfully scaled it for industrial use. The conversation dives deep into Porelio’s innovative approach, which uses an ordered pore structure equipped with engineered functional groups to quickly and selectively catch specific target molecules, whether that is toxic PFAS in industrial wastewater or valuable precious metals. We discuss the multifaceted challenges of scaling a B2B chemistry startup, from defining unit economics to simultaneously scaling production and navigating regulatory pathways like REACH, all while trying to find innovative R&D partners in a conservative industry. 03:08 – The Threat of PFAS and Why Traditional Filtration Fails 07:13 – Solution: Engineered Meso-Porous Silica 11:14 – Scaling Up: Unit Economics and Industry Partnerships 15:07 – Capturing Precious Metals and Acting as an Industry “Painkiller” 17:16 – Green Chemistry Startups, Public Funding, and University Hubs 25:20 – Advice for Future Founders: Finding Allies and Talking to Customers If you got interested in PFAS removal and water treatment visit Porelio’s website (https://www.porelio.com), or contact Rhea on LinkedIn. 🔔 To not miss an new episode join my newsletter (just notifications for new episodes nothing more): Newsletter 📩 Got a topic, guest idea, or want to talk about your research? Email me at contact@innovateandreact.com 💬 Connect on LinkedIn | ⭐ Follow & Review the podcast to help others discover it! ☕️ Consider to support the shows production and keep me caffeinated www.buymeacoffee.com/innovateandreact Have questions about this episode? Leave a comment and I’ll get back to you.

0:00 · The Threat of PFAS and Why Traditional Filtration Fails-27:54
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Contributors:

Thanks for considering to support the show on buymeacoffee.com/innovateandreact ☕️

In this episode of Innovate and React, I met with Dr. Rhea Machado, the CEO and co-founder of Porelio, to discuss their solution for removing forever chemicals from our drinking water. We explore the widespread issue of PFAS accumulating in our water, our food, and even unborn children, and how short-chain PFAS remain a massive challenge because traditional methods like activated carbon and ion exchange resins fail to capture them. Rhea shares Porelio’s journey as a spinoff from the Technical University Berlin, where they took highly efficient but traditionally hard-to-produce functionalized ordered meso-porous silica and successfully scaled it for industrial use.

The conversation dives deep into Porelio’s innovative approach, which uses an ordered pore structure equipped with engineered functional groups to quickly and selectively catch specific target molecules, whether that is toxic PFAS in industrial wastewater or valuable precious metals. We discuss the multifaceted challenges of scaling a B2B chemistry startup, from defining unit economics to simultaneously scaling production and navigating regulatory pathways like REACH, all while trying to find innovative R&D partners in a conservative industry. 

  • 03:08 – The Threat of PFAS and Why Traditional Filtration Fails 
  • 07:13 – Solution: Engineered Meso-Porous Silica 
  • 11:14 – Scaling Up: Unit Economics and Industry Partnerships 
  • 15:07 – Capturing Precious Metals and Acting as an Industry “Painkiller” 
  • 17:16 – Green Chemistry Startups, Public Funding, and University Hubs 
  • 25:20 – Advice for Future Founders: Finding Allies and Talking to Customers 

If you got interested in PFAS removal and water treatment visit Porelio’s website (https://www.porelio.com), or contact Rhea on LinkedIn.

🔔 To not miss an new episode join my newsletter (just notifications for new episodes nothing more): Newsletter
📩 Got a topic, guest idea, or want to talk about your research? Email me at contact@innovateandreact.com
💬 Connect on LinkedIn | ⭐ Follow & Review the podcast to help others discover it!
☕️ Consider to support the shows production and keep me caffeinated www.buymeacoffee.com/innovateandreact

Have questions about this episode? Leave a comment and I’ll get back to you.

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