PFAS-Free Data Center Cooling Solutions

The synthetic fluids and fluorinated refrigerants used in direct-to-chip, single-phase, and two-phase immersion cooling all fall under a broad chemical group. That group is per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances PFAS, and a compound counts as PFAS when it holds a fully fluorinated carbon atom that has no hydrogen, chlorine, bromine, or iodine attached.

Engineers choose these fluids for good reasons. They insulate well, resist fire, and also absorb a lot of heat as they change phase, which is exactly what a dense cooling system requires. Sadly, the same carbon-fluorine bonds create a problem, because these bonds rank among the strongest in chemistry, so they resist natural breakdown, and as a result PFAS build up in soil, water, and living tissue. Workers can also be exposed when a fluid leaks, off-gasses, or gets topped up during service.

The rules keep tightening, so navigating PFAS regulations now calls for careful planning, and it also calls for steady documentation from every operator.

U.S. EPA Roadmap and TSCA Section 8(a)(7): The EPA acts under the Toxic Substances Control Act, and it places strict reporting, tracking, and disposal duties on any firm that makes, imports, or uses these chemicals. Sites that discharge fluids with PFAS run into tight water permits, and they also face possible cleanup costs under a major federal law. That law is the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act, which many people call the response compensation and liability act, while others simply call it the compensation and liability act. This act lets regulators label certain compounds as hazardous substances, and it can also pull the responsible firms into Superfund cleanups, so even a single PFAS regulation of this type can add heavy financial risk.

European Union REACH Restriction: The proposed EU restriction targets nearly every PFAS use, including the heat transfer fluids found in data center cooling, and it is pushing the largest chemical makers to drop these fluids for good.

F-Gas Rules and GWP Phasedowns: Global deals such as the Kigali Amendment and the EU F-Gas rules force sharp cuts in high-warming greenhouse gases. The cuts drive up fluid costs, and they also strain the wider supply chain.

Fluid Loss and Outgassing Costs: Two-phase systems lose vapor over time through top-ups, worn seals, and service access, so firms must buy fresh fluid again and again.

Occupational Safety: Solvent vapors and breakdown products create real risks, and they pose breathing and health hazards for the technicians who service these systems.

Waste Management and Lifecycle Cost: Spent fluorinated fluids count as hazardous waste. They must be burned at very high heat, which raises the total cost of ownership and also makes environmental audits harder to pass.

Architects should weigh each cooling option fully, and they should not judge it by heat transfer alone. Power Usage Effectiveness, or PUE, still matters. But a wise planner also weighs chemical safety, water use, and long term regulatory risk. The table below lays out the main choices side by side.

Water as the Ultimate Sustainable Refrigerant

Water holds one of the highest known latent heats of vaporization. This makes it a cheap, safe, and efficient way to move heat, and unlike fluorinated synthetic fluids water adds almost nothing to global warming. It does no harm to the ozone layer. And it brings no PFAS regulatory risk at all.

Old open-loop cooling towers create liabilities of their own, since they spray water into open air, which lets fine mist drift away, and they also lean on harsh chemical dosing. And they can grow dangerous germs such as Legionella.

Learn More About PolyCool™

The Dais PolyCool system fixes these flaws by adding the proprietary Aqualyte membrane. This membrane is a dense, non-porous polymer that moves water molecules quickly, yet it blocks liquids, bacteria, dissolved solids, and other contaminants like a solid wall.

• Selective Molecular Transport: Water molecules soak into the membrane, diffuse quickly across the polymer layer, and then leave as vapor into the passing air stream.
• Absolute Liquid Isolation: The membrane has no pores. So liquid water never touches the open air stream, which fully removes mist drift, droplet formation, and plume release.
• Zero Biocides and Zero Toxic Additives: There is no open water sump and no spray. So the warm, damp conditions that let germs such as Legionella grow are removed. The system runs with no toxic biocides, uses no chlorine, and has no hazardous discharge to manage.
• Compatibility with Alternative Water Sources: The strong physical barrier gives real flexibility. PolyCool can run on brackish water, reclaimed municipal wastewater, or industrial blowdown without spreading any contaminants into the surrounding air.

PolyCool also pairs with PFAS-free direct-to-chip water cold plates. Together they deliver an end-to-end cooling solution that runs with zero fluorinated chemicals across both the primary and secondary loops.

To reduce PFAS liabilities and move toward compliant, low-PUE infrastructure, engineering teams can follow a clear four-stage plan.

Stage 1: Fluid and Chemical Liability Audit. List every cooling fluid across the server racks, heat exchangers, and facility loops. Flag the compounds that face new TSCA or REACH duties, and then review your current biocide spend, water permits, and safety protocols.

Stage 2: Architecture Redesign and Density Matching. Align the design with ASHRAE TC 9.9 thermal guidelines. Pair direct-to-chip loops with an efficient facility water system. Then select Dais PolyCool units as the secondary heat sink, which keeps both the rack and facility free of fluorinated chemistry.

Stage 3: Modular Retrofit and Installation. Deploy PolyCool units as drop-in replacements for aging towers. Remove the sumps, drift eliminators, and dosing pumps, and then connect smart controls into your Building Management and Data Center Infrastructure Management tools.

Stage 4: ESG Metrics and Regulatory Verification. Measure the gains in PUE and water usage. Record the full removal of PFAS compounds and biocide discharges, and then use that data to support ESG reports, LEED credits, and ISO 14001 certification.

PolyCool ships as scalable modular units. They range from 100 kW up to multi-megawatt setups, so it can serve both small edge sites and large hyperscale AI campuses. The non-porous Aqualyte structure ensures zero liquid contact and zero drift, and it also blocks pathogen transfer. The platform accepts potable, reclaimed, brackish, and industrial reuse water, so it sharply reduces the need for treated municipal drinking water. Upkeep is light too, since the system needs no media swaps and no sump cleaning. Automated seasonal controls make setup nearly plug-and-play with your DCIM tools. The platform already meets EPA TSCA and REACH rules today.

How does PolyCool™ eliminate biocides without risking biological growth?

Old cooling towers need biocides such as chlorine, bromine, or glutaraldehyde. They spray liquid water into open air, which creates the warm, damp home in which bacteria like Legionella thrive. PolyCool instead keeps the process water behind the non-porous Aqualyte membrane at all times. Water vapor passes through the membrane, while droplets, bacteria, and minerals stay fully contained. There is no open liquid surface or airborne droplet, so Legionella cannot spread, and that is why chemical biocides are simply not needed.

Can PolyCool™ handle the thermal loads of NVIDIA H100, H200, or B200 GPU racks?

Yes. PolyCool is built for demanding high-density heat rejection. This includes modern GPU clusters that draw 50 kW to 120+ kW per rack, and it also pairs with direct-to-chip cold plates. In that setup, PolyCool pulls heat from the hot facility water loop while holding the system PUE extremely low.

How does switching to PolyCool™ affect a data center’s ESG and LEED ratings?

Switching to PolyCool improves several sustainability areas at once. It can cut water use by more than 60% versus standard towers by supporting closed-loop reuse and other sources. These sources include reclaimed and brackish water. It can also lower total facility energy use by roughly 30 to 35%. That change improves PUE. It also removes hazardous biocide storage, toxic discharge runoff, and PFAS chemical liabilities for good.

AI-driven heat loads keep rising fast. At the same time, global rules on PFAS and fluorinated fluids grow stricter. This mix demands a real shift in cooling strategy, because firms that keep leaning on fluorinated chemicals face heavy risk, and the same is true for firms that rely on toxic open-loop towers. This long term risk is both operational and legal.

PolyCool™ membrane cooling offers a better path. Data center operators, facility architects, and sustainability officers can future-proof their sites. They gain a cooling solution that is fully PFAS-free and biocide-free, and it is also built for high-density AI work.

Biz-Reps provides specialized engineering consulting, site assessments, and equipment integration for Dais PolyCool™ technology across North America.

Direct Engineering Consultation: Contact our data center thermal specialists at +1 (563) 293-6484 or use the contact button below

CAGE Code: 9DYP1 (Government and Infrastructure Qualified)

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