PFAS Investigation & Remediation

Remediation Options

 

  • PFAS are currently not amenable to bioremediation or conventional chemical treatment technologies which limits in-situ treatment options.

  • Conventional water treatment techniques such as coagulation/sedimentation/filtration, chlorination, ozonation, UV/H2O2) are ineffective for reducing PFAS levels in drinking water.

  • Little data on effective remediation technologies currently exists, but granular activated carbon (GAC), ion exchange resin, and high-pressure membranes are the current “de-facto” interim measures to address PFAS in groundwater.

  • Emerging technologies such as nano-filtration, new engineered sorptive media, electrochemical oxidation, electrocoagulation, sonolysis, and advanced oxidation processes combined with advanced reductive processes are being studied for their efficacy for treating PFAS-impacted groundwater.

  • Current research indicates that hybrid treatment combinations may be necessary, depending upon site-specific conditions including, but not limited to, water quality and subsurface hydrogeology.

  • Remediation of PFAS-impacted soil is currently limited to excavation with offsite disposal in a landfill or incineration, capping or covering and monitoring precipitation infiltration, and soil washing. In-situ soil stabilization techniques are being evaluated for their ability to achieve sufficient fixation of PFAS compounds. PFAS uptake in plants is also being studied and some promising results for short chain PFAS constituents has been observed.

Sources:

Bolan, N., Sarkar, B., Yan, Y., Li, Q., Wijesekara, H., Kannan, K., Tsang, D. C. W., Schauerte, M., Bosch, J., Noll, H., Ok, Y. S., Scheckel, K., Kumpiene, J., Gobindlal, K., Kah, M., Sperry, J., Kirkham, M. B., Wang, H., Tsang, Y. F., … Rinklebe, J. (2021). Remediation of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contaminated soils – to mobilize or to immobilize or to degrade? Journal of Hazardous Materials, 401, 123892. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.123892

Ross, I., McDonough, J., Miles, J., Storch, P., Thelakkat Kochunarayanan, P., Kalve, E., Hurst, J., S. Dasgupta, S., & Burdick, J. (2018). A review of emerging technologies for remediation of PFASs. Remediation Journal, 28(2), 101–126. https://doi.org/10.1002/rem.21553

Wanninayake, D. M. (2021). Comparison of currently available Pfas Remediation Technologies in water: A Review. Journal of Environmental Management, 283, 111977. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.111977