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Review
. 2022 Jun;72(6):540-555.
doi: 10.1080/10962247.2021.2000903. Epub 2022 Jan 5.

Developing innovative treatment technologies for PFAS-containing wastes

Chelsea Berg  1 , Brian Crone  2 , Brian Gullett  1 , Mark Higuchi  1 , Max J Krause  2 , Paul M Lemieux  1 , Todd Martin  2 , Erin P Shields  1 , Ed Struble  1 , Eben Thoma  1 , Andrew Whitehill  1
Affiliations
Review

Developing innovative treatment technologies for PFAS-containing wastes

Chelsea Berg et al. J Air Waste Manag Assoc. 2022 Jun.

Abstract

The release of persistent per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) into the environment is a major concern for the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). To complement its ongoing research efforts addressing PFAS contamination, the U.S. EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) commissioned the PFAS Innovative Treatment Team (PITT) to provide new perspectives on treatment and disposal of high priority PFAS-containing wastes. During its six-month tenure, the team was charged with identifying and developing promising solutions to destroy PFAS. The PITT examined emerging technologies for PFAS waste treatment and selected four technologies for further investigation. These technologies included mechanochemical treatment, electrochemical oxidation, gasification and pyrolysis, and supercritical water oxidation. This paper highlights these four technologies and discusses their prospects and the development needed before potentially becoming available solutions to address PFAS-contaminated waste.Implications: This paper examines four novel, non-combustion technologies or applications for the treatment of persistent per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) wastes. These technologies are introduced to the reader along with their current state of development and areas for further development. This information will be useful for developers, policy makers, and facility managers that are facing increasing issues with disposal of PFAS wastes.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Decision factors discussed about all technologies. Four technologies were selected based upon these factors.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Innovative treatment technology considerations.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Characteristics of PFAS contaminated matrices.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Crosswalk between PFAS waste and innovative Technology Readiness Level (TRL). Colors correspond to TRL categories described in Figure 5. No color indicates the non-applicability (N/A) of the technology to the waste stream.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Key for Figure 4 technology readiness levels. Note that technologies were rated for PFAS destruction and may not capture their full capacity or overall readiness-level for other treatment purposes. Source: https://www.twi-global.com/technical-knowledge/faqs/technology-readiness-levels.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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