This paper focuses on both commercially available and developing ex situ technologies for treating per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). To date, conventional treatment technologies for PFAS removal from aqueous matrices involves the use of granular activated carbon, anion ion exchange resins, or reverse osmosis. Currently, the environmental industry is being flooded with new ex situ technologies designed to treat PFAS in both liquid and solid matrices. For more complex media, such as municipal wastewater and landfill leachate, significant pretreatment is generally required. Ex situ treatment/disposal methods for PFAS-contaminated solid wastes are generally limited to landfill disposal and incineration. The paper begins with a regulatory overview applicable to ex situ PFAS treatment technologies and then summarizes commercially available and developing ex situ technologies for drinking water and groundwater, wastewater, landfill leachate, and solid wastes. New technologies that have been developed but are less widely applied are also discussed. In addition, the paper provides a summary of the decision-making process for managing PFAS-containing wastes.
| INTRODUCTIONThis paper was developed from presentations at the PFAS Experts Symposium 2 (Symposium), a virtual, invitation-only conference held on June 30 and July 1, 2021. A previous PFAS Experts Symposium was held in May 2019. A primary objective of the second Symposium was to share current information on per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) among experts in different scientific and technical fields with a focus on developments since the first Symposium. All of the listed authors participated in the Symposium and contributed to the discussions and presentations related to PFAS ex situ treatment technologies. The paper focuses on both commercially available and developing ex situ technologies for treating PFAS. The environmental industry is now being flooded with new ex situ technologies designed to treat PFAS in both liquid and solid matrices. To date, conventional treatment technologies for PFAS removal from aqueous matrices involve the use of granular activated carbon (GAC), anion ion exchange (AIX) resins, or reverse osmosis (RO). For more complex media, such as municipal wastewater and landfill leachate, significant pretreatment is generally required. Ex situ treatment/disposal methods for PFAS-contaminated solid wastes are generally limited to landfill disposal and incineration.The paper begins with a regulatory overview applicable to ex situ PFAS treatment technologies and then summarizes commercially available and developing ex situ technologies for drinking water and groundwater, wastewater, landfill leachate, and solid wastes.
| REGULATORY OVERVIEWThere are currently no federally mandated remediation standards for PFAS and, therefore, remediation of PFAS-contaminated sites is typically driven by state regulations and guidance. There are currently