Development of a process for the recovery of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in high concentrations using non-Newtonian liquids (gels and foams)
Development of a process for the recovery of perfluoroalkyland polyfluoroalkylsubstances (PFAS) in high concentrations using non-Newtonian liquids (gels and foams)
Start: 01 May 2022
End: 01 April 2025
Supervisors :
Eric van Hullebusch, Hossein Davarzani, Stefan Colombano, Julien Grandclément
Status: In progress
Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), including per-fluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), are known as perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs). They have been richly used globally in different types of industrial manufacturers, such as, lubricants, pesticides, and fire fighting foams (AFFF). These emerging pollutants have received a lot of attention from many researchers during this decade, due to their bioaccumulation, their exceptional toxic effect on the existence of the organism and their long resistance to the environment represented by a high adsorption capacity on soil and high solubility in water.
Various traditional remediation methods are not sufficient and cost effective to remove these components due to their unique physicochemical properties. In-situ flushing method using a Non-Newtonian fluid such as polymers and solvents or surfactants show effectivness in the remediation of organic contaminants in the environment. To our knowledge, studies who’s investigated the efficiency of different solvents or surfactants on the desorption of PFC compounds are very few to this day.
Based on this observation, we propose an innovative flushing solution to desorb these emerging contaminants from the soil. Different types of laboratory-scale experiments such as rheology experiments for the verification of the homogeneity and viscosity of the polymer in the presence of the solvent are being carried out on the one hand, and on the other hand batch and 1D column experiments to see the effectiveness of the desorption yield of these components.
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