25 July 2024:
In one of the world’s largest PFAS remediation efforts, EPOC Enviro’s PFAS remediation technology successfully treated 1.46 million gallons of PFAS impacted waters during a three-week period over June/July in the U.S.
The PFAS processing plant was a 4never™ initiative, created by partners EPOC Enviro, Crystal Clean and Allonnia to satisfy a shared vision for large scale PFAS remediation.
The 4never™ solution is a turnkey PFAS remediation service, and operated around the clock at a confidential industrial site in the midwestern U.S.
The on-site PFAS processing plant utilised four of EPOC Enviro’s SAFF® (Surface Active Foam Fractionation) units, to treat a variety of PFAS impacted event and site waters.
The multi-SAFF® processing setup treated the PFAS contaminated waters by separating and concentrating PFAS from the water, reducing the contaminants down to a few gallons a day of PFAS hyper-concentrate. The PFAS hyper-concentrate was then transported to a Crystal Clean facility for final management and offsite third-party destruction.
“EPOC Enviro’s patented SAFF® technology has now successfully remediated over 243 million gallons of PFAS impacted waters at more than thirty sites around the globe,” said EPOC Enviro President Peter Murphy.
“With the recent release of Maximum Contaminant Levels by the U.S. EPA in relation to drinking waters for six PFAS compounds as well as CERCLA designation of PFOS and PFOA, having a proven and environmentally friendly method of managing PFAS has never been more relevant.”
“The combination of technologies, expertise, and infrastructure to deliver a complete PFAS remediation solution at this scale is one of the key benefits and testament to the flexibility of our 4never™ solution,” said Brian Recatto, President & CEO of Crystal Clean.
“We are enormously proud to be able to bring this solution to businesses seeking large scale PFAS remediation, addressing what is becoming one of the leading environmental issues of the century in an environmentally responsible way.”
SAFF® represents a sustainably engineered approach to PFAS remediation, where a combination of aeration and vacuum is used to rapidly ‘foam out’ more than 99 per cent of target PFAS molecules, enabling treated water to be safely returned to the environment.
The technology exploits the natural properties of PFAS compounds to preferentially bind to the air/water interface of a swarm of rising air bubbles. Once on the surface, the compounds are harvested as a waste foam or froth, ready for further concentration before being permanently destroyed by a variety of proven destruction technologies.
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, is a group of chemicals known as ‘forever chemicals’ that have been used in a wide range of consumer and industrial products. Research has shown that they have become pervasive in the environment and pose a health risk when accumulated in the body, creating a need for their safe management and removal.