S. Mujovic
Purafide,
United States
Keywords: plasma, PFAS destruction
Summary:
Emerging contaminants, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), are prevalent, persistent, and toxic at trace concentrations. Water treatment managers need reliable technologies that convert waste streams into value streams and satisfy evolving regulations. The current state-of-practice for PFAS management is separation, but this produces hazardous waste where disposal is expensive and introduces long-term liabilities. Hence, sustainable destruction is needed to break the contamination cycle. Plasma is an effective and efficient destruction technology, capable of breaking down the most refractory organics and synergizing existing treatment trains. Plasma is a promising technology for PFAS remediation, but it has struggled to gain traction due to limited radical transport. Without consumables, Purafide’s Plasma Water Reactor (PWR) uses an innovative scaling design to enhance plasma ignition and propagation while minimizing energy consumption. The PWR has demonstrated emerging contaminant destruction in various practical matrices, ranging from drinking water to reverse osmosis concentrate of landfill leachate. For instance, in leachate and leachate-impacted groundwater, the PWR achieved effective removal of 1,4-dioxane and PFAS, which proved to be cost competitive compared to unsustainable practices such as deep-well injection and leachate solidification. Purafide prioritizes applications by collaborating with prominent water stakeholders including industrial users, engineering consultancies, state environmental agencies, and municipal utilities. Purafide is committed to environmental stewardship by breaking the contamination cycle, contributing to the circular water economy, and remediating disproportionately-affected communities. Via its Water Equity Fund, Purafide provides marginalized communities with pro bono analytical services, treatment studies, and product installations. The key takeaway of this presentation is how to develop tools and metrics to assess destruction technologies for relevant matrices, applications, and treatment trains.