Name

PFAS group chemicals - search, capture & destroy

Speakers

David Reay

Authors

David Reay, Puragen, UK

Description

PFAS (per-and poly fluoroalkyl substances) is a chemical family consisting over 5,000 individual compounds. They are sometimes referred to as ‘forever’ chemicals because of their persistence in the environment.  These compounds, which are now known to pose serious health risks for humans and animals, have been widely used in industry since the 1950s, for products including non-stick cookware, firefighting foams, food packaging and fabric coatings. PFAS-group ‘forever’ chemicals are now the number one environmental concern for many industrial sectors, notably water utilities. The aim of our award-winning “Search, Capture & Destroy” project, developed in-house by our technical team, was to be able to offer a state-of-the-art abatement technology that includes identification of the PFAS contaminant type, the removal of PFAS from water using optimised granular activated carbons (GAC), followed complete destruction of the PFAS molecules via advanced thermal reactivation techniques.  It is the only PFAS-removal technology that is truly sustainable, since the GAC reactivated via our process can be reused for water treatment and other purification applications. A key issue that we address was proving that the PFAS molecules can been completely destroyed in our process, since many in our sector believed that this would not be possible.

Time

2:43 PM - 2:55 PM

Location Name

Room 2

Track

14:05 - 15:45 Technology Showcase