New technology offers a critical solution to a universal problem, tackling PFAS and co-contaminant removal with a focus on affordability and efficiency.
In the world of environmental contaminants, few present a greater challenge than per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Often called “forever chemicals,” they’ve found their way into water systems across the globe, leading to a new class of problems for waste and water treatment facilities.
The cost and complexity of their removal have been a barrier, but Montrose Environmental Group, through its subsidiary ECT2 (a technology company focused on environmental solutions), believes it has a new way forward.
Its latest innovation, nanoSORB, is designed to be an affordable, large-scale solution for removing PFAS from complex waste streams.
Paul Rodriguez, Director of PFAS Residuals Management for ECT2, has spent his career in the water treatment industry and understands the need for effective yet economical solutions.
nanoSORB is the result of years of research and is a direct response to cost barriers that plague PFAS treatment.
“We’re turning the floc (the visible aggregate of small, suspended particles that have clumped together) – the soup in the water treatment process – into our PFAS removal device,” Paul says.
The process involves embedding a finely divided, organically sourced adsorbent material directly into a biological or chemical floc. The approach is a departure from traditional methods, eliminating the need for expensive pretreatment steps.
Paul says nanoSORB’s primary benefit is its ability to lower both the capital and operating costs of PFAS removal, making it accessible to a much wider range of facilities.
“While other technologies can achieve high purity, they come at a much higher price point,” he says. “nanoSORB, however, is designed to deliver a similar result at a much lower cost.
“In a recent pilot trial, the technology demonstrated an average reduction of between 90 to 95 per cent of PFAS in a waste stream. This level of removal is a game-changer, as it allows facilities to meet regulatory requirements without breaking the bank.”
Its compact design also means that facilities with space constraints, such as municipal treatment plants or landfill leachate systems, can implement the technology without major infrastructure overhauls.
nanoSORB is designed to be integrated into existing waste streams and works particularly well in activated sludge processes, such as those that treat landfill leachate. Once the PFAS is adsorbed into the floc, it can be disposed of along with the plant’s residuals, which can then be thermally destroyed or landfilled with the contaminant contained and immobilised.
Paul says this process is key to breaking the cycle of PFAS in the environment, ensuring the contaminant is not simply pushed from one waste stream to another.
ECT2 is seeking pilot candidates to test nanoSORB in Australia. The ideal candidate would be an activated sludge process currently treating landfill leachate that needs to remove PFAS from its treated effluent, or biological treatment systems that are already landfilling or incinerating their sludge.
For ECT2, the development of nanoSORB is part of a larger mission.
“The end goal is to break the cycle of PFAS in the environment in a way that’s sustainable from a cost perspective,” Paul says. “We don’t want to just continue to put PFAS into landfills and have it come back at us.”
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