Hi-Quality Group (HiQ) has been granted Queensland’s first Environmental Authority to treat complex per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
Management of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) material is one of the waste sector’s most complex challenges,” says Daniel Blair, General Manager Waste Treatment Services, HiQ Group.
It’s a challenge that HiQ Group is addressing with a state-of-the-art Queensland-first facility to treat PFAS-contaminated waters, sludges and soils.
Following a rigorous two-year trial, HiQ has been granted Environmental Authority by the Queensland Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, to treat PFAS materials from industry, airports, defence bases and major infrastructure projects to meet strict “non-detect” standards.
Daniel says the Yatala facility is the only one in Queensland operating at this level of precision.
“Queensland previously had facilities licensed for storage of PFAS, but the storage solution for PFAS isn’t a good environmental outcome,” he says. “It doesn’t address the needs of a circular economy.”
PFAS are persistent chemicals that can accumulate in water, soil and living organisms. The atoms that bond the materials do not degrade easily in the environment and move quickly through water and land, meaning they can remain in the environment long-term without proper containment and safe removal.
They are also potentially carcinogenic. However, because PFAS encompass hundreds of chemicals, which ones cause cancer and at what level are unknown. As a precaution, anything that has detectable PFAS must be managed accordingly in Australia.
Regulators have worked to change regulations to account for these chemicals, and governments are establishing dedicated taskforces to understand and adequately address the problem.
Daniel says appropriate legislation and regulation are fundamental; however, industry also needs to rise to the challenge and establish technologies that will move the needle for the betterment of the environment and communities.
“HiQ’s facility will provide a leading solution for projects in Queensland and around Australia, and we’re thrilled to help set new benchmarks for responsible waste management across the country,” he says.
HiQ is a national waste management, treatment and resource recovery business with facilities in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. It develops and implements bespoke waste solutions that span resource recovery, material treatment and effective storage disposal solutions.
To date, it has provided the largest scale PFAS solution in Australia at its Bulla facility in Victoria, treating three million tonnes of spoil from one of the country’s biggest infrastructure projects.
Its Queensland facility draws on global best practice to deploy activated carbon to immobilise PFAS in soil, sludges and water to capture the contaminants and bind them together.
It then follows an internationally proven multi-stage treatment process to remove PFAS and co-occurring contaminants to halt the movement of hazardous material, prevent spread, and allow for safe disposal.
Daniel says the facility can treat all known and analysed PFAS chemicals by using Australian-first technology.
“What sets us apart is the treatment methodology,” Daniel says. “We use different types of resins and carbons, whereas conventional methods only use one or two.
“By using more we attract different chains of PFAS molecules to ensure we treat short and long chain chemicals.”
HiQ’s water treatment plant involves primary treatment, settlement and filtration processes that result in water that meets strict ‘non-detect’ standards.
PFAS-contaminated sludge is treated through a combination of both water and soil treatment processes.
After separation, the liquid is treated as per PFAS liquid waste regulations, while the solid component undergoes the same treatment process used for contaminated soil.
All PFAS recovered from water and sludges is sent to landfill in a stabilised form. And that is a key factor that differentiates HiQ from other PFAS treatments, Daniel says.
“Landfills can accept low levels of PFAS, and they are doing that, but the waste we will send them is non leachable,” he says.
“This is a big positive for our customers. By sending their PFAS waste to us they are dealing with the highest and most regulatory-compliant outcomes. They can be assured it is not going to create future leachate problems.”
The Queensland facility has an annual licence limit of 350,000 tonnes, with a storage capacity of about 10,000 tonnes of material at any one time.
Each load of contaminated material is laboratory tested to identify the chemical makeup, including any co-contaminants such as heavy metals, pesticides, oil or grease, and identify a multi-stage treatment.
Materials are treated and stored for further sampling and testing by regulatory authorities before being released.
“One of the key things this facility does is provide a chain of custody,” Daniel says. “Through meticulous record keeping and reporting we can follow waste from where it was generated, to the facility, with the dates of when it was treated, analysed, accepted and discharged from the site.
“We can provide all the peripherals that customers need to see.”
HiQ’s current customers include large-scale infrastructure projects, the petro-chemical industry and property developers.
Daniel says the Queensland facility is accepting waste from other states that currently don’t have their own PFAS treatment solutions, including Tasmania, New South Wales and Western Australia.
The company has a strong national presence and aims to expand its treatment activities into New South Wales and Victoria.
“We are industry leaders,” Daniel says. “We want to be recognised nationally for our dedication to sustainable, environmentally safe PFAS treatment.”
For more information, visit: www.hiq.au
