Validation of supercritical water oxidation to destroy perfluoroalkyl acids

Some of the same unique physical and chemical properties that make per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) desirable for a wide range of commercial applications render them recalcitrant to many liquid treatment technologies. As developments in PFAS-related toxicological studies increasingly suggest potential adverse human health effects, our industry has made great progress in the past several years on concentrating PFAS into small volume waste streams via adsorption and separation mechanisms. Coupled with residual PFAS-containing commercial products that are being phased out, management of these concentrated waste streams presents an urgent need for the development and validation of destructive treatment technologies. Here, we field-validate supercritical water oxidation to treat a concentrated waste stream of 12 perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) with liquid and gaseous analysis, adhering to the recent Other Test Method 45 for stack emission sampling from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and USEPA Method 537.1, with quality control and quality assurance protocols from the Department of Defense/Department of Energy Quality Systems Manual 5.3. Results generated suggest greater than 99.999% destruction and removal efficiency of these 12 PFAAs after two similar to 120-min continuous flow trials, with an overall defluorination percentage of approximately 62.6%.

Automated summary

The unique properties of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that make them desirable for commercial applications also make them difficult to treat with liquid treatment technologies. This study validated the use of supercritical water oxidation to treat a concentrated waste stream containing 12 perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs), achieving a high destruction and removal efficiency. This research is important for the development of effective treatment technologies for concentrated waste streams containing PFAS.