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Sustainable innovative drinking water treatment solutions for PFAS for large-scale water supply and reuse

Ahrens, Lutz ; Kothawala, Dolly ; Lipnizki, Frank LU orcid ; Hey, Tobias LU orcid ; Lundqvist, Johan ; Peters, Gregory ; Svanström, Magdalena ; Wanner, Philipp ; Mumberg, Tabea and McCleaf, Philip (2023) 43rd International Symposium on Halogenated Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
Abstract
Introduction: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) concentration limits in drinking water have been decreased or are going to be decrease worldwide. Drinking water is the single largest input to our bodies, with 2-2.5 L/day for adults. However, current water treatment techniques are inefficient to remove PFAS from drinking water. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop sustainable innovative drinking water treatment solutions for large-scale water supply and reuse. The SIDWater project, r, aims to ensure the sustainability of municipal drinking water supplies by developing new innovative treatment processes for removing PFAS and to provide a better alternative to the “treat and release” of contaminants back into the... (More)
Introduction: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) concentration limits in drinking water have been decreased or are going to be decrease worldwide. Drinking water is the single largest input to our bodies, with 2-2.5 L/day for adults. However, current water treatment techniques are inefficient to remove PFAS from drinking water. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop sustainable innovative drinking water treatment solutions for large-scale water supply and reuse. The SIDWater project, r, aims to ensure the sustainability of municipal drinking water supplies by developing new innovative treatment processes for removing PFAS and to provide a better alternative to the “treat and release” of contaminants back into the environment.

Materials and Methods: The SIDWater project will investigate four case studies with different water sources in close collaboration with drinking water suppliers. SIDWater will assess a sustainable treatment train for drinking water supply and reuse including nanofiltration (NF), reverse osmosis (RO) membranes, foam fractionation, electrochemical destruction, and (bio)filter solutions for a wide range of PFAS.

Results: The results show that membranes separate a PFAS-containing feed stream into a close to PFAS -free permeate stream (>98% removal), which can be used for drinking water, and a concentrated PFAS retentate stream containing the reject of the membrane. The retentate stream was further concentrated using foam fractionation and PFAS was removed by electrochemical destruction. Foam fractionation utilizes air bubbles introduced to PFAS-contaminated water to take advantage of PFAS’s surfactant properties, thereby creating a PFAS-rich foam, which can reduce the captured PFAS volume to <1% of the feed volume and remove PFAS to >90% efficiency. This results in a relatively small PFAS volume for PFAS destruction using electrochemical oxidation.


Figure 1. Assessing an innovative treatment train for reaching ultra-low levels of PFASs for safe drinking water.

Discussion and Conclusion: The innovative treatment train based on membrane processes to remove PFAS are more efficient compared to single treatment techniques (e.g. GAC) to meet new drinking water regulations. To close the loop and provide a sustainable process, PFAS can be destructed in the concentrated solutions using electrochemical oxidation.

Acknowledgments: The study was financially supported by FORMAS, grant number 2022-02108.
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to conference
publication status
published
subject
keywords
PFAS, Membrane processess, Water treatment
pages
1 pages
conference name
43rd International Symposium on Halogenated Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
conference location
Maastricht, Netherlands
conference dates
2023-09-10 - 2023-09-14
project
Sustainable innovative drinking water treatment solutions for large-scale water supply and reuse
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
c992ff4f-b1a5-4d8e-ad2f-6f0ca2c7edf9
alternative location
https://dioxin2023.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/10445-Dioxin-2023-BOA-2023.pdf
date added to LUP
2026-01-02 11:36:57
date last changed
2026-01-19 13:00:52
@misc{c992ff4f-b1a5-4d8e-ad2f-6f0ca2c7edf9,
  abstract     = {{Introduction: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) concentration limits in drinking water have been decreased or are going to be decrease worldwide. Drinking water is the single largest input to our bodies, with 2-2.5 L/day for adults. However, current water treatment techniques are inefficient to remove PFAS from drinking water. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop sustainable innovative drinking water treatment solutions for large-scale water supply and reuse. The SIDWater project, r, aims to ensure the sustainability of municipal drinking water supplies by developing new innovative treatment processes for removing PFAS and to provide a better alternative to the “treat and release” of contaminants back into the environment.<br/><br/>Materials and Methods: The SIDWater project will investigate  four case studies with different water sources in close collaboration with drinking water suppliers. SIDWater will assess a sustainable  treatment train for drinking water supply and reuse including nanofiltration (NF), reverse osmosis (RO) membranes, foam fractionation, electrochemical destruction, and (bio)filter solutions for a wide range of PFAS. <br/><br/>Results: The results show that membranes separate a PFAS-containing feed stream into a close to PFAS -free permeate stream (&gt;98% removal), which can be used for drinking water, and a concentrated PFAS retentate stream containing the reject of the membrane. The retentate stream was further concentrated using foam fractionation and PFAS was removed by electrochemical destruction. Foam fractionation utilizes air bubbles introduced to PFAS-contaminated water to take advantage of PFAS’s surfactant properties, thereby creating a PFAS-rich foam, which can reduce the captured PFAS volume to &lt;1% of the feed volume and remove PFAS to &gt;90% efficiency. This results in a relatively small PFAS volume for PFAS destruction using electrochemical oxidation.<br/><br/>  <br/>Figure 1. Assessing an innovative treatment train for reaching ultra-low levels of PFASs for safe drinking water.<br/><br/>Discussion and Conclusion: The innovative treatment train based on membrane processes to remove PFAS are more efficient compared to single treatment techniques (e.g. GAC) to meet new drinking water regulations. To close the loop and provide a sustainable process, PFAS can be destructed in the concentrated solutions using electrochemical oxidation.<br/><br/>Acknowledgments: The study was financially supported by FORMAS, grant number 2022-02108.<br/>}},
  author       = {{Ahrens, Lutz and Kothawala, Dolly and Lipnizki, Frank and Hey, Tobias and Lundqvist, Johan and Peters, Gregory and Svanström, Magdalena and Wanner, Philipp and Mumberg, Tabea and McCleaf, Philip}},
  keywords     = {{PFAS; Membrane processess; Water treatment}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{09}},
  title        = {{Sustainable innovative drinking water treatment solutions for PFAS for large-scale water supply and reuse}},
  url          = {{https://dioxin2023.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/10445-Dioxin-2023-BOA-2023.pdf}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}