Overview of Remediation Technologies for PFAS-Contaminated Groundwater

Costanza, Jed

Overview of Remediation Technologies for PFAS-Contaminated Groundwater

Tuesday, August 8, 2017: 1:35 p.m.

Jed Costanza , Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation, USEPA, Washington, D.C., DC

Linda Fiedler , Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation, USEPA, Washington, D.C., DC

Rosalind Ramsey , USEPA, Washington, D.C., DC

Dimin Fan , Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Education Fellow, Washington, D.C., DC

This presentation will provide an overview of current and promising remediation technologies to treat PFAS-contaminated groundwater. To date, only ex situ conventional technologies such as pumping PFAS-contaminated groundwater with aboveground treatment by granular activated carbon (GAC) have been selected for use. Other aboveground treatment technologies such as ion exchange adsorption, reverse osmosis, and nanofiltration have the potential to replace GAC or be used with GAC to remove a broader range of PFASs from groundwater. And proprietary adsorbents are being marketed as alternatives or compliments to GAC. More novel ex situ technologies such as sonochemical treatment show promising results in bench-scale research. Chemical oxidation and reduction are also promising with bench-scale work showing the potential to degrade some PFASs. Additional work is being conducted to develop these chemical-based degradation technologies for the in situ treatment of PFAS-contaminated sites. Unfortunately, aerobic bioremediation is not likely to be applicable for PFASs with studies reporting that perfluorinated compounds are resistant to microbial degradation. Microbiological degradation of PFASs under anaerobic conditions is an underdeveloped area of research that warrants additional study.

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Jed Costanza, Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation, USEPA, Washington, D.C., DC

Jed has over 25 years of experience working on the characterization and remediation of contaminated groundwater at Department of Defense facilities and Superfund sites. Jed has a BS in Chemical Engineering and, MS and PhD in Environmental Engineering.

Linda Fiedler, Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation, USEPA, Washington, D.C., DC

Linda Fiedler is an environmental engineer with USEPA’s Technology Assessment Branch within the Superfund Office. In her more than 30 years with EPA, she has also worked within the water, hazardous waste, underground storage tank, and federal facility program offices. Linda has had the lead for preparing many reports, case studies, websites, and databases that compile and assess available information on site characterization and cleanup technologies and document site-specific applications. Linda is currently conducting program analysis on the types of remedies selected in Superfund decision documents and their performance at Superfund sites.

Rosalind Ramsey, USEPA, Washington, D.C., DC

Dimin Fan, Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Education Fellow, Washington, D.C., DC