Accelerated Deployment and Startup of Ion Exchange Groundwater Treatment System Addresses PFAS Contamination at Australian Air Base

Historical use of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) at Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Williamtown in New South Wales has resulted in PFAS contamination of groundwater and stormwater, both of which migrate off base. After defining the nature and extent of PFAS contamination, the Australian Department of Defence (Defence) retained Emerging Compounds Treatment Technologies (ECT) to supply and operate multiple PFAS-removal water treatment systems.

This paper describes Defence’s phased approach to manage the PFAS contamination at RAAF Williamtown, including the accelerated design, fabrication, overseas transport, startup and operation of a successful Phase 1 water treatment system. The project was complicated by the moving target of evolving PFAS regulations in Australia.

Phase 1 began in March 2017 and involved supplying and operating a 50-gpm treatment system to demonstrate the effectiveness of the ion exchange resin-based technology. The modular treatment system was installed in a 40-foot shipping container for ease of transport and installation. PFAS removal is performed by a set of lead and lag vessels that contain Sorbix A3F regenerable anion exchange resin. The entire design/fabrication/shipping/installation process was expedited to minimize the time required to initiate PFAS remediation. A RAAF C-17 cargo plane was used to transport the modular system from the United States to Australia, shaving a month off the transport time. The unit arrived at the Williamtown base on May 28, 2017 and was fully operational in less than a month.

The system has been operating continuously and successfully since startup in June 2017. There have been no detections of any of the 34 PFAS compounds in the treated effluent, and no resin regeneration or change-out has been required.