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    2023, US - Removing PFAS From Drinking Water - WaterWorld

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    Mi doremi
    The document summarizes four approaches to treating PFAS in drinking water: granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption, ion exchange (IX) resins, nanofiltration (NF), and reverse osmosis (RO). Case studies are presented on water utilities that have implemented GAC, IX, and RO to treat PFAS. Emerging PFAS destruction technologies are also discussed that aim to break down PFAS in spent treatment media and concentrates to fully eliminate PFAS from the environment.

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    2023, US - Removing PFAS From Drinking Water - WaterWorld

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    The document summarizes four approaches to treating PFAS in drinking water: granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption, ion exchange (IX) resins, nanofiltration (NF), and reverse osmosis (RO). Case studies are presented on water utilities that have implemented GAC, IX, and RO to treat PFAS. Emerging PFAS destruction technologies are also discussed that aim to break down PFAS in spent treatment media and concentrates to fully eliminate PFAS from the environment.

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    The document summarizes four approaches to treating PFAS in drinking water: granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption, ion exchange (IX) resins, nanofiltration (NF), and reverse osmosis (RO). Case studies are presented on water utilities that have implemented GAC, IX, and RO to treat PFAS. Emerging PFAS destruction technologies are also discussed that aim to break down PFAS in spent treatment media and concentrates to fully eliminate PFAS from the environment.

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    10 views6 pages

    2023, US - Removing PFAS From Drinking Water - WaterWorld

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    Mi doremi
    The document summarizes four approaches to treating PFAS in drinking water: granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption, ion exchange (IX) resins, nanofiltration (NF), and reverse osmosis (RO). Case studies are presented on water utilities that have implemented GAC, IX, and RO to treat PFAS. Emerging PFAS destruction technologies are also discussed that aim to break down PFAS in spent treatment media and concentrates to fully eliminate PFAS from the environment.

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    Removing PFAS from drinking water


    CDM Smith engineers present case studies on four different approaches to treating PFAS in drinking water.
    Mark White, Alan LeBlanc
    Aug. 4, 2023

    An anion exchange system can provide a smaller footprint and lower height, while requiring fewer lead-lag pairs of vessels for a similar lifecycle cost to
    GAC.

    View Image Gallery

    In the United States, federal drinking water regulations are becoming increasingly concerned with per- and
    polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

    With new regulations for PFAS on the horizon, there are currently a handful of main treatment processes for PFAS —
    but what does it look like to implement those processes? And, once PFAS has been removed from the water, what are
    utilities' options to affordably destroy the compounds known as "forever chemicals?"

    Regulatory overview

    The U.S. federal government is focused on PFAS regulation and is taking a broad approach, under several federal
    environmental laws, toward the development of national regulations. The federal government seeks a more consistent X

    strategy to address PFAS than the patchwork of regulations by various state agencies that currently exists.
    In June 2022, the U.S. EPA issued new Health Advisory (HA) levels for short-term exposure for various PFAS including,
    0.004 parts per trillion (ppt) for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), 0.02 ppt for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), 10 ppt
    for GenX chemicals, and 2,000 ppt for perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS). These HA levels were orders of
    magnitudes below any previous HA EPA levels proposed by EPA or any other state regulatory agency.

    On March 14, 2023, EPA proposed the first enforceable National Drinking Water Standards for six PFAS including
    Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) of 4.0 ppt, each for PFOA and PFOS, and a novel Hazard Index (HI) concept for
    perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), PFBS, perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), and GenX in a mixture. EPA has indicated
    their intent to issue a final PFAS regulation in 2023 or 2024.

    In parallel, the fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR5) requires water agencies to monitor for 29
    different PFAS compounds, so it is possible that the EPA will propose the regulation of additional PFAS. It is expected
    that large volumes of surface water and groundwater used to supply drinking water across the U.S. will require
    treatment to comply with the current proposed and potential future PFAS regulations.

    To assist water systems in achieving compliance, the bipartisan Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of
    2021 includes a comprehensive package that will invest billions of dollars in drinking water and wastewater
    infrastructure to address PFAS and other unregulated contaminants.

    Implementing PFAS treatments

    The best available technology (BAT) solutions to treat PFAS in water include granular activated carbon (GAC)
    adsorption, ion exchange (IX) resins, and nanofiltration (NF) or reverse osmosis (RO) membrane treatment processes.

    Many water agencies have already begun to implement these PFAS treatment technologies in their processes.
    Granular activated carbon is a mature PFAS treatment technology that is able to address a wide range of conditions in raw water quality.

    Westfield, Massachusetts recently installed a GAC system to address PFAS contaminants identified in groundwater
    supplies. GAC was selected by Westfield due to its merits as a mature technology able to address a wide range of
    conditions in raw water quality. Bench-top testing had helped Westfield establish that GAC was an effective solution for
    removing the compounds of concern and a new water treatment plant was designed and constructed to provide safe and
    reliable water from Westfield’s groundwater supplies that were affected by PFOS and PFOA.
    LOGIN PFAS
    Orange County Water District (OCWD) and their member agencies are currently installing IX systems to address JOIN

    that have been found in many groundwater wells within the Orange County Basin. On behalf of its member agencies,
    OCWD evaluated multiple PFAS treatment systems using bench-top and pilot studies. While IX and GAC were both
    effective, IX provided a smaller footprint and lower height and required fewer lead-lag pairs of vessels. OCWD also
    performed a life cycle cost analysis and concluded that IX had lower or similar life cycle cost as GAC. As such, OCWD’s
    member agencies selected IX as the PFAS treatment system for groundwater from the Orange County aquifer.

    As an example, Brunswick County, in North Carolina owns


    and operates the Northwest WTP (NWTP), a surface water
    treatment plant which obtains raw water from the Cape
    Fear River. High levels of manufacturing chemicals and by-
    products had been detected at numerous locations in the
    river basin and, therefore, Brunswick County thoroughly
    evaluated several advanced water treatment alternatives to
    remove PFAS and other emerging contaminants at the
    NWTP. Through the combined efforts of a desk-top analysis An anion exchange system can provide a smaller footprint and lower
    height, while requiring fewer lead-lag pairs of vessels for a similar
    and pilot study, Low pressure reverse osmosis (LRPO) was
    lifecycle cost to GAC.
    determined to be the most effective technology for removal
    of PFAS and other emerging contaminants, while remaining the most cost-effective life cycle solution.

    PFAS destruction technologies

    While the treatment solutions are successful in removing PFAS from drinking water, they cannot break the PFAS cycle
    on their own. PFAS still accumulates in the spent GAC or IX resins, and in RO concentrate which effectively leaves
    residual wastes that must be handled and disposed of. To address these challenges, research and development programs
    are developing ingenious solutions, where innovators are evaluating emerging technologies to concentrate and then
    destroy PFAS without releasing harmful byproducts.

    PFAS destruction technologies have recently been demonstrated successfully at bench-top. This includes, but is not
    limited to, hydrothermal alkaline treatment, photolysis, high-energy electron beam, and radiolytic. Destruction of PFAS
    has also been demonstrated successfully at the pilot-scale using electrochemical oxidation, plasma, supercritical water
    oxidation, UV-hydrated electron and sonochemical. The optimal destructive solution needs to consider the specific
    water quality, site constraints, disposal options and existing processes at each application.

    A key component of any destructive technology is that the solution must not simply transfer the PFAS problem from one
    element of the environment to another (soil to air, water to wastewater, water to landfills, etc.). Identifying, developing,
    and implementing affordable destructive technologies that fully eliminate PFAS from the whole environment is
    therefore key to the health of our communities.

    About the Author


    Mark White

    Mark White, PE, BCEE, is the global drinking water practice leader for CDM Smith and is based in Chicago, Illinois.

    White is a board-certified environmental engineer with close to 30 years of international experience in the planning,
    design, and construction of water treatment facilities. He has evaluated and/or designed improvements to more than 40
    water treatment plants totaling more than one-billion-gallons-per-day of capacity. He is well-versed in both
    conventional and advanced water treatment processes, including the treatment of PFAS and other compounds of
    emerging concern. He is an active contributor to various professional associations, including serving as both a trustee
    and a member of the Standards Council for the American Water Works Association.

    About the Author


    Alan LeBlanc

    Alan G. LeBlanc, PE, BCEE, is the drinking water treatment discipline leader at CDM Smith and is based in Manchester,
    NH.

    LeBlanc is a civil engineer with 29 years of design and construction experience, including municipal water treatment,
    PFAS removal, application of sustainable design concepts, and construction cost estimating. His PFAS resume includes
    leading groundwater and surface water treatment studies, bench- and pilot-scale tests, designs, construction, and/or
    startup efforts for over 50 water supply facilities nationally. He served as chair of the New England Water Works
    Association Filtration Committee for eight years and has led training courses on filtration and granular activated carbon
    (GAC) adsorption design and operation for the past 18 years.

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