Grantee Research Project Results
2021 Progress Report: A systems-based approach to understand the role of waste type, management strategies and treatment methods on the occurrence, source, and fate of PFAS in landfills
EPA Grant Number: R839620Title: A systems-based approach to understand the role of waste type, management strategies and treatment methods on the occurrence, source, and fate of PFAS in landfills
Investigators: Townsend, Timothy , Bowden, John , Deliz-Quiñones, Katherine , Solo-Gabriele, Helena
Current Investigators: Townsend, Timothy , Solo-Gabriele, Helena , Bowden, John , Deliz-Quiñones, Katherine
Institution: University of Florida , University of Miami
Current Institution: University of Florida
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: August 1, 2019 through July 31, 2022 (Extended to July 31, 2023)
Project Period Covered by this Report: August 1, 2020 through July 31,2021
Project Amount: $898,758
RFA: Practical Methods to Analyze and Treat Emerging Contaminants (PFAS) in Solid Waste, Landfills, Wastewater/Leachates, Soils, and Groundwater to Protect Human Health and the Environment (2018) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Drinking Water , Water Quality , Human Health , Water , PFAS Treatment
Objective:
Objectives. The goals of this project have not changed from the original application. This project consists of four objectives, which will be accomplished following a two-track approach over the course of three years.
Track 1: PFAS characterization in samples from full-scale landfills and leachate treatment systems
- Objective 1 – broad baseline characterization of PFAS occurrence and concentration in landfill leachate and related environmental media at a large array of landfill sites, using targeted (quantitative) and non-targeted (qualitative) analyses.
- Objective 2 – detailed temporal and spatial assessment of selected landfill sites and experimentation with full-scale leachate treatment systems.
Track 2: Determine the sources of PFAS compounds in US domestic waste streams and landfill simulations
- Objective 3 – measurement of types and concentrations of leachable PFAS in as-disposed (from a waste composition study) residential municipal solid waste, commercial municipal solid waste, and construction and demolition waste with batch leaching tests
- Objective 4 – measurement of PFAS concentrations in various landfill media (leachate, gas, solid) through lysimeter studies using simulated waste streams.
Progress Summary:
Progress of field and laboratory activities. During the second year of this project, we completed tasks associated with Objectives 1, 2 and 3 of the proposed research. Table 1 presents a summary of the timeline for the second year of the project. We have added new PFAS to our analytical method and are currently measuring 123 PFAS compounds in the landfill samples we collect. Our non-targeted workflow has been improved and tested on multiple leachate types as part of this research. Both targeted and non-targeted data will be included in many of the manuscripts currently in preparation.
We have now collected leachate samples from a total of 39 landfills in Florida, and an additional seven from out-of-state. We have revisited ten sites from the initial leachate study to explore hypotheses regarding variation and distribution of PFAS in discrete leachate streams (e.g., leachate collected from gas wells within the waste mass as well as the primary and secondary leachate collection systems, and gas condensate collected from the landfill gas collection system), as well as over time (e.g., comparison of PFAS characterization across multiple sampling events and as a function of waste age within a single site). Based on the leachate data collected from landfills utilizing on-site treatment, a deployable membrane separation system was constructed by the researchers and deployed to two landfills to compare the efficacy of reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membranes for PFAS removal in landfill leachate.
A municipal solid waste (MSW) composition study which was delayed as a result of Covid 19 during the first grant year was completed in the spring of 2021. As-disposed materials were sorted into 40 categories, and the leachable PFAS concentration in each category was estimated using a modified EPA 1316 protocol at a liquid-to-solid ratio of ten. Due to the heterogeneity of the waste, categories collected during the composition study were tested en masse in scaled-up rotators which can accommodate 5-gallon to 30-gallon leaching vessels.
We have explored in greater detail the fate of PFAS during MSW incineration for energy recovery as well as the contribution of MSW incineration residuals (ash) to PFAS in leachate. Daily samples of fly and bottom ash have been collected from three waste-to-energy facilities in Florida during week-long sampling events, and total and leachable PFAS have been measured using ash-specific extraction protocols developed by the researchers for this project.
Figure 1.Project timeline for years 1 through 3 delineated by task.
Future Activities:
In Year 3 of this project, investigators will continue the tasks associated with Objective 2, particularly the leachate treatment studies, and Objectives 3 and 4. A projected timeline for year 3 is included in Table 1 (Section 2).
- Leachate treatment studies informed by the results of work in Years 1 and 2 will continue, incorporating destructive treatment developed at other institutions.
- A construction and demolition debris composition study is planned for the spring of 2022. This composition study was postponed as a result of Covid 19, therefor the results of the as-disposed leaching experiments for these materials will be delayed beyond the end of year 3.
- The lysimeter columns are being constructed now and will begin operation in late fall of 2021. Concomitant to the lysimeter construction will be the development of an extraction protocol for PFAS in the gas effluent using the EPA OTM-45 for semi-volatile species and a method developed by the researchers for volatile PFAS measured using GC-MS/MS. The lysimeters will be operated well beyond the end of the three-year grant period
Journal Articles on this Report : 7 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other project views: | All 21 publications | 19 publications in selected types | All 19 journal articles |
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Ahmadireskety A, Da Silva B, Robey N, Douglas T, Aufmuth J, Solo-Gabriele H, Yost R, Townsend T, Bowden J. Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Street Sweepings br. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022;56(10):6069-6077. |
R839620 (2021) |
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Chen Y, Zhang H, Liu Y, Bowden J, Tolaymat T, Townsend T, Solo-Gabriele H. Concentrations of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances before and after full-scale landfill leachate treatment. Waste Management 2022;153:110-120. |
R839620 (2021) |
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Koemel J, Stelben P, McDonough C, Dukes D, Aristizabal-Henao J, Nason S, Li Y, Sternberg S, Lin E, Beckmann M, Williams A, Draper J, Finch J, Munk J, Diegl C, Rennie E, Bowden J, Pollitt K. FluoroMatch 2.0-making automated and comprehensive non-targeted PFAS annotation a reality. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 2022;414(3):1201-1215. |
R839620 (2021) |
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Liu Y, Robey N, Bowden J, Tolaymat T, da Silva B, Solo-Gabriele H, Townsend T. From waste collection vehicles to landfills: indication of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) transformation. Environmental Science & Technology Letters 2021;8(1):66-72. |
R839620 (2021) |
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Liu Y, Mendoza-Perilla P, Clavier K, Tolaymat T, Bowden J, Solo-Gabriele H, Townsend T. Municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) ash co-disposal:Influence on per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) concentration in landfill leachate. Waste Management 2022;144:49-56. |
R839620 (2021) |
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Timshina A, Aristizabal-Henao JJ, Da Silva BF, Bowden JA. The last straw:Characterization of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances in commercially-available plant-based drinking straws. Chemosphere 2021;277:130238. |
R839620 (2021) |
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Ahmadireskety A, Da Silva BF, Townsend TG, Yost RA, Solo-Gabriele HM, Bowden JA. Evaluation of extraction workflows for quantitative analysis of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances:A case study using soil adjacent to a landfill. Science of The Total Environment 2021;760:143944. |
R839620 (2021) |
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Supplemental Keywords:
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), fate and transport, non-targeted screening (NTS), environmental engineering, solid waste, landfill gas, mass spectrometry, emerging contaminant of concern, Florida, FLProgress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.