Grantee Research Project Results
2021 Progress Report: Occurrence, fate, transport, and treatment of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in landfill leachate
EPA Grant Number: R839670Title: Occurrence, fate, transport, and treatment of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in landfill leachate
Investigators: Guelfo, Jennifer
Institution: Texas Tech University
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: August 1, 2019 through July 31, 2022 (Extended to July 31, 2024)
Project Period Covered by this Report: August 1, 2020 through July 31,2021
Project Amount: $500,000
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 , PFAS Treatment , Water
Objective:
An estimated 61.1 million m3yr-1 of leachate is generated in the United States. Studies suggest that most leachates contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) that may pose a risk to human health and/or the environment following release of raw or treated leachate. This project has three primary objectives: 1) optimize strategies for analysis of total PFAS composition and concentrations in field-collected landfill leachate using a combination of analytical techniques; 2) assess sorption, desorption, and diffusion of a select set of PFASs in representative flexible membrane and clay liner materials and evaluate impacts of solution chemistry on these processes; and 3) evaluate the impacts of leachate conditions on the rate and efficacy of total PFAS degradation using ultrasound treatment and determine optimal reactor configuration and operational parameters based on landfill conditions and treatment goals.
Progress Summary:
In Year 2 of the project, the project team achieved the following:
- Obtained representative field-collected leachate samples.
- Evaluated solid phase extraction (SPE) and liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) clean-up protocols for leachate analysis.
- Repeated these cleanup and analytical techniques on a subset of leachates spiked with commercial product.
- Characterized samples prepared by SPE and LLE using a combination of targeted analysis, suspect screening, and total oxidizable precursor assay (TOP).
- Initiated efforts to optimize TOP for use on leachate.
- Completed sorption isotherms to 2 representative geomembrane liner materials: polypropylene and linear low density polyethylene modified with ethylene vinyl alcohol.
- Engineered side-by-side diffusion cells and implemented experiments evaluating the diffusion of PFAS in a field collected leachate through geomembrane materials.
Future Activities:
The following activities are planned for Year 2 of the project:
- Complete processing of characterization data on leachate and leachate spiked with commercial product.
- Initiate combustion ion chromatograph (CIC)-based approaches.
- Finalize optimal leachate sample preparation and analytical protocols for evaluation of total PFAS composition and concentration.
- Monitor diffusion experiments initiated in geomembrane and clay liner materials.
- Initiate sonolysis experiments for treatment of PFASs in landfill leachate.
Journal Articles on this Report : 3 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other project views: | All 13 publications | 3 publications in selected types | All 3 journal articles |
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Charbonnet J, Rodowa A, Joseph N, Guelfo J, Field J, Jones G, Higgins C, Helbling D, Houtz E. Environmental Source Tracking of Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances within a Forensic Context:Current and Future Techniques. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2021;144:49-56. |
R839670 (2021) |
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Charbonnet J, McDonough C, Xiao F, Swichtenberg T, Cao D, Kaserzon S, Thomas K, Dewapriya P, Place B, Schymanski E. Communicating Confidence of Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Identification via High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LETTERS 2022;9(6):473-481. |
R839670 (2021) R839670 (2022) R839660 (2021) |
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Shojaei M, Kumar N, Guelfo J. An integrated approach for determination of total per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Environmental Science & Technology 2022;56(20):14517-14527. |
R839670 (2021) R839670 (2022) R839670 (2023) R839670 (Final) |
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Supplemental Keywords:
PFAS, solid waste, leachate, landfills, sorptionProgress 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.