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Multi-Scale Evaluation of PFAS Thermal Destruction Requirements (ER21-1288), July 2022
Citation:
Shields, E., Jonathan D. Krug, S. Jackson, W. Roberson, J. Ryan, AND Bill Linak. Multi-Scale Evaluation of PFAS Thermal Destruction Requirements (ER21-1288), July 2022. SERDP PFAS Meeting, Long Beach, CA, July 18 - 21, 2022.
Impact/Purpose:
PFAS are a unique and stable class of compounds that are useful in a large number of applications. These traits have led to PFAS being present in numerous waste streams and products, like aqueous film forming foams (AFFF). It has been found that PFAS can bioaccumulate and can have harmful effects in humans and other animals. PFAS in the gas phase also can contribute to global warming. It is important to find methods to destroy PFAS without emitting harmful PFAS or products of incomplete destruction. Investigations into the incineration of PFAS and the development of a method to help determine incinerators' efficacies for PFAS destruction are outlined here, and some preliminary results are shown. Determining the temperatures and residence times needed to completely destroy PFAS is vital to ensure PFAS and PFAS by-products are not released into the environment. This information is important for the Department of Defense, local communites, and the general public.
Description:
The ORD received funding from SERDP, project ER21-1288, to investigate the time and temperature requirements to completely destroy PFAS, mineralization. For this PFAS Project Meeting update the technical approach, current results, and other program information is presented. General experimental planning and analytical methods are explained to inform SERDP and other researchers the ORD's approach to this investigation. Some results from an experiment investigating the incineration of PFAS in a pilot-scale incinerator are presented. The nontargeted and targeted PFAS analyses of the emissions shows that PFAS are emitted from the incinerator at each condition tested and that PFAS not present in the injected mixture can be found in the emissions, indicating the transformation of the parent PFAS can occur during incineration. This shows that destruction and removal efficiencies (DREs) are not an effective metric to evaluate the efficacy of an incinerator, but the presence or absence of fluorinated products of incomplete combustion needs to be determined.