You are here:
Ongoing Research into Supercritical Water Oxidation (SCWO) as a PFAS Destruction Technology
Citation:
Krause, M. Ongoing Research into Supercritical Water Oxidation (SCWO) as a PFAS Destruction Technology. 3rd National PFAS Meeting, Wilmington, NC, June 15 - 17, 2022.
Impact/Purpose:
Supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) is a process that utilizes the special conditions of water at high temperature and pressure to degrade organic molecules. It has been previously shown to effectively degrade Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). This presentation highlights the ongoing work into SCWO as a technology to treat PFAS-contaminated wastewaters.
Description:
This presentation highlights work that was previously published in Krause et al. (2022), "Supercritical Water Oxidation as an Innovative Technology for PFAS Destruction." Three demonstrations were independently conducted by SCWO vendors and reported back to EPA ORD scientists. The results of these demonstrations, which treated aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), are reported in the presentation. Targeted analysis of PFAS, before and after treatment, as well as other wastewater characteristics are presented. Limitations of the evaluations and planned future work are briefly discussed.