Treatment and Mitigation of PFAS in Drinking Water | AAAS EPI Center
• When selecting the appropriate technology, it is necessary to consider source water PFAS levels, treatment goals, capital costs, operational costs, current treatment technologies, changes to current operation, and the presence of other water quality parameters. • Each advanced treatment option results in waste disposal challenges (e.g., sending to landfills or incineration facilities) that must be considered prior to selection, design, and construction. • PAC is an activated carbon adsorption technology that can be added to existing WTP quickly at a relatively low capital cost, but poses operational challenges that impact day-to-day operations and provides only partial PFAS removal. PAC is recommended for intermittent treatment until a permanent treatment technology (such as GAC, IX, NF, or RO) is established. • GAC is a long-term activated carbon adsorption technology with greater PFAS removal than PAC. GAC can be designed and put in place in a matter of weeks to months, but the optimization may take months or years. GAC can provide significant, long-term PFAS removal at a moderate capital cost. • IX utilizes anionic resin beads to remove PFAS, and resins that are meant specifically to remove PFAS have been developed and are being further explored. Similar to GAC, IX systems must be designed and constructed. These systems come at a moderate capital cost and optimization may take months or years, but they can significantly reduce PFAS in water. • NF and RO are membrane filtration technologies that provide excellent PFAS removal but result in operational changes, high capital costs, high operating costs, and significant waste stream management issues. • All treatment technologies will require intense PFAS sampling and analysis to characterize performance, which will add additional costs for water quality testing. References 1. Brendel, S., Fetter, É., Staude, C., Vierke, L. & Biegel-Engler, A. Short-chain perfluoroalkyl acids: environmental concerns and a regulatory strategy under REACH. Environ. Sci. Eur. 30 , (2018). 2. AAAS, C. for S. E. in P. I. PFAS and Drinking Water: A Scientific Overview. (2020). 3. AWWA. Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance (PFAS) Overview and Prevalence. https://www.awwa.org/Portals/0/AWWA/ETS/Resources/Per-andPolyfluoroalkylSubstances(PFAS)- OverviewandPrevalence.pdf?ver=2019-08-14-090234-873 (2019). 4. EPA. Drinking Water Treatability Database. Membrane Separation https://oaspub.epa.gov/tdb/pages/treatment/treatmentOverview.do;jsessionid=4tziZHG69k_0edlMD0t37VT1NDU9zuvYDWlAnmJNBy UPywje03Md!15191236?treatmentProcessId=-2103528007. 5. EPA. EPA Drinking Water Treatability Database. Powdered Activated Carbon https://iaspub.epa.gov/tdb/pages/treatment/treatmentOverview.do;jsessionid=RURpdlV72ugYFxNOvfS4C8nJnGptfa8lNzSN0hTk0Su1 otFgQOtP!634240722?treatmentProcessId=2109700949. 6. Sun, M. et al. Legacy and Emerging Perfluoroalkyl Substances Are Important Drinking Water Contaminants in the Cape Fear River Watershed of North Carolina. Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett. 3 , 415–419 (2016). 7. Hopkins, Z. R., Sun, M., DeWitt, J. C. & Knappe, D. R. U. Recently Detected Drinking Water Contaminants: GenX and Other Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Ether Acids: JOURNAL AWWA. J. - Am. Water Works Assoc. 110 , 13–28 (2018). 8. EPA. EPA Drinking Water Treatability Database. Granular Activated Carbon https://iaspub.epa.gov/tdb/pages/treatment/treatmentOverview.do?treatmentProcessId=2074826383. 9. Duke University. Not all in-home drinking water filters completely remove toxic PFAS. https://phys.org/news/2020-02-in-home-filters- toxic-pfas.html (2020). 10. Calgon Carbon. Activated Carbon. https://www.calgoncarbon.com/activated-carbon/. 11. Rahman, M. F., Peldszus, S. & Anderson, W. B. Behaviour and fate of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in drinking water treatment: A review. Water Res. 50 , 318–340 (2014). 12. Banks, D. et al. Selected advanced water treatment technologies for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances: A review. Sep. Purif. Technol. 231 , 115929 (2020).
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