Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are found in many consumer products which will be ultimately disposed at the end of the product service life.  One way to recover PFAS from these products is through landfill leachates.  The objective of this study was to evaluate 11 PFAS (7 carboxylic acids, 3 sulfonated acids, and 5:3 FTCA) species in different types of landfill leachates including leachate from construction and demolition landfills (C&D), municipal solid waste landfills (MSW), MSW with landfill gas condensate (MSWGC), and MSW ash landfills (MSWA).  Two facilities (one C&D and one MSW) also treated their leachate through biological aeration process and samples at these facilities were analyzed before and after treatment.  Results show that MSWA leachate had considerably lower PFAS levels relative to other leachate types.  The degree to which ash is mixed with MSW appears to lower the level of PFAS.  The levels of PFAS in untreated C&D and untreated MSW leachate were similar.  The levels of PFAS in treated C&D leachate increased after treatment presumably due to the conversion of PFAS precursors that were not measured in the untreated C&D leachate sample.  Results support the conversion of 5:3 FTCA to PFPeA during the treatment of the C&D leachate.  We highly recommend the measurement of incinerator gas to confirm that the low levels of PFAS observed in MSWA leachate was due to the destruction of PFAS during the incineration process as opposed to volatilization.  Additional samples should be collected to confirm trends and to allow for a mass balance analysis to evaluate how much PFAS can be removed from the environment by capturing PFAS in landfill leachates.<br/>

Perfluoroalkyl substances in landfill leachates produced from different waste types

2019 Spring National Meeting

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