Firefighting training with aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs) has resulted in widespread contamination of groundwater with PFAS. In response, development of deployable systems for destructive removal of PFAS are sought for treatment of wastewaters from well monitoring activities and for ex-situ groundwater remediation. Rapid mineralization of perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) has been achieved using a Bi3O(OH)(PO4)2 microparticle photocatalytic process (BOHP/UV); subsequently we have incorporated the catalyst into a commercial deployable photocatalytic system (Purifics Photo-cat) and demonstrated complete PFCA mineralization (long and short chain) within 101 min timescales and performed treatment tests using field samples from well sites. To address perfluorosulfonate species, which are not degraded by BOHP, a complementary process involving monoclinic BiPO4 microparticle photocatalysis under reducing conditions was successfully developed. For both processes, adsorption phenomena played keys roles in PFAS treatment efficacy and interference by real water constituents was observed in some cases during bench photoreactor tests. In the commercial system, however, higher Reynolds number and UV intensity within the photoreactors yielded much more robust performance, presumably due to greater inertial collision rates between the catalysts particles and the target molecules.

Degradation of PFAS in AFFF-contaminated water by oxidative BOHP/UV and reductive BiPO4/UV photocatalytic processes within a commercial pilot-scale slurry reactor

2019 Fall National Meeting

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