This waste treatment system removes per-fluorinated compounds from landfill leachate before they can enter the ground water. Landfill leachate is the liquid that forms when rainwater percolates through landfills and collects toxic substances. Compounds like perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and other per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) do not breakdown in natural environments and are documented hazards to human health. These compounds have been associated with diseases including kidney and testicular cancer, increased cholesterol, reproductive and developmental damage, and reduced effectiveness of vaccines. Federal regulations require leachate removal in the more than 1900 municipal solid waste landfills in the United States, necessitating development of systems for efficiently removing hazardous PFAS and PFOA compounds.

Researchers at the University of Florida have developed a waste treatment system that removes perfluoroalkyl materials from landfill leachate. The inexpensive process concentrates the stream containing the harmful chemicals for more efficient high-energy destructive PFAS treatment.

Application

Waste treatment system that isolates hazardous per-fluorinated materials from landfill leachate before they enter the ground water

Advantages

Isolates harmful PFAS from leachate, providing inexpensive treatment to prevent groundwater contamination
Concentrates leachate waste stream, making destruction of harmful persistent chemicals more efficient

Technology

This waste treatment process uses aeration to induce foaming that separates perfluoroalkyl substances from a volume of landfill leachate. Isolating the PFAS compounds into a coalesced foam and reducing that foam into a concentrated liquid allows efficient treatment of the compounds using high-energy destructive processes such as sonication, chemical oxidation, electron beam, and plasma treatments. The waste treatment system cleans municipal solid waste landfill leachate of PFAS and PFOA.