Evaluating adsorption of PFAS on Liquid Activated Carbon for the remediation of contaminated sites

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Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are emerging groundwater contaminants which pose widespread risks to drinking water resources in Canada, the United States, Europe, China, and Australia. PFAS compounds are relatively mobile in groundwater and are generally recalcitrant to natural and enhanced degradation processes. Currently, an effective in situapproach to remediate PFAS-contaminated sites does not exist. This project will investigate the ability of Liquid Activated Carbon (LAC) to adsorb a wide variety of PFAS compounds under conditions relevant to contaminated sites with the goal to develop an effective in situ remediation approach. LAC consists of very small particles of activated carbon (1 to 2 microns in diameter), which flow readily through pore spaces in transmissive sand zones. Upon injection into the subsurface, LAC will attach to soil grains, creating a stationary barrier zone that can adsorb PFAS compounds and remove them from the aqueous phase. In this project, we will conduct a series of adsorption experiments to investigate and compare the adsorption of each PFAS compound onto LAC, and to understand how competitive adsorption influences the fate and transport of PFAS at sites where LAC will be applied. The findings from this research will help develop and optimize LAC-based remedial systems. The research also will help our industry partner, Porewater Solutions, develop a reactive transport model capable of predicting the efficiency of LAC at remediating PFAScontaminated sites.