Aquagga’s HALT technology is not only effective in eliminating PFAS–it’s also highly robust and effective for treatment of complex waste streams. PFAS rarely exists in isolation, as contaminated matrices typically include co-constituents like natural organic matter (NOM), high salt levels, and other organic pollutants at high concentrations relative to PFAS. HALT’s unique reaction mechanism enables targeted PFAS destruction in these complex matrices, enabling direct treatment of things like landfill leachate, AFFF, and foam fractionate with minimal pretreatment.
HALT’s chemical-driven process selectively targets fluorinated contaminants, meaning that NOM and hydrocarbons will not interfere with the HALT reaction. This is a major benefit relative to other destruction technologies, whose radical-driven processes can experience rapid scavenging (unwanted consumption of free radicals needed to destroy PFAS) by other organic compounds. Removing scavenging from the equation makes HALT a great choice for AFFF destruction or coupling with concentration processes like foam fractionation, which was recently demonstrated at a wastewater utility with high concentrations of organic matter.
Many PFAS waste streams are known for their high salt content, particularly industrial wastewater, process concentrates (e.g., ion exchange brines), and landfill leachate. HALT’s hydrothermal process is ideal for treating these saline waste streams, as its subcritical temperatures (< 374°C) allows salts to stay dissolved while the alkaline reaction does not cause salts to react or form problematic byproducts. This robustness has been validated in lab studies and full-scale field demonstrations for high-salinity wastewater.
The salt resilience of HALT compares favorably to supercritical processes (> 374°C), which can experience rapid salt crash-out due to their low solubility in critical water. Similarly, electrochemical processes have been known to induce reaction with simple chloride salts, a process that can both scavenge radicals and generate toxic byproducts like perchlorate (most commonly used in rocket fuel and explosives). Thus, HALT is uniquely situated to handle complex saline wastes directly, leading to a more streamlined and efficient treatment train without extensive pretreatment needs.
The monumental task of eliminating PFAS requires both ingenuity and versatility due to the ubiquity of these compounds in environmental and engineered systems. Remediating the presumed 57,000+ PFAS-contaminated sites and their diversity of water chemistries highlights a need for adaptive destruction technologies that can handle both organic-rich wastewater foamate as well as saline industrial waste brines. By embracing the complexity of PFAS wastes, we aim to remove roadblocks to PFAS destruction and make this monumental task as attainable as possible. Our team is committed to ending PFAS wherever it may exist, and we are constantly working to advance HALT’s applicability to an ever-growing range of complex wastes.
