PFAS destruction using supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) at Peterson Space Force Base
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have become a top environmental concern for the military due to the prevalence of PFAS contamination from aqueous film-forming-foams (AFFFs) used to suppress fires in emergencies and training exercises. Supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) has emerged as a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-11-01
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| Series: | Journal of Hazardous Materials Letters |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666911025000164 |
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| author | Hallie Webb Stephen Rosansky Samer Mohamad Al-Dirani Kavitha Dasu Christopher G. Scheitlin Jeff Davis Leonardo Chiques |
| author_facet | Hallie Webb Stephen Rosansky Samer Mohamad Al-Dirani Kavitha Dasu Christopher G. Scheitlin Jeff Davis Leonardo Chiques |
| author_sort | Hallie Webb |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have become a top environmental concern for the military due to the prevalence of PFAS contamination from aqueous film-forming-foams (AFFFs) used to suppress fires in emergencies and training exercises. Supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) has emerged as a promising technology for the removal and destruction of PFAS in aqueous media. This project used the SCWO-based PFAS Annihilator® at Peterson Space Force Base to treat unconcentrated, 50 %, and 79 % concentrated PFAS-contaminated water onsite and demonstrate the efficacy of the technology. This study analyzed target PFAS, total organofluorine, and non-PFAS contaminants removed by the SCWO system. Here, 94.3 % of target PFAS in the unconcentrated influent, 99.2 % in the 50 % concentrated influent, and 99.7 % in the 79 % concentrated influent were destroyed, while removing > 95.5 % of total organofluorine, with limited byproducts in the aqueous and vapor effluent. The mass balance achieved 52–102 % fluoride recovery across the three concentrations. A novel cost assessment demonstrates improved economic efficiency with increasing influent concentration, suggesting that SCWO can efficiently remove and destroy PFAS from contaminated water to levels below regulatory requirements, solidifying itself as an innovative solution to PFAS contamination. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-14cc1ee9fd9e4879999aa13ca8d46c4d |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2666-9110 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-11-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Hazardous Materials Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-14cc1ee9fd9e4879999aa13ca8d46c4d2025-08-20T03:17:38ZengElsevierJournal of Hazardous Materials Letters2666-91102025-11-01610015610.1016/j.hazl.2025.100156PFAS destruction using supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) at Peterson Space Force BaseHallie Webb0Stephen Rosansky1Samer Mohamad Al-Dirani2Kavitha Dasu3Christopher G. Scheitlin4Jeff Davis5Leonardo Chiques6Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, OH, United StatesBattelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, OH, United States; Correspondence to: Battelle Memorial Institute, 505 King Avenue, Columbus, OH 43201, United States.Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, OH, United StatesBattelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, OH, United StatesBattelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, OH, United States; Correspondence to: Battelle Memorial Institute, 505 King Avenue, Columbus, OH 43201, United States.Air Force Civil Engineering Center, San Antonio, TX, United StatesBattelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, OH, United StatesPer- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have become a top environmental concern for the military due to the prevalence of PFAS contamination from aqueous film-forming-foams (AFFFs) used to suppress fires in emergencies and training exercises. Supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) has emerged as a promising technology for the removal and destruction of PFAS in aqueous media. This project used the SCWO-based PFAS Annihilator® at Peterson Space Force Base to treat unconcentrated, 50 %, and 79 % concentrated PFAS-contaminated water onsite and demonstrate the efficacy of the technology. This study analyzed target PFAS, total organofluorine, and non-PFAS contaminants removed by the SCWO system. Here, 94.3 % of target PFAS in the unconcentrated influent, 99.2 % in the 50 % concentrated influent, and 99.7 % in the 79 % concentrated influent were destroyed, while removing > 95.5 % of total organofluorine, with limited byproducts in the aqueous and vapor effluent. The mass balance achieved 52–102 % fluoride recovery across the three concentrations. A novel cost assessment demonstrates improved economic efficiency with increasing influent concentration, suggesting that SCWO can efficiently remove and destroy PFAS from contaminated water to levels below regulatory requirements, solidifying itself as an innovative solution to PFAS contamination.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666911025000164Supercritical water oxidation (SCWO)Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)Aqueous film forming foam (AFFF)Peterson Space Force BaseReverse osmosis |
| spellingShingle | Hallie Webb Stephen Rosansky Samer Mohamad Al-Dirani Kavitha Dasu Christopher G. Scheitlin Jeff Davis Leonardo Chiques PFAS destruction using supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) at Peterson Space Force Base Journal of Hazardous Materials Letters Supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) Aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) Peterson Space Force Base Reverse osmosis |
| title | PFAS destruction using supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) at Peterson Space Force Base |
| title_full | PFAS destruction using supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) at Peterson Space Force Base |
| title_fullStr | PFAS destruction using supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) at Peterson Space Force Base |
| title_full_unstemmed | PFAS destruction using supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) at Peterson Space Force Base |
| title_short | PFAS destruction using supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) at Peterson Space Force Base |
| title_sort | pfas destruction using supercritical water oxidation scwo at peterson space force base |
| topic | Supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) Aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) Peterson Space Force Base Reverse osmosis |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666911025000164 |
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