USEPA announces winners of PFAS elimination challenge

USEPA has announced the winners of the Innovative Ways to Destroy PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) Challenge, a partnership between federal and state agencies focused on identifying ways to destroy PFAS in concentrated aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), a type of firefighting foam. This Challenge is part of USEPA’s efforts to better understand and ultimately reduce the potential risks caused by these chemicals.

Ramboll, together with Dr. Cheng Gu of Nanjing University in China, received a second-place award for a field-scale pilot application based on proprietary chemistry that is proven to mineralize PFAS in solution called PFAS Destroyer. PFAS Destroyer is a water treatment system based on unique chemistry coupled with ultraviolet light to stimulate a reductive defluorination reaction that systematically disassembles PFAS molecules to water, fluoride and simple carbon compounds.

Ramboll’s PFAS treatment technology research & development

Ramboll’s research into PFAS treatment technologies provides a strong basis for the evaluation of available technologies and development of innovative solutions. In addition to PFAS Destroyer, Ramboll is currently participating as a Partner Organisation in an Australian Research Council Special Research Initiative for PFAS Remediation, in collaboration with the University of Newcastle, Australia. 

USEPA’s Innovative Ways to Destroy PFAS Challenge

USEPA collaborated on this challenge with the US Department of Defense’s Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) and Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP); the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) and the Environmental Research Institute of the States (ERIS); Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes & Energy (EGLE); and the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE). All submissions were evaluated by USEPA scientists and key representatives from the Department of Defense.

To learn more about the Challenge, visit USEPA.