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Removal efficiency of multiple per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in groundwater at a landfill using granular activated carbon (GAC) and anion exchange (AIX) column tests

Per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) are used in many areas of application due to their many beneficial properties such as heat resistance. insulator and water- and oil repellent. PFAS containing products can often be found in landfills and their leachate. This study compares the two common treatment techniques granulated activated carbon (GAC) and anion exchange (AIX) for treating groundwater at a landfill site. The removal efficiencies of the PFAS found at the site were determined for both methods as well as the cost of treatment for removal efficiencies at 99, 95, 90, 85, 80 and 50 % for one cubic metre of groundwater. Twenty different PFAS were found and the removal efficiency of ∑PFAS ranged between 4 – 90 % for two stage GAC and 30 – 100% for AIX. Within the groups perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acid (PFCA) and perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA), both methods were most efficient in removing long chains. PFSA generally had a higher removal efficiency than PFCA. The cost of removing PFAS was related to the removal efficiency. Since AIX had a higher removal efficiency the cost became lower, despite the filter media costing nearly seven times more than GAC’s. The costs of removing PFCA and PFSA were 3.1 – 32 and 2.3 – 6.5 euros/m3 groundwater for removal of 50 – 99% using AIX. For GAC, the cost could not be calculated for 99 % removal since the removal efficiencies were too low for the Lin and Huang adsorption model to work. For 50 – 95% removal the costs for PFCA and PFSA were 2.9 – 23.1 and 2.8 – 6.9 euros/m3 groundwater.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-531438
Date January 2024
CreatorsFerndahl, Sara
PublisherSveriges lantbruksuniversitet, SLU; Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences; Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Division of Environmental Organic Chemistry and Ecotoxicology
Source SetsDiVA Archive at Upsalla University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeStudent thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text
Formatapplication/pdf
Rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
RelationUPTEC W, 1401-5765 ; 24027

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