Concept for sustainable remediation of an airfield Matthew Ingram, Engineering Manager, Cornelson Ltd

1. IES Land Condition Symposium
Sustainable PFAS remediation – from the field
Matthew Ingram

2. Cornelsen intro

3. PFAS history snapshot
PTFE
• Accidentally
formed by R
Plunkett in
DuPont’s lab,
working with
freon
1st
PFAS
PTFE
launch
(Teflon)
3M
PFOA
Concerns
raised
C8 toxicity:
• Dupont enquiry about
possible C8 toxicity;
subsequent 1955 study to
find that PFAS binds to
protein in human blood
DuPont
states C8
toxic
AFFF
R&D
3M prove
bioaccumul
ation &
toxicity
AFFF’s common.
Toxicity Data
• Extensive use of AFFF
globally.
• Growing info on
toxicology
Bilott v
DuPont,
W.Virg’a
DuPont
win over
Bilott
PFOS
found
in
wildlife
3M stop PFOS
manufacture
• ECF process ceased
• Concerns over long term
risks
• DuPont upscale
manufacture of C8 -2002
DuPont
settle Bilott
out of court
(PFOA)
Many PFOA
alternatives
created
3M $10.3bn to
US utilities
+$1.2bn by
others
Current:
• Mass law suits
• 40,000 PFAS??
• Regulatory
catchup
• Emerging
solutions
4/6/1938 1945 1951
DuPont said to have
burned 200 barrels of
C8 on banks of R.Ohio,
1960
1954 1961 1963
1st law suit
1970’s 1998 1999 2000 2001 2000s 2023
Source: Wikipedia & cited data
1st
settlement
US Navy &
3M develop
AFFF
2022 USEPA – DW:
PFOS 0.02 ppt,
PFOA 0.004ppt
UK – 100ppt

4. Source removal - Decontamination of fire fighting equipment using PerfluorAd process
A preparation of
PerfluorAd & water is
circulated through the
appliance
Concentrations often
start in 2-5mg/litre
range
Equipment contaminated by AFFF
PFAS is removed
and precipitated out

5. Equipment contaminted by AFFF

6. Treatment of impacted surface waters/wider environment
Feb to Nov
75,000m3 treated, 53,250kwH consumed
0.71kwH/m3
Approx 600 litres
concentrate waste.
No secondary waste
Typical project removal rates of 70%
PFAS19 / 96% PFOS whilst running at
20m3/hr.
SAFF®
Surface Active Foam Fractionation by EPOC Enviro

7. Source mitigation – Stabilisation of Impacted soils –reuse soils appropriately = Circular Economy
Rembind100 blended with soils to
lock in the PFAS & prevent leaching
and bio-availability
• Potential landscaping use of soil
on site under suitable conditions
• Landfill acceptance of soil (non-
leaching)
• Solidification with lime / cement
also possible to allow
construction use of the soil

8. Project - Stabilisation of Fire Training Area Impacted soils
• Former fire training pit
• Extension of building planned
• Investigation reveals PFAS
• Predominantly PFOS
• In eluate
• Decision to stabilise – cost v availability
• 3,000t excavated. 200t stabilisation ‘test’
• Rembind 100
€/t

9. Rembind PFAS adsorbent
• Activated carbon
• Aluminium Hydroxide
• Kaolin
• Additives

10. How is RemBind applied?
• Dosing based on mass
• 0.5-2.5% (bench test to confirm)
• Moisture ~10-20%
• Proper mixing required
• 24 hrs for fixation of PFAS

11. Bench testing carried out – results showed low dose rate required
• Bench tests showed low dose
rate required
• Client decided to use 2.5%
(5t of Rembind)

12. Implementation on site
• Field mixing – simple plant

13. Visual outcomes / site learnings
Field learning:
• Dosage rate adjustable
• Mixing manageable
• Soil utilisation improved
• CO2 / transport footprint low
• Durability?

19. Trial conclusions
• RemBind binds PFAS
• Sorption withstands ‘normal’ exposure
• Simulation (Eurofins) confirms papers from 2021
• Simple to use, low impact

20. Next trial: AquaBlok™–runoff water- passive long term treatment of low level contamination
Rembind200 (water
treatment compound)
applied to aggregate
and assembled into
baskets in the flow
Similar approach possible for ditches
Media accessible &
can be changed out

21. Info sources
www.pfastreatment.uk
www.Cornelsen.co.uk
Matthew.ingram@cornelsen.co.uk
01275 856 700
PFAS — Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (itrcweb.org)
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attach
ment_data/file/1012230/Poly-_and_perfluoroalkyl_substances_-
sources_pathways_and_environmental_data_-_report.pdf
https://www.claire.co.uk/information-centre/cl-aire-publications
VITO_-_PFAS_in_zeewater_en_zeeschuim_draft_eindrapport_feb_2023_z7jemc.pdf
(vlaanderen.be)
PFAS: onderzoeken en rapporten | Vlaanderen.be
OVAM website (Belgium-Dutch)
https://www.epa.gov/pfas/pfas-resources-data-and-tools
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) - ECHA (europa.eu
The Devil We Know - YouTube
Dark Waters - YouTube
The Forever Chemical Scandal |
Bloomberg Investigates - YouTube
The Toxic Legacy of 3M's 'Forever
Chemicals' - YouTube
PFAS and Forever Chemicals - Drinking Water Inspectorate
(dwi.gov.uk)
CompTox Chemicals Dashboard (epa.gov)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNuVrZAijl_5A4HA-qr0Xbg/videos
Rembind: