PFAS Remediation by Commercially Available Pulsed Plasma Technology

Technologies that destructively remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from aqueous matrices are likely to be required for efficient and cost-effective PFAS remediation strategies. In this study, the commercially available Roxia Plasma Oxidizer (RPO) technology was evaluated for the treatment of PFAS-containing water. This technology uses pulsed corona discharge (PCD) in a gas medium to treat water droplets in direct plasma contact in the discharge zone. Process conditions, including gas composition, discharge polarity, temperature, droplet source, and pulse frequency, were tuned to improve PFAS removal efficiency. A diffusion-based process model was developed to interpret the experimental results. For long-chain PFAS (here, PFOS, PFOA), the energy efficiency of removal for this technology was measured to be 20–24 kWh/m3, which is comparable with other plasma-based PFAS remediation technologies.