PFAS, sometimes known as forever chemicals, are a family of over ten thousand compounds with remarkable performance in applications like waterproofing, fertilizer, pesticides, fire-resistance, adhesives, and defense. While beneficial in performance, the longevity of these chemicals leads to environmental persistence in soil, water, and human bodies. As noted in September’s What Are PFAS blog, scientists have now identified direct links between human/animal PFAS exposure and increased risks of cancer, thyroid disease, infertility, and immune dysfunction.  

Unfortunately, these chemicals are unlikely to be phased out in most applications in the near future as our research exploring the PFAS alternative market in November’s Alternatives to PFAS in Textiles and Agriculture revealed a bleak outlook, especially for military and advanced manufacturing PFAS use. Recent legal settlements found four global manufacturers (3M, DuPont, BASF, and Carrier) liable for over $15B in PFAS damages to communities and waterways.  

In a truly unprecedented market moment, remediation, defense, and manufacturing markets are all integrating destruction technologies that can effectively reduce their liability from PFAS contamination before the next billion-dollar settlement. Below we explore the technologies aiming to prevent future pollution and remediate PFAS’ sixty-year legacy of contamination. 

PFAS Destruction Innovations 

Three technologies are well positioned to commercialize PFAS destruction over the next ten years, with several other technologies such as non-thermal plasma and sonolysis offering promising outlooks for a second generation of destruction innovations. Electrochemical oxidation, supercritical water oxidation, and hydrothermal alkaline treatments are each commercially deployed today, offering unique strengths and market niches: 

• Electrochemical Oxidation (EO): Uses an electric current to drive oxidation of PFAS between an anode and a cathode to break down PFAS’ chemical structures. EO has been well integrated into ion-exchange resin PFAS removal, making it the most commercially deployed technology in the destruction space. EO does struggle with full short-chain PFAS destruction and appears unlikely to challenge the technologies below in this space. EO is widely applicable to several industries, finding a natural product fit in landfills, industrial manufacturing, and wastewater PFAS destruction. 
   

• Supercritical Water Oxidation (SCWO): Thermal destruction process utilizing water in a special matter state of 374 °C and 22.1 MPa to oxidize and degrade PFAS chains into harmless byproducts like carbon dioxide, water, and fluoride ions. Due to the intense conditions of the oxidizing reaction, SCWO is less susceptible to contamination than other processes. While applicable to a wide range of waste streams including liquids, sludges, and slurries, the process is prone to corrosive material build-up. SCWO is the optimal choice today for short-chain PFAS as the reaction intensity is superior to EO and HALT. SCWO is unfortunately limited by the intensity of its reaction to low volume waste streams, somewhat pigeonholing it to low volume waste streams. 
   

• Hydrothermal Alkaline Treatment (HALT): Like SCWO, HALT utilizes a high temperature environment to degrade PFAS without generating harmful byproducts and toxic substances. HALT also uses additional alkaline chemicals to facilitate stronger reactions, making it a good choice for short- and long-chain PFAS. As a technology floating between SCWO and EO in terms of efficiency and treatment volume, HALT has found unique commercial niches in semiconductor manufacturing and on-site remediation that the other two cannot fulfill. 

PFAS Destruction Innovator Spotlight 

• 374Water: SCWO PFAS destruction innovator specializing in high concentration PFAS waste treatment. Current focus is on defense AFFF destruction and remediation projects but anticipate working with municipalities and manufacturers. 
   

• Aclarity: Highly integrated PFAS destruction company that found great success pioneering close collaboration with PFAS removal technologies. Offer EO in both mobile and stationary applications with a focus on landfills and manufacturing hubs as core clients. 
   

• Aquagga: HALT innovator looking to consolidate short- and long-chain PFAS destruction with lower energy requirements than SCWO innovators. Carving out unique market niches in difficult to treat waste from defense and semiconductor applications.  

PFAS Destruction Trends and Long-Term Outlook 

PFAS liability is the core driver of this market, and it is evergreen as PFAS cannot be replaced in most applications. With liability stretching all the way back to the 1950s, corporations, the defense sector at large, and water utilities are fearful of becoming the next billion-dollar settlement target. PFAS destruction provides these actors a way to remediate several past contamination sites while establishing a future protocol preventing future liability. However, PFAS destruction technologies are a long way from commercial readiness. Each technology discussed has severe impediments that will frustrate clients anxious to reduce liability risk.  

Thankfully for the innovators, each technology has also proven remarkably effective in at least one market application with no real risk of competition between the technologies. A unique market in several ways, it also appears that the innovators firmly control the speed of deployment with high demand across the U.S. 

It is important to note two things within this dynamic:  

1.) Larger water companies like Xylem are actively investing in internal research on these technologies to pair them with existing PFAS detection/separation service. 

2.) The U.S. is the only active marketplace today due to an aggressive litigation climate towards PFAS contamination and nationwide water quality assessments under the Biden administration fueling said lawsuits. 

Policy is a large piece of the overall PFAS treatment story but does not appear to be a partisan issue in the U.S. While the Biden administration was unprecedented in its support of comprehensive contamination assessment and pilot support, congressional Republicans were largely supportive of PFAS contamination research. While grant projects may decline under the second Trump administration, policy harming the industry is unlikely. In fact, other governments seem to be following the U.S.’ lead, with Australia and the UK both launching nationwide assessment and pilot projects determining scope, severity, and treatment pathways for PFAS contamination. 

PFAS has well and truly entered the mainstream of cleantech focus, propelled by a growing emphasis from venture capital firms on water investment and unprecedented focus from the Biden administration. The primary risk to this sector is a radical change to liability laws, something that is possible, but unlikely.