Cleantech Company 374Water Touts PFAS-Eliminating Technology That Makes Toxic Sludge Turn To Water – Forbes

Gray sludge, left, is transformed into clear water, right, in these screenshots from a demonstration ... [+] video.

So-called toxic forever chemicals are a concern across the United States. A recent analysis by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group found nearly 30,000 sites where man-made perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are likely used or discharged into water.

A North Carolina company called 374Water recently announced an agreement with an Indiana biosolids company called Merrell Bros. to help tackle the problem. The pact means Merrell will be making and servicing 374Waters AirSCWO NIX systems and installations throughout the United States and Canada.

SCWO stands for supercritical water oxidation, which 374Water says may fundamentally change the way waste management is deployed. Simply said, this technology just makes toxic sludge turn to water!

The AirSCWO NIX systems are advanced oxidation units for recovering valuable resources from waste. The units are compact and prefabricated so they can be installed at existing treatment plants.

At a wastewater treatment plant, thesystem treats sludges and biosolids, reducing volume by 97% and rendering the material into recoverable and reusable clean water, inert minerals, heat and electricity, according to the company.

Our vision is to transform wastewater treatment plants to water resource recovery facilities, says Rick Davis, director and officer at 374Water.

The first of two commercial units are being fabricated at a Merrell Bros. facility in Kokomo, Indiana.

Of course, this doesnt mean PFAS contamination is solved. But 374Water says its technology can go a long way toward cleaning up the environment when it comes to discharges.

SCWO uses the unique properties of water above its critical point (374 C and 221 bar), the company explains.

In these conditions, in the presence of oxygen, organics are rapidly converted to clean water, inert gases, recoverable mineral salts and reusable heat with >99% reduction in solids volume. The process has proven effective at eliminating emerging contaminants such as PFAS and 1,4-Dioxane, drugs, microplastics and pathogens.

Davis notes that a unit with 1 metric ton capacity (the equivalent of sanitary waste from 1,000 people) has beenoperating on the Duke University campus in Durham, North Carolina, since 2015.

It has operated over 1,000 hours, treating dozens of different waste streams, ranging from wastewater sludges, biosolids and food waste to firefighting foam that contains PFAS.

The supercritical water oxidation process developed at Duke and now being commercialized by 374Water was unofficially coined by the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency as the "3rd generation of SCWO" during AFFF and PFAS elimination testing, Davis says.

AFFF stands for aqueous film forming foam, a type of firefighting foam that contains PFAS. The process is unique, he adds. It incorporates several important patented improvements that eliminate the historical issues off corrosion, charing, and clogging experience by previous generations of supercritical water oxidation processes.

The 374Water project was launched in 2013 and initially funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In April, a merger with PowerVerde Inc. was announced.

The units in production in Kokomo are six times larger than the one at Duke University, Davis says.

We are in discussion with two U.S. municipal wastewater treatment utility authorities as well as several waste service firms for deployment at one of their sites.

Once these units have been successfully deployed, we will commence mass producing of the 6-ton units while designing the next scaled up unit, which will be 30 tons per day.

Continued here:

Cleantech Company 374Water Touts PFAS-Eliminating Technology That Makes Toxic Sludge Turn To Water - Forbes