Oral Presentation World Lake Conference 2025

PFAS removal by a radial flow cartridge system (#16)

Brad Dalrymple 1 , Michael Wicks 2 , Warren Jones 2 , Blake Allingham 2 , James McDonald 3
  1. Ocean Protect, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
  2. Ocean Protect, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  3. School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of NSW, Sydney, NSW, Australia

The environmental management of PFAS is a high priority for environmental regulators around the world. There is a need for technologies that can provide suitable treatment of PFAS-contaminated surface waters. Two field-scale studies were undertaken of a radial flow cartridge system (RFCS) installed to treat PFAS contaminated surface waters at a site in Western Sydney, NSW, Australia. The RFCS incorporated a media blend for the removal of PFAS and tested in a laboratory-scale environment by Allingham et al (2020). Results from the first field study demonstrated a PFAS removal of 87% (at a mean influent concentration of 1.43 µg/L) for a total load removal of 0.34 grams during the peak performance period – after which replacement of the RFCS media would likely be recommended to ensure high PFAS removal rates for a single RFCS. The second field study incorporated pre-treatment of flows using a membrane cartridge system (prior to subsequent treatment by the RFCS) and demonstrated a PFAS removal of 93% (at a mean influent concentration of 66.6µg/L) for a total load removal of 2.01 grams of PFAS removed during the peak performance period. In addition to the high rate of PFAS removal provided, the RFCS is anticipated to provide additional benefits (in comparison to alternative PFAS removal technologies) that will augment the installation and operation of these systems, particularly in constrained sites, such as the ability of the system to be installed and operated below ground level.