| Organisatie | Land | Website | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Truck- en Tankcleaning Tack (TTT) | België | https://www.tankcleaning.be/ |
| 2 | Pantarein Water | België | https://www.pantareinwater.be/ |
| 3 | Tectero BV | België | http://www.tectero.com |
| 4 | Vlaamse Milieumaatschappij (VMM) | België | http://www.vmm.be |
| 5 | Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek (VITO) | België | http://www.vito.be/nl |
The project aims to remove PFAS and other persistent substances in an innovative and sustainable manner from complex industrial wastewaters of a truck- and tankcleaning company (TTT) . Companies like TTT play a crucial role within the industry. Without these companies, production processes would come to a halt because clean tank trucks would not be available for transport, and wastewaters would accumulate.
Research conducted in recent years has shown that the supplied wastewaters contain PFAS and other persistent substances. Standard technologies such as physicochemical purification, biological treatment, and activated carbon filtration are insufficient to remove all persistent substances. Although activated carbon is often proposed as a solution (cf. BAT study), this technology typically entails high operational costs given its relatively low efficiency (in some cases, only a PFAS load of 0.0001% is possible). Additionally, this technology also produces waste and adheres to the “conservation of misery” principle (0.0001% → 1000 kg waste/gram PFAS).
This project proposal aims to address this issue by operating a sequence of (new) wastewater treatment technologies in such a way that PFAS-free permeate and concentrate can be generated. The project is innovative in that it aims to directly degrade persistent organic substances, particularly PFAS, in the wastewater using the non-thermal plasma destruction technique. Due to the energy-intensive nature of this technology, concentration of the feed stream (concentrate) is desirable, using membrane technologies such as nanofiltration (NF) or reverse osmosis (RO) or a combination of NF and RO. When using NF, the permeate stream may contain short-chain PFAS, requiring an additional adsorption medium for polishing. The removal of competitive COD by membrane filtration and the series connection of adsorption media should increase the efficiency of the adsorption media. The entire set of pilot-scale techniques will be monitored with both quantitative chemical analysis and effect-based (ecotoxicity) measurements.
This project proposal aims to address this issue by operating a sequence of (new) wastewater treatment technologies in such a way that PFAS-free permeate and concentrate can be generated. The project is innovative in that it aims to directly degrade persistent organic substances, particularly PFAS, in the wastewater using the non-thermal plasma destruction technique. Due to the energy-intensive nature of this technology, concentration of the feed stream (concentrate) is desirable, using membrane technologies such as nanofiltration (NF) or reverse osmosis (RO) or a combination of NF and RO. When using NF, the permeate stream may contain short-chain PFAS, requiring an additional adsorption medium for polishing. The removal of competitive COD by membrane filtration and the series connection of adsorption media should increase the efficiency of the adsorption media. The entire set of pilot-scale techniques will be monitored with both quantitative chemical analysis and effect-based (ecotoxicity) measurements.
The project is divided into 5 work packages (WP’s):
The project will be carried out at Truck- and Tankcleaning Tack (TTT) in Oostrozebeke. TTT is a company specialized in the cleaning tank trucks (along with a truck wash) and the processing of industrial wastewaters. These are wastewaters for which the supplying companies (from various industrial sectors) have no treatment options or facilities. Companies like TTT play a crucial role within the industry.
The wastewater contains 10 to 15 components of the WAC/IV/A/025 analysis method in concentrations of several micrograms per liter (before the tertiary treatment step). This includes PFBA, PFPeA, PFHxA, PFHpA, PFOA, PFBS, PFHxS, DONA, PFBSA en 6:2 FTS.
In the project, the following PFAS compounds will also be measured:
Intermediate results:
In this research project, non‑thermal plasma (NTP) is used to test direct PFAS destruction in biologically treated industrial wastewater that has been concentrated with membranes. The main objective is to use this combination of technologies to reduce the effluent concentrations of all individual PFAS components to the reporting limits defined in VLAREM II. Adsorption media are included to benchmark the destruction technology in terms of cost‑efficiency. In addition, the project investigates whether this technology combination can also effectively remove other substances of concern (ZS). The key achievements in the first project phase are summarised below.
In WP1 (membrane technologies), the general performance—and to a lesser extent the PFAS removal—of a CCRO pilot (cross‑flow MBR and reverse osmosis) was evaluated. At a 60% recovery, the CCRO system showed good stability after pH correction to 7. After about two months, however, pinpoint membrane damage resulted in PFAS breakthrough (approximately 5–12% permeation). As a result, the membrane type was changed from BW30-LC LE 4040 to SW30‑4040, which is more resistant to the high pressures required for TTT’s wastewater. In the second project phase, further research will focus on system stability, concentration performance, and PFAS retention.
In WP2 (non‑thermal plasma), three different NTP treatments were tested in Tectero’s laboratory installation on the same CCRO concentrate sample. The combination of treatments enabled the destruction of not only long‑ and short‑chain PFAS but also ultrashort‑chain PFAS. Laboratory tests indicate that the destruction efficiencies can reduce most WAC/IV/A/025 parameters below their detection limits. In the second project phase, these tests will be repeated on pilot scale.
In WP3 (adsorbents), a benchmark was performed using granular activated carbon (GAC) on the MBR filtrate. The first short‑chain PFAS to break through was PFBA, occurring after a COD load of 6.5 to 10% (136–215 bed volumes) on the first GAC filter. For ultrashort‑chain PFAS, the results differ significantly: TFA broke through the first GAC filter after just under 18 bed volumes, corresponding to a COD load of almost 0.8%. Additional analyses of substances of concern (ZS), carried out within the context of WP4, showed that as long as PFBA was fully removed below detection limits, the removal of organic ZS was generally good. These analyses did reveal a first‑flush leaching effect of barium and uranium from the GAC. In the second project phase, an additional adsorption test will be carried out, where ion‑exchange resins and organoclay will be placed downstream of the GAC.
In the second project phase, ZS analyses will again be performed, and general ecotoxicity tests as well as specialised effect‑based in vitro assays will be conducted on the NTP influent and effluent. This will allow not only PFAS removal/destruction to be evaluated but also the broader impact on overall water quality.
Status
Duration
01/11/2024
-
08/02/2026
Location
Website
Coordinator
Truck- en Tankcleaning Tack
Nick Vandekerckhove
nick.vandekerckhove@tackcleaning.com
Technology(ies) considered in project
Environmental compartments
Type of activity
Concern Type
