This project seeks to treat two aquifers contaminated with perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, making them unsuitable for use under current…

This Cooperative Agreement award, with a total funding amount of $602,500.00, was provided by the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation under the SECURE Water Act - Research Agreements program (CFDA 15.560). The project aims to treat two aquifers contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), making them unsuitable for use under current standards. Key areas of investigation include understanding the impact of inorganic ions on PFAS removal, exploring the benefits of hollow-fiber direct nanofiltration to reduce energy and chemical use, and assessing the effectiveness of electrocoagulation for integrated PFAS and hardness removal. The overarching goals are to reduce costs and energy requirements for water treatment, improve PFAS detection and characterization, and evaluate novel PFAS separation and destruction treatments. The award was granted to the Widefield Water & Sanitation District, located in Colorado Springs, CO, to conduct the research activities.

This project seeks to treat two aquifers contaminated with perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, making them unsuitable for use under current standards. Key areas of investigation will include understanding how inorganic ions impact the removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, exploring the potential benefits of hollow-fiber direct nanofiltration in reducing energy and chemical use while removing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and assessing the effectiveness of electrocoagulation for integrated per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and hardness removal. By exploring these areas, the project aims to reduce costs and energy requirements for water treatment, improve the detection and characterization of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and evaluate novel treatments for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances separation and destruction.