Treating per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances in landfill leachate
AssigneeUniversity of Florida Research Foundation, Inc.
InventorsTimothy G Townsend, John Alfred Bowden, Michael D Annable, Nicole Robey
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Abstract
The present disclosure provides for devices, systems, and methods of separating PFAS compounds from wastewater leachate. After separation, the PFAS compounds can be rendered less harmful. The present disclosure provides for devices, systems, and methods that uses aeration-induced foaming to isolate PFAS from landfill leachate into a concentrated, volume reduced liquid (coalesced foam), which can be separated and treated.
Claims19
A method of separating per- and/or polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAS compounds) from a wastewater leachate contaminated with PFAS compounds, comprising:
- flowing the wastewater leachate contaminated with PFAS compounds along a path, wherein the path is a serpentine path, a curving path, a winding path, or a sinuous path;
- foaming the wastewater leachate as the wastewater leachate flows along the path for a period of time to form a foam layer on top of the wastewater leachate and a de-foamed wastewater leachate, wherein the foam layer comprises a concentrated amount of PFAS compounds relative to that present in the wastewater leachate, wherein the de-foamed wastewater leachate has a lower concentration of total PFAS compounds than the wastewater leachate;
- and
- separating the foam layer at multiple points along the path from the de-foamed wastewater leachate using a skimmer, a baffle, or both, wherein the separating occurs as the de-foamed wastewater leachate flows past the skimmer or baffle;
- flowing the de-foamed wastewater leachate directly back into the wastewater leachate and optionally
- processing the foam layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.