Mary Ensch, Ph.D., (Wisconsin) coauthored a paper entitled “A flow-through cell for the electrochemical oxidation of perfluoroalkyl substances in landfill leachates” that was published in the Journal of Water Process Engineering in Volume 43 in October 2021.

Vanessa Y. Maldonado was the lead author, and other coauthors were Greg M. Landis, Michael F. Becker, Suzanne E. Witt, and Cory A. Rusinek.

Mary Ensch is a Senior Staff Professional based in Wisconsin with experience in chemical engineering, PFAS remediation, and thermodynamics. She has authored and coauthored articles on PFAS destruction and presented on PFAS destruction at academic conferences and industry events.

The Journal of Water Process Engineering explores the sustainable engineering of water and wastewater treatment processes that transform raw or wastewater sources into products that are useful to society, while operating at laboratory, pilot, or full industrial scale. The journal’s scope includes the design, operation, control,   modeling, optimization, and intensification of chemical, physical, and biological processes for water treatment.

Abstract

A novel boron-doped diamond (BDD) flow-through cell was used to evaluate the electrochemical oxidation of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in landfill leachates. Six different leachates with a concentration of individual PFAAs in the range of 102 − 104 ng/L were treated. The performance of the flow-through cell was assessed and compared with synthetic solutions for the oxidation of two representative PFAAs: perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). Subsequently, the effect of current density and the variability of leachates composition was investigated for the electrochemical oxidation of PFAAs in real landfill leachates. Non-detect levels and >90% degradation was reached for PFOS and PFOA after 2 h of treatment for all leachates tested. Decreasing trends for perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA), perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), and perfluorohexanesulphonic acid (PFHxS), and increasing trends for perfluoropentanoic (PFPeA), perfluorobutanoic (PFBA), and perfluorobutanesulphonic acid (PFBS) were observed. The total PFAAs removal ranged from −138.6 to 73.5%. Correlations between the composition of the leachates and PFAAs removal percentages were determined. Overall, the results show the potential of electrochemical oxidation to oxidize PFAAs present in high strength water such as landfill leachates.

More Information

Learn more about the article: A flow-through cell for the electrochemical oxidation of perfluoroalkyl substances in landfill leachates – ScienceDirect.
Learn more about the Journal of Water Process Engineering: www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-water-process-engineering
For consultation regarding PFAS remediation, contact Mary at Mensch@geosyntec.com.
Learn more about Mary at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marykensch/