SHORT-TERM FULL SCALE INCINERATION EXPERIMENTS FOR DECOMPOSING PFOS AND PFOA IN AQUEOUS FILM-FORMING FOAM

Abstract

 Incineration, which breaks molecular bonds for decomposition, is one promising countermeasure to prevent the environmental contamination of per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). However, since the incineration process generates hydrogen fluoride (HF) as a by-product, conventional methods cannot deal with considerable PFAS. This study conducted a pilot scale test to evaluate the decomposition performance of PFAS contained in the aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) using incineration. Per Fluoro Octane Sulfonic acid (PFOS) of 33 mg/kg or Per Fluoro Octanoic Acid (PFOA) of 370 mg/kg, which was contained in the AFFF, can be decomposed to >99.99979% or 99.99996%, respectively. The gas pipe damage and dioxin generation can be prevented by maintaining the drainage gas temperature to more than 500°C at the heat exchanger and approximately 100°C at the chimney.