SERDP FY 2024 New Start Projects

 Environmental Restoration (ER) Program Area

The objective of this Statement of Need (SON) was to develop an improved understanding of various PFAS concentration technologies in both in situ and ex situ applications. Specific objectives of this SON included the following:

• Develop a framework to predict the performance of full-scale sorption processes for PFAS removal from bench-scale data.
• Understand fundamentals of PFAS adsorption-desorption behavior in mixtures for commercially available sorbents.
• Develop and test conventional or novel adsorbents for capture of treatment off-gases containing PFAS and reaction byproducts.
• Develop novel and existing adsorbents to capture PFAS poorly adsorbed by granular activated carbon (GAC) and ion exchange.
• Develop and validate novel soil amendments for larger-area applications in PFAS secondary source areas.

The projects listed below were selected to address the objectives of this SON. Additional information on individual projects can be found by clicking the project title.

• Novel Functionalization of Conventional Sorbents for Enhanced Selectivity and Improved Concentration of Ultrashort- and Short-Chain PFAS
  • Lead Investigator: Lee Blaney, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Research should lead to improved management of PFAS sites by facilitating the establishment of more cost-effective and efficient remedial action plans that are protective of human health and the environment. In addition, the improved remediation approaches that will be developed through this SON will increase the reliability of treatment processes and expedite the cleanup and closure of DoD impacted sites.