PFAS in Waste Conversion & Energy Recovery

Composting

• Much heavier concentrations in food packaging --> 10x (Choi et al., 2019)
• Dominated by shorter-chain
• Not much research in byproducts of composting
• Points of exposure: crops vs. lanscaping

Recycling

• Little research on persistence
• Occupational exposure (dust)
• Secondary processing

Waste-to-Energy (WTE)

Typical time/temperature/turbulence conditions in WTE facilities appear to have the capacity to achieve up to 99% destruction of PFAS. On the other hand, insufficient time/temperature/turbulence may result in products of incomplete combustion (PIC), which may further concentrate PFAS compounds.

• Emissions out of the stack: before/after pollution control
• Ash

Further Reading

• Gullett & Gillespie, Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS): Incineration to Manage PFAS Waste Streams, EPA Technical Brief 2020.