Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS for short, are a group of industrial chemicals that are used in numerous applications due to their properties. However, the chemical stability that makes PFAS so resistant means that they hardly degrade in the environment and accumulate there over the long term – a significant environmental problem. Almost four years ago, afu GmbH Anwendungsgesellschaft für Umweltschutztechniken conducted its first successful trials for the treatment of PFAS-containing waste at its soil treatment plant in Berlin. afu has now received approval to accept these substances for treatment.
PFAS are found wherever water, grease or dirt repellency is desired. This makes them practical, but also difficult to break down – which is why they are also called ‘forever chemicals’. Short-chain PFAS in particular can be found dissolved in drinking water. They are mainly absorbed into the human body orally via contaminated water or food.
The concern about PFAS stems primarily from the suspicion that they may affect hormone balance. Initial studies indicate that they may cause psychological developmental disorders and increase the risk of cancer. The cause lies in the extremely stable carbon-fluorine compound, which cannot be broken down naturally. Only temperatures of around 1,000 degrees can break down this structure.
In recent years, afu has developed an advanced process for treating and disposing of PFAS-contaminated materials. This process reliably removes PFAS from waste and ensures environmentally sound disposal. The remaining PFAS-containing residues – only a small fraction of the original waste volume – are then sent for thermal disposal. Scientific findings confirm that high-temperature incineration is the only way to permanently destroy PFAS. This ensures that these long-lived compounds do not enter the environment and cause long-term damage.