ClarosTechUV™ Delivers Commercial Scale Performance Under Complex Remediation Conditions Using PFAS Concentrate From Lake Elmo, Minnesota Site
/PRNewswire/ — Claros Technologies, Inc. (Claros), a leader in PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) destruction technology, today announced the results of a new study demonstrating greater than or equal to 99.99% destruction of target species (PFOS and PFOA) using its ClarosTechUV™ system in groundwater samples from a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency remediation site (MPCA) in Lake Elmo, Minnesota.
MPCA provided Claros with a foam fractionation concentrate derived from the treatment of approximately one million gallons of contaminated groundwater and surface water, resulting in a highly concentrated PFAS matrix with high levels of PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonic acid), PFOA (pentadecafluorooctanoic acid), and other short and ultra-short chain compounds.
The study evaluated ClarosTechUV™ as part of an integrated treatment system applied to this low transparency water matrix characterized by significant turbidity and near-zero UV transmittance in its raw form which are conditions representative of real-world remediation environments rather than controlled laboratory environments.
At commercial scale, ClarosTechUV™ achieved greater than or equal to 99.99% kill on filtered concentrate in just four hours, maintaining performance in small-scale, bench-scale and commercial-scale systems. The volume of concentrate processed in the commercial-scale system came from approximately 600,000 gallons of groundwater, highlighting the system’s suitability for large-scale remediation efforts.
The white paper and full technical summary are available here.
Validation of performance in real conditions
Building on previous deployments at industrial sites, including a 170,000 gallon (~640,000 liters) commercial optimization with Daikin America, one of the largest field PFAS destruction tests conducted to date, this study focused on subsystem-level performance in which ClarosTechUV™ can be combined with capture-concentrate technologies for on-site destruction. With this study, ClarosTechUV™ brings the total volume of PFAS-impacted water treated to more than 1,000,000 gallons (approximately 3.8 million liters) across laboratory, pilot and commercial deployments.
“What this pilot clearly shows is that ClarosTechUV™ is designed for on-the-ground realities,” said Michelle Bellanca, CEO of Claros Technologies. “Whether the water is clean or very complex, not very transparent or heavily loaded with PFAS, our system adapts and provides consistent, high-level destruction performance. It is this type of reliability – under all conditions – that will make the permanent destruction of PFAS at scale possible,” added Bellanca. “The system also opens up a whole new category for Claros in the treatment of contaminated groundwater and large-scale remediation sites.”
Analytical validation confirms mineralization
Samples were analyzed by ClarosLabs™ using a modified EPA 1633 method for targeted compounds including PFOS and PFOA. The results for total organofluorines were obtained by combustion ion chromatography (CIC).
Results showed an approximately 88% reduction in total organic fluoride after treatment, with a corresponding increase in inorganic fluoride, confirming the conversion of PFAS into mineralized end products.
“This pilot test shows that ClarosTechUV™ maintains its performance as it scales and integrates with upstream processes,” said John Brockgreitens, co-founder and vice president of product development at Claros Technologies. “This is what allows us to move from a laboratory solution to one that can be deployed at scale,” he added. “Even very complex water matrices can be treated effectively with this system.”
Scalable and cost-effective destruction of PFAS
Pilot project results from the MPCA Lake Elmo site also demonstrate strong energy and cost performance, with greater than or equal to 99.99% commercial-scale PFOS and PFOA destruction in four hours, energy consumption less than 200Wh/L, and operating costs of approximately $0.015 per 1,000 gallons ($0.004 per cubic meter) of untreated groundwater.
“When you get to that level of profitability, the equation changes completely,” said Lucas Harvey, global sales manager at Claros Technologies. “Sanitation authorities and others now have a vested interest in moving toward solutions that actually destroy PFAS, rather than just managing them.”
About Claros Technologies
Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Claros Technologies is a global leader in PFAS mitigation, with two main divisions. The ClarosTech™ division focuses exclusively on the permanent destruction of PFAS, offering affordable, high-throughput, scalable, field-ready systems that remove long, short and ultra-short chain compounds with 99.99% efficiency. ClarosLabs™, the ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited analytical division, is a leading commercial laboratory dedicated to PFAS detection, quantification and exposure assessment. Claros is on a mission to eliminate PFAS from the environment. Claros Technologies destroys PFAS for good.
For more information, visit www.clarostech.com.
Contact averages
Kari Finkler
Claros Technologies
[emailprotected]
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