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Navy Demonstrates PFAS Removal System

28 August 2024

From David Bennett

Willow Grove, PA-The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Base Realignment and Closure Program Management Office (NAVFAC BRAC PMO) participated in a PFAS Treatment Demonstration Day held at the former Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base (NASJRB) Willow Grove and Biddle Air National Guard (ANG) Base Aug. 20. Technologies were featured to validate remediation of AFFF-impacted groundwater to address associated environmental impacts from per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Willow Grove, PA-The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Base Realignment and Closure Program Management Office (NAVFAC BRAC PMO) participated in a PFAS Treatment Demonstration Day held at the former Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base (NASJRB) Willow Grove and Biddle Air National Guard (ANG) Base Aug. 20. Technologies were featured to validate remediation of AFFF-impacted groundwater to address associated environmental impacts from per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

BRAC PMO director Gregory Preston explained the purpose of the technology demonstrations, “We serve as the primary liaison with local communities and redevelopment authorities to ensure that the return of these properties to the community is done safely and within federal guidelines.”

“To date, the Navy has extracted and treated more than 62 million gallons at two sites at Willow Grove. The work and the technologies being implemented are so important to the Navy and the communities we serve,” Preston said

The Department of Defense, through its Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) and Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP), has funded the development and validation of many treatment technologies to address associated environmental risks from PFAS.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large class of chemicals found in many consumer products, as well as in industrial products such as certain firefighting agents called aqueous film forming foam (AFFF). PFAS is also found in essential use applications such as in microelectronics, batteries and medical equipment.

“The entire world follows the PFAS research funded by SERDP and ESTCP,” explained Hunter Anderson, PhD, SERDP and ESTCP. “Our focus is on developing new, effective fire-fighting foams that don’t contain PFAS and remedial technologies to address sites impacted by legacy AFFF, like here at Willow Grove.”

Through a partnership with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), ESTCP and DIU have awarded contracts to a cohort of prototype projects that have deployed remediation technologies for extracted groundwater at NASJRB and Biddle ANG, Pennsylvania where the field tests are taking place.

Since 2011, more than 300 projects have been funded by SERDP and ESTCP, with more than $300 million invested towards research addressing PFAS-impacted sites, Anderson explained during the presentation.

Some of the technologies featured at Willow Grove and Biddle ANG include Allonnia’s Surface Active Foam Fractionation (SAFF), Emerging Compounds Treatment Technologies’ (ECT2) Regenerable Ion Exhange (IX) Treatment, and Cyclopure’s novel cyclodextrin adsorbent application (DEXSORB®). The three contracted companies are working closely with Navy and ANG project managers at the base to demonstrate these PFAS treatment technologies.

Jason Speicher, a physical scientist from NAVFAC Atlantic, who works with BRAC PMO East, explained the value of the demonstrations to the Navy. “The field demonstrations of these remediation technologies for PFAS will lead to further rigorous scientific and operational evaluations and ultimately assist DoD project managers with the selection of a remediation technology in the future,” he said “These ESTCP and DIU-hosted demonstrations allow for a streamlined evaluation of developing technologies that will help reduce the timeline for broader commercial implementation.”

“The Navy’s BRAC PMO team can identify the most effective remediation technologies available for treating PFAS, apply these technologies independently or combined, and then implement an informed remediation-treatment strategy in a cost-effective manner,” Speicher added.

Through these vital demonstrations, the Navy will be able to better evaluate the potential short and long-term costs associated with these technologies, and the overall advantages and limitations that should be considered in the final selection of a remediation strategy.

The DON Base Realignment and Closure Program Management Office's (BRAC PMO) mission is to expeditiously and cost effectively provide all services necessary to realign, close, and transfer Navy BRAC properties through sound business management practices and transformational thinking that supports the warfighter and provides savings to DON and the federal taxpayer.

The Navy BRAC PMO is part of the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC). To learn more about Navy BRAC programs, visit the website at https://www.bracpmo.navy.mil

For more details about the featured technologies can be found here: WG_DEMODAY_ESTCP_082024.PDF (defense.gov)

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