Advancing Electrochemical Reactor Designs for Complete PFAS Destruction in Landfill Leachate

Per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are increasingly detected in landfill leachate and represent a growing environmental and regulatory challenge due to their persistence, mobility, and resistance to conventional treatment processes. While adsorption and membrane‑based technologies can remove PFAS from leachate, these approaches do not eliminate the chemicals and instead generate secondary waste streams that require further management. As regulatory pressure increases, there is a critical need for cost‑effective technologies that achieve complete PFAS destruction rather than temporary containment. The goal of this project is to evaluate reactive electrochemical membrane (REM) reactor designs using porous titanium suboxide (Ti₄O₇) electrodes for energy‑efficient PFAS destruction in landfill leachate, with a focus on conditions relevant to Florida landfills.

This work will integrate laboratory experimentation, physics‑based reactor modeling, techno‑economic analysis (TEA), and life‑cycle assessment (LCA) to assess the technical feasibility, cost, and environmental performance of electrochemical PFAS destruction. Experimental studies will quantify PFAS degradation kinetics, defluorination efficiency, and energy demand as a function of operating conditions using model PFAS solutions, followed by synthetic and real landfill leachates. Particular attention will be given to matrix effects and the formation of secondary by‑products that may constrain operation. Experimental results will inform a continuum‑scale model of a flow‑through REM reactor to predict PFAS removal, pressure drop, energy consumption, and electrode utilization. Modeling outputs will be used to size treatment systems and evaluate multi‑reactor configurations for on‑site deployment. TEA will quantify capital and operating costs using Florida‑specific leachate flow rates and electricity prices, while LCA will assess environmental and human‑health impacts using landfill‑relevant functional units.

First Quater: Expected February 2027

Second Quater: Expected May 2027

Thrid Quater: Expected August 2027

Final Report: Expected October 2027