COLUMBUS, Ohio — Housed in a shipping container, a machine dubbed "The Annihilator” is helping solve one of the most perplexing problems facing the environment.
The chemical polyfluoroalkyl, or PFAS, is present everywhere in the environment and nearly every human has it in their blood which enters through drinking water.
Removing PFAS from water was unattainable until scientists at Battelle, a research institute, started to figure out solutions.
After 20 years, their hard work is now on display. A giant steel coil, wires and a long rectangular box full of proprietary technology is how Battelle is turning contaminated water into water that can be put back into the environment free of PFAS.
“We are destroying PFAS at its source,” said Amy Dindal, director of environmental research and development and PFAS program manager at Battelle.
PFAS are manmade chemicals that resist grease, oil, water and heat, according to the Food and Drug Administration — making them different from other chemicals of concern.
The chemicals have been widely used in several consumer and industrial products such as non-stick cookware, stain-resistant textiles, paint, metal plating, food packaging and firefighting foams.
The same properties that make them so useful for multiple products also make them very difficult to remove from the environment, as well as our bodies.
Until now.
The PFAS “Annihilator” is a mobile technology powered by supercritical water oxidation (SCWO). It uses high temperature and pressure to effectively destroy PFAS in contaminated wastewater, landfill leachate and Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) to nondetectable levels in seconds with PFAS-free water remaining. The technology is destroying PFAS to the lowest levels of detection, which mitigates concerns with meeting future regulatory limits that are currently unknown.
This technology not only solves what appeared to be an unsolvable problem but does so without creating harmful byproducts. In trials of more than 30 PFAS-contaminated sample types, it consistently demonstrated more than 99.99% destruction of total PFAS.
Battelle scientists have been studying the impact of PFAS for two decades. For now, "The Annihilator “ will focus on groundwater contamination, but soon will have other applications.
“That’s what we are currently working to advance this technology to handle solids and soil,” Dindal said.
"The Annihilator" is already helping local fire departments dispose of firefighter foam. In March, Gov. Mike DeWine announced the first statewide takeback initiative in the nation that will destroy both firefighting foam and the PFAS it contains without any harmful byproducts or residual contamination. The dangers of firefighter foam have impacted fire departments across the country.
The Ohio program is funded with $3 million in settlement money the state received as part of the state’s polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) enforcement case against Monsanto, which was filed in 2018.