Mobilization of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Soils: A Review
Charbel Abou-Khalil, Dibyendu Sarkar, Pamela Braykaa, Michel C. Boufadel
Center for Natural Resources
Purpose of Review: Soils can receive a considerable amount of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) via different contamination pathways. Remediating PFAS-contaminated soils is primarily limited to immobilization whereby the concentration of PFAS remains practically unaffected. Other remediation techniques include chemical and thermal methods, which are typically associated with very high costs and substantial energy usage requirements. A more cost-effective approach, however, could be to mobilize PFAS from the bulky soil to a medium (e.g., water, sorbents, plants) that can be sequentially treated or properly disposed of. Recent Findings: Soil washing, soil flushing, and liquefractionation are particularly promising mobilization approaches for treating permeable soils by desorbing the PFAS into a solution that can be subsequently treated, with liquefractionation generating the least wastewater volume. For cohesive soils, however, electrokinetic remediation would be more suitable for mobilizing PFAS. Another option could be phytoremediation, resulting in the confinement of PFAS in a small volume of plant parts which can be thermally converted into a valuable product, such as biochar, whereby PFAS is either adsorbed onto the carbonaceous matter or destroyed depending on the temperatures adopted. Summary: This review thoroughly discusses all mobilization techniques that can be used for treating PFAS-contaminated soils, while investigating the possibility of combining such techniques with other approaches to enhance the treatment efficiency. Unfortunately, research on coupling mobilization methods with other remediation techniques for treating PFAS-contaminated soils is significantly lacking, and thus, additional studies on the effectiveness of such hybrid approaches should be carried out while providing cost estimations in terms of removal efficiencies, process longevity, and waste regeneration or disposal.
Current Pollution Reports
Water Science and Technology
Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
Electrokinetic remediation
Fluorinated surfactants
Liquefractionation
Soil flushing
Soil washing
Dive into the research topics of 'Mobilization of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Soils: A Review'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
mobilization Earth & Environmental Sciences 100%
Soil Chemical Compounds 86%
Soils Engineering & Materials Science 79%
contaminated soil Earth & Environmental Sciences 55%
remediation Earth & Environmental Sciences 49%
soil Earth & Environmental Sciences 43%
Remediation Engineering & Materials Science 43%
cost Earth & Environmental Sciences 31%
Abou-Khalil, C., Sarkar, D., Braykaa, P., & Boufadel, M. C. (2022). Mobilization of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Soils: A Review. Current Pollution Reports, 8(4), 422-444. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40726-022-00241-8
Abou-Khalil, Charbel ; Sarkar, Dibyendu ; Braykaa, Pamela et al. / Mobilization of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Soils : A Review. In: Current Pollution Reports. 2022 ; Vol. 8, No. 4. pp. 422-444.
@article{980c4135b05e492caf5c648713031463,
title = "Mobilization of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Soils: A Review",
abstract = "Purpose of Review: Soils can receive a considerable amount of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) via different contamination pathways. Remediating PFAS-contaminated soils is primarily limited to immobilization whereby the concentration of PFAS remains practically unaffected. Other remediation techniques include chemical and thermal methods, which are typically associated with very high costs and substantial energy usage requirements. A more cost-effective approach, however, could be to mobilize PFAS from the bulky soil to a medium (e.g., water, sorbents, plants) that can be sequentially treated or properly disposed of. Recent Findings: Soil washing, soil flushing, and liquefractionation are particularly promising mobilization approaches for treating permeable soils by desorbing the PFAS into a solution that can be subsequently treated, with liquefractionation generating the least wastewater volume. For cohesive soils, however, electrokinetic remediation would be more suitable for mobilizing PFAS. Another option could be phytoremediation, resulting in the confinement of PFAS in a small volume of plant parts which can be thermally converted into a valuable product, such as biochar, whereby PFAS is either adsorbed onto the carbonaceous matter or destroyed depending on the temperatures adopted. Summary: This review thoroughly discusses all mobilization techniques that can be used for treating PFAS-contaminated soils, while investigating the possibility of combining such techniques with other approaches to enhance the treatment efficiency. Unfortunately, research on coupling mobilization methods with other remediation techniques for treating PFAS-contaminated soils is significantly lacking, and thus, additional studies on the effectiveness of such hybrid approaches should be carried out while providing cost estimations in terms of removal efficiencies, process longevity, and waste regeneration or disposal.",
keywords = "Electrokinetic remediation, Fluorinated surfactants, Liquefractionation, Phytoremediation, Soil flushing, Soil washing",
author = "Charbel Abou-Khalil and Dibyendu Sarkar and Pamela Braykaa and Boufadel, {Michel C.}",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.",
journal = "Current Pollution Reports",
publisher = "Springer International Publishing AG",
Abou-Khalil, C, Sarkar, D, Braykaa, P & Boufadel, MC 2022, 'Mobilization of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Soils: A Review', Current Pollution Reports, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 422-444. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40726-022-00241-8
Mobilization of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Soils : A Review. / Abou-Khalil, Charbel; Sarkar, Dibyendu; Braykaa, Pamela et al.
In: Current Pollution Reports, Vol. 8, No. 4, 12.2022, p. 422-444.
T1 - Mobilization of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Soils
T2 - A Review
AU - Abou-Khalil, Charbel
AU - Sarkar, Dibyendu
AU - Braykaa, Pamela
AU - Boufadel, Michel C.
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
N2 - Purpose of Review: Soils can receive a considerable amount of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) via different contamination pathways. Remediating PFAS-contaminated soils is primarily limited to immobilization whereby the concentration of PFAS remains practically unaffected. Other remediation techniques include chemical and thermal methods, which are typically associated with very high costs and substantial energy usage requirements. A more cost-effective approach, however, could be to mobilize PFAS from the bulky soil to a medium (e.g., water, sorbents, plants) that can be sequentially treated or properly disposed of. Recent Findings: Soil washing, soil flushing, and liquefractionation are particularly promising mobilization approaches for treating permeable soils by desorbing the PFAS into a solution that can be subsequently treated, with liquefractionation generating the least wastewater volume. For cohesive soils, however, electrokinetic remediation would be more suitable for mobilizing PFAS. Another option could be phytoremediation, resulting in the confinement of PFAS in a small volume of plant parts which can be thermally converted into a valuable product, such as biochar, whereby PFAS is either adsorbed onto the carbonaceous matter or destroyed depending on the temperatures adopted. Summary: This review thoroughly discusses all mobilization techniques that can be used for treating PFAS-contaminated soils, while investigating the possibility of combining such techniques with other approaches to enhance the treatment efficiency. Unfortunately, research on coupling mobilization methods with other remediation techniques for treating PFAS-contaminated soils is significantly lacking, and thus, additional studies on the effectiveness of such hybrid approaches should be carried out while providing cost estimations in terms of removal efficiencies, process longevity, and waste regeneration or disposal.
AB - Purpose of Review: Soils can receive a considerable amount of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) via different contamination pathways. Remediating PFAS-contaminated soils is primarily limited to immobilization whereby the concentration of PFAS remains practically unaffected. Other remediation techniques include chemical and thermal methods, which are typically associated with very high costs and substantial energy usage requirements. A more cost-effective approach, however, could be to mobilize PFAS from the bulky soil to a medium (e.g., water, sorbents, plants) that can be sequentially treated or properly disposed of. Recent Findings: Soil washing, soil flushing, and liquefractionation are particularly promising mobilization approaches for treating permeable soils by desorbing the PFAS into a solution that can be subsequently treated, with liquefractionation generating the least wastewater volume. For cohesive soils, however, electrokinetic remediation would be more suitable for mobilizing PFAS. Another option could be phytoremediation, resulting in the confinement of PFAS in a small volume of plant parts which can be thermally converted into a valuable product, such as biochar, whereby PFAS is either adsorbed onto the carbonaceous matter or destroyed depending on the temperatures adopted. Summary: This review thoroughly discusses all mobilization techniques that can be used for treating PFAS-contaminated soils, while investigating the possibility of combining such techniques with other approaches to enhance the treatment efficiency. Unfortunately, research on coupling mobilization methods with other remediation techniques for treating PFAS-contaminated soils is significantly lacking, and thus, additional studies on the effectiveness of such hybrid approaches should be carried out while providing cost estimations in terms of removal efficiencies, process longevity, and waste regeneration or disposal.
KW - Electrokinetic remediation
KW - Fluorinated surfactants
KW - Liquefractionation
KW - Phytoremediation
KW - Soil flushing
KW - Soil washing
JO - Current Pollution Reports
JF - Current Pollution Reports
Abou-Khalil C, Sarkar D, Braykaa P, Boufadel MC. Mobilization of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Soils: A Review. Current Pollution Reports. 2022 Dec;8(4):422-444. doi: 10.1007/s40726-022-00241-8