Daniel Nelson

Closed-loop PFAS Destruction with Hydrothermal Alkaline Treatment (HALT) at an Air Force Remediation Site 

Daniel Nelson, Director of Sales, Aquagga

On-site destruction of PFAS wastes is a promising alternative to legacy disposal methods that require off-site transportation of these hazardous liquids. As novel PFAS destruction technologies mature and commercialize, understanding how to effectively and economically deploy these assets is of paramount importance. One particularly promising approach involves a closed-loop treatment system that combines separation/concentration of PFAS, subsequent destruction, and re-introduction of process effluent to the combined treatment train’s feedstock.     This presentation discusses a pilot demonstration of this closed-loop approach implemented at Ellsworth Air Force Base. 10,000 gallons of highly PFAS-impacted leachate from a firefighting training facility were treated using surface activated foam fractionation (SAFF) and hydrothermal alkaline treatment (HALT) in a closed-loop process configuration. The goal of this demonstration was to treat the highly PFAS impacted liquid stored in a retention pond to EPA MCLs for drinking water prior to discharge to the POTW. Significant destruction of PFAS was achieved, and the project was considered a success despite some effluent samples exceeding EPA MCLs for drinking water. Details of the project, technologies involved, challenges encountered, and learnings from the demonstration will be discussed. 

Daniel Nelson is the Director of Sales at Aquagga, where he focuses on the commercialization of HALT PFAS destruction systems and the global expansion of Aquagga’s customer base. He has nearly 15 years of experience in selling environmental sensors and systems to a variety of academic, governmental, and industrial clients. Daniel has a BA from Oregon State University and an MSc in River Environmental Management from the University of Birmingham (UK).