Revolutionizing the Battle Against PFAS Contamination: Oxyle and CIMO's Partnership

A growing call for action  

It's becoming increasingly clear that the world is running short of a natural resource so critical to life: clean, safe groundwater. Groundwater, hidden beneath the Earth's surface, acts as vital lifeline for billions of people around the world. Drinking water for communities. Sustenance for agriculture. A life source for countless ecosystems. Today, we are bearing witness to a global contamination crisis that is affecting groundwater ecosystems on an unprecedented scale. Thousands of micropollutants, among them PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and industrial chemicals, have infiltrated our groundwater posing a grave threat to both the environment and public health. Based on an investigation by the Forever Pollution Project over 17,000 sites (water and soil) across Europe are contaminated with “Forever Chemicals” PFAS. Of those, 640 sites have high concentrations of more than 1,000 nanograms per liter of water, and 300 locations have concentrations exceeding 10,000 ng/L. Belgium, which has some of the highest levels of pollution in Europe, was found to have concentrations of 73m ng/L near 3M’s industrial site in Flanders. To put that in perspective for you, the EPA’s proposed discharge limit, where there is likely to be no toxic effect, is 0.004ng/L.

The challenge of eradicating PFAS from groundwater    

A growing call for action is being met with increasing regulations. Just this past September, the European Parliament took a momentous step by formally adopting a position that mandates the reduction of groundwater pollution. This significant move compels member states to diligently monitor and actively decrease PFAS contamination in groundwater.   

Eradicating PFAS from our groundwater, however, requires more than just tightened regulations, it demands effective solutions. Which currently, are in short supply. Conventional PFAS treatment technologies have notable drawbacks, including include high cost, use of unsafe chemicals, high carbon footprint, and most notably, incomplete pollutant removal. That’s where Oxyle comes in.  

CIMO – Paving the path to a PFAS free future   

Our partnership with CIMO, a Swiss Wastewater Management company, has illuminated a path forward. Together, we embarked on a 6-month pilot project that showcased a revolutionary approach to groundwater remediation. In Phase 1 of the pilot, contaminated groundwater was pumped directly into Oxyle's plug-and-play batch reactor for treatment. Whereas for Phase 2, we took on the challenge of treating 4x up-concentrated nanofiltration reject water with Oxyle's technology. In both phases, once activated via aeration, Oxyle's novel catalysts generated an abundance of reactive radicals, effectively breaking down the PFAS into safe-to-discharge inorganic compounds like calcium fluoride, that are safe to release.

The results of both phases of the pilot were nothing short of remarkable. CIMO, armed with Oxyle's technology, effectively eliminated both short-chain and long-chain PFAS compounds, reducing their levels by >99%, from a staggering 6790 ng/L to a mere 55 ng/L in a 60 minute period. Furthermore, Oxyle's technology successfully eliminated 98% of six pesticide species present in the groundwater. All with 15x lower energy consumption than conventional methods.    

This pilot project's resounding success serves as a testament to the efficacy of Oxyle's solution but, more importantly, as a testament of new technology in our ongoing battle against PFAS groundwater contamination. In the face of mounting water challenges, we have shown that it is not only possible but also practical to eliminate these highly persistent pollutants efficiently and cost-effectively. And protect our waters in the process.  

New innovations every day

This pilot marks an important milestone for our company, and for the entire industry. Getting here took the ingenuity, drive, and tenacity of every Oxyler. Since founding Oxyle, we have dedicated our efforts to discovering and developing better, more sustainable, more scalable ways to clean our waters. We promise to never stop innovating on that. And we’re proud to have partners, like CIMO, who are committed to doing the same.

If you want to read more about CIMO's groundwater remediation efforts, check out the full case study here:  https://bit.ly/3sg1jSz