Calgon Carbon Corporation, a subsidiary of Kuraray Co., Ltd., announced the publication of its second peer-reviewed white paper on PFAS-laden spent carbon reactivation. The study is titled “Destruction of PFAS During Thermal Reactivation of Granular Activated Carbon Used in Potable Water Treatment” and appears in the Remediation Journal.
This new research builds on Calgon Carbon’s prior work and confirms the effectiveness of their reactivation process. It demonstrates that high-temperature reactivation can remove PFAS contaminants below detectable limits, achieving over 99.9% destruction removal efficiency.
The process, called custom municipal reactivation, allows municipalities and industrial users to recycle spent activated carbon. Reactivation destroys PFAS, restores the carbon, and reduces the need for virgin activated carbon.
Unlike other PFAS treatment methods, reactivation returns carbon to service and expands supply availability. It also lowers CO₂ emissions compared to producing new activated carbon, supporting sustainability goals.
The study’s findings are timely as municipalities across the U.S. test for PFAS and prepare treatment plans to meet new EPA standards. The results provide independent validation that reactivation is a scalable solution for PFAS management.
The study demonstrated PFAS removal from granular activated carbon (GAC). The research showed over 99.9% destruction efficiency using advanced test methods. GAC is the most widely used technology for removing PFAS from drinking water and wastewater. Calgon Carbon’s FILTRASORB® GAC, made from bituminous coal, has shown superior PFAS removal for over twenty years.
Reactivating spent GAC involves heating it in a furnace at high temperatures. This process breaks down PFAS’s strong carbon-fluoride bonds, destroying the contaminants.
The off-gas from reactivation passes through an abatement system that destroys organics and neutralizes acid gases like hydrogen fluoride. Particulates are removed using a baghouse filter.
This closed-loop process offers a cost-effective, environmentally friendly solution that reduces long-term PFAS waste.
