Dive Brief:
- Auto component maker Lacks Enterprises acquired a PFAS destruction system from Axine Water Technologies last week, in what the water treatment company claims is the first commercial sale of its kind in the country, according to an Oct. 3 press release.
- Dubbed electraCLEAR technology, the system targets and destroys over 90% of six regulated forever chemicals in wastewater, including PFOS and PFOA. The Environmental Protection Agency dubbed the two PFAS as hazardous substances in April.
- The first phase of the PFAS destruction system is scheduled to arrive at Lacks’ facility in Grand Rapids, Michigan, by year's end, per the release. The auto supplier also plans to purchase additional systems for its other facilities in Europe and Asia in the future. The investment amount in the technology was not disclosed.
Dive Insight:
The new system comes as the EPA and state governments across the country are increasing their oversight of PFAS, including new drinking water standards for multiple forever chemicals.
The water standards have driven many industries, including auto manufacturing, to pursue solutions to manage and destroy PFAS, Lacks Enterprises CEO Nick Hrnyak said in the release.
As a result, Axine and Lacks worked together on the electraCLEAR technology in 2023. The following year, the two companies executed a pilot study with a containerized electraCLEAR unit at the auto supplier’s Grand Rapids facility.
Axine uses electrochemical oxidation, a water treatment technology that leverages “electrical currents passed through a solution to oxidize pollutants,” according to a 2021 Environmental Protection Agency brief.
The study was successful, with the system destroying nearly 100% of the forever chemicals.
“This achievement validates our capabilities in destroying PFAS,” Axine Water Technologies CEO Mark Ralph said in the release. “Our electraCLEAR technology offers a safe, cost-effective solution for industrial facilities aiming to meet stringent environmental regulations while maintaining productivity in their manufacturing process.”
Other companies have also recently developed PFAS destruction technology. In 2023, research and development company Battelle established Revive Environmental, which deployed its PFAS Annihilator to destroy forever chemicals in contaminated sites such as industrial wastewater and aqueous firefighting foam waste.
In March, the research and development company and its subsidiary joined Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to launch the state’s AFFF Takeback program. The initiative assists municipal fire departments in safely disposing of AFFFs as Ohio phases out firefighting foams made with PFAS. State officials use Battelle’s PFAS Annihilator technology to destroy AFFF and wastewater contaminated with forever chemicals to non-detectable levels, according to DeWine’s January announcement of the partnership.
Earlier this year, the EPA released guidance on disposing and destroying PFAS. The federal agency has also funded many small businesses that are developing technologies and tools that can test, treat and destroy forever chemicals, including electrochemical processes.
