General Atomics Awarded Defense Innovation Unit Contract to Demonstrate iSCWO System for PFAS Destruction
SAN DIEGO. General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) announced on December 11 that it has been awarded a contract funded by the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) through the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to demonstrate the company’s iSCWO (industrial Supercritical Water Oxidation) system’s capabilities to destroy per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in a variety of impacted waste streams. GA-EMS will deliver and install a commercial-scale iSCWO system at a DoD-identified site to conduct on-site PFAS destruction testing starting in early 2024.
“ESTCP is focused on accelerating the adoption of leading commercial technologies to solve various operational challenges across the US military,” stated Scott Forney, President of GA-EMS. “The DoD is committed to identifying and addressing the issues concerning the complex cleanup actions required to remove PFAS waste, including aqueous film-forming foam used to fight fires. We look forward to demonstrating and validating our commercial iSCWO system as a solution to accelerate the destruction of PFAS and PFAS-impacted waste streams from military installations.”
GA-EMS’ iSCWO system is uniquely designed to process organic waste with water in a high temperature (650°C) and high-pressure (4,000 psi) environment to destroy PFAS and any co-occurring chemicals of concern present in the waste stream. No toxic chemicals are used in the process, no harmful by-products are created, and no post-treatment is required.
“The presence of co-occurring chemicals of concern in the waste streams severely degrades other available technologies’ destruction processes and their ability to effectively destroy PFAS,” continued Forney. “Our unique iSCWO reactor design is resistant to corrosion and salt build-up and provides the ability to treat a broad range of hazardous and non-hazardous waste, including high salinity feedstocks and wastes containing co-occurring chemicals of concern, with greater than 99.99% destruction efficiency. The system is easy and safe to operate, environmentally sound, cost-effective, and transportable.”
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a detailed report documenting the first-ever test and verification of PFAS destruction using GA-EMS’ commercial iSCWO technology. Over the past decade, GA-EMS iSCWO systems have destroyed more than 6 million gallons of waste with a greater than 99.99% destruction efficiency and have been proven effective in destroying over 200 different types of hazardous and non-hazardous liquid, solids, and slurry wastes.
