PROJECT TITLE: Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Landfill Gas Emissions

Project Sponsor: Hinkley Center for Solid and Hazardous Waste Management

Project Duration: Oct. 01, 2021 - Sept. 30, 2022

Project Overview

While the knowledge on per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and their degradation products in landfill leachate has significantly increased in recently years, the knowledge on these compounds in the landfill gas emissions has been very limited. One of the major reasons is that the concentrations of these compounds in the landfill gas are usually below the detection limit. The first objective (i.e., preconcentration of gas-phase PFAS) of this proposal is to evaluate and compare three methods for preconcentrating PFAS and their degradation products in the gas phase. The second objective (i.e., measurement of PFAS in landfill gases) is to evaluate PFAS and their degradation products in the gas emission samples of five municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills and five construction & demolition (C&D) landfills in Florida. The third objective (i.e., measurement of PFAS in lab-scale columns) is to evaluate the fate of PFAS and their degradation products in the headspace of three lab-scale columns filled with three typical PFAS sources (i.e., carpet, building materials, and paper products), respectively. The project, if successful, will fill in the knowledge gap in the area of PFAS in the landfill gas emissions. It will also provide methods for measuring PFAS in the gas phase for the landfilling industry and the PFAS research community.