Removal of PFOS, PFOA and other perfluoroalkyl acids at water reclamation plants in South East Queensland Australia Jack Thompson a,⇑ , Geoff Eaglesham b , Julien Reungoat c , Yvan Poussade d,e , Michael Bartkow f , Michael Lawrence c , Jochen F. Mueller a a The University of Queensland, National Research Center for Environmental Toxicology (Entox): 39 Kessels Rd., Coopers Plains, QLD. 4108, Australia b Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services (QHFSS), Special Services: 39 Kessels Rd., Coopers Plains, QLD. 4108, Australia c The University of Queensland, Advanced Water Management Center (AWMC), QLD. 4072, Australia d Veolia Water Australia, Level 1, 20 Wharf Street, Brisbane, QLD. 4000, Australia e WaterSecure, Level 2, 95 North Quay, Brisbane, QLD. 4000, Australia f SEQwater, 240 Margaret Street, Brisbane, QLD. 4000, Australia article info Article history: Received 18 June 2010 Received in revised form 22 September 2010 Accepted 9 October 2010 Available online 3 November 2010 Keywords: Perfluorinated compounds Tertiary treatment PFOS PFOA Reverse osmosis Ozonation abstract This paper examines the fate of perfluorinated sulfonates (PFSAs) and carboxylic acids (PFCAs) in two water reclamation plants in Australia. Both facilities take treated water directly from WWTPs and treat it further to produce high quality recycled water. The first plant utilizes adsorption and filtration methods alongside ozonation, whilst the second uses membrane processes and advanced oxidation to produce purified recycled water. At both facilities perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) were the most frequently detected PFCs. Concentrations of PFOS and PFOA in influent (WWTP effluent) ranged up to 3.7 and 16 ng L 1 respectively, and were reduced to 0.7 and 12 ng L 1 in the finished water of the ozonation plant. Throughout this facility, concentrations of most of the detected perfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs) remained relatively unchanged with each successive treatment step. PFOS was an exception to this, with some removal following coagulation and dissolved air flotation/sand filtration (DAFF). At the second plant, influent concentrations of PFOS and PFOA ranged up to 39 and 29 ng L 1 . All PFCs present were removed from the finished water by reverse osmosis (RO) to concentrations below detection and report- ing limits (0.4–1.5 ng L 1 ). At both plants the observed concentrations were in the low parts per trillion range, well below provisional health based drinking water guidelines suggested for PFOS and PFOA. Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction 1.1. Perfluorinated alkyl compounds Perfluorinated alkyl compounds (PFCs) have received increasing attention in recent years as environmental contaminants due to their consistent detection in various environmental matrices (Giesy and Kannan, 2002), and their adverse effects in animal tox- icity studies (Kennedy et al., 2004; Lau et al., 2007). The two groups given the most scrutiny to date have been the perfluoroalkyl sulfo- nates (PFSAs) (C n F 2n+1 SO  3 ) and the perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) (C n F 2n+1 COOH), and in particular the eight carbon mem- bers of these groups; perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perflu- orooctanoic acid (PFOA). These compounds have been produced commercially since the 1950s and used in a variety of consumer and industrial applications, including oil and water repellent sur- face coatings for packaging and textiles, surfactants, and aqueous fire-fighting foams (Prevedouros et al., 2006; Paul et al., 2009). In 2009 PFOS was added to the Stockholm Convention for Persistent Organic Pollutants (Stockholm Convention, 2010). Production of PFOS and similar perfluorooctyl products was phased out in the USA and Europe 2000–2002 (OECD, 2002), however ongoing production continues elsewhere (Wang et al., 2009). Perfluorooctanoic acid and its salts continue to be used as process- ing agents in the manufacture of fluoropolymers but efforts have been made in conjunction with eight major PFOA manufacturers to reduce emissions from fluoropolymer manufacturing facilities by 95% of 2000 levels by 2010. A complete phase-out is sought by 2015 (USEPA, 2009). In Australia there is no record of PFCA or PFSA manufacture and importation and use has been discouraged by the National Indus- trial Chemical Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS, 2007, 2008). Despite this, there is potentially still a large stockpile of PFC containing products in inventories and personal ownership in Australia (e.g. PFC treated carpets). Additionally a large range of 0045-6535/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2010.10.040 ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 7 3274 9060. E-mail address: jthompson@entox.uq.edu.au (J. Thompson). Chemosphere 82 (2011) 9–17 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Chemosphere journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/chemosphere