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ACCELERATED DEPLOYMENT AND STARTUP OF ION EXCHANGE GROUNDWATER TREATMENT SYSTEM ADDRESSES PFAS CONTAMINATION AT AUSTRALIAN AIR BASE
Woodard, S. and V. Pearce. | PFAS in Groundwater Workshop: The Professional's Challenge, 14-15 May, St. Paul, Minnesota, 2018

Historical use of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) at the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Williamtown in New South Wales resulted in PFAS contamination of groundwater and stormwater that migrated off base. Defense adopted a phased approach to manage the PFAS contamination at RAAF Williamtown, including accelerated design, fabrication, overseas transport, startup and operation of a successful Phase 1 water treatment system. Phase 1 involved testing a 50-gpm treatment system to demonstrate the effectiveness of the ion exchange resin-based technology. The modular treatment system was installed in a 40-ft shipping container where a set of lead and lag vessels containing Sorbix A3F regenerable anion exchange resin remove the PFAS compounds. To minimize the time required to initiate PFAS remediation, a RAAF C-17 cargo plane was used to transport the modular system from the U.S. to Australia, saving a month of transport time. The system has been operating continuously and successfully since startup in June 2017. There have been no detections of any of the 34 PFAS compounds in the treated effluent, and no resin regeneration or change-out has been required. See a poster by M. Sinnett for more information: http://rpic-ibic.ca/images/Accelerated_Deployment_and_Startup_of_Ion_Exchange_Groundwater_Treatment_System_Addresses_PFAS_Contamination_in_Stormwater_at_an_Australian_Air_Base.pdf



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