Australia’s EVOCRA offers patented OzoFractionation® technology with proven remediation to produce low volume PFAS concentrates that are ready for destruction.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are among the world’s most challenging environmental contaminants, driving global demand for robust, sustainable, and economically viable solutions. Australia’s EVOCRA is leading the way in PFAS removal and destruction through its patented OzoFractionation® process, delivering practical, field-proven results, driving international partnerships and changing the way industry, municipalities and the remediation sector approach contaminated water management.
Pilot to World Leadership: The EVOCRA Journey
EVOCRA’s innovative trajectory began in 2011. The company, then known as Green Shadows Commercial, designed the first OzoFractionation® pilot system for a gold mine on Tasmania’s rugged west coast. This proof-of-concept plant validated the technology’s ability to remove contaminants from complex on-site wastewater under real-world conditions with variable flows and chemical effects.
By 2017, EVOCRA had progressed from concept to commercial reality. EVOCRA has been selected for the first large-scale PFAS OzoFractionation® installation at Brisbane International Airport. The challenges here were immense. Multiple water sources were contaminated with firefighting foam containing PFAS, some at levels exceeding 2,000 mg/L. This concentration is rarely seen outside of emergency response scenarios. The system consistently delivered compliant results and successfully remediated water sources that would otherwise have required expensive transportation and incineration, or permanent isolation. OzoFractionation®’s concentration capabilities reduced the 20,000,000 liters of affected water to less than 100,000 liters of material requiring off-site expert destruction.
Proven performance
Since this pivotal airport project, EVOCRA’s OzoFractionation® system has been employed in a variety of challenging applications.
Surface water purification at fire training areas where mixed contaminants outcompete other treatment methods. Advanced leachate treatment at the landfill reduces both regulatory risk and off-site disposal costs. We provide final polishing for PFAS removal at major liquid waste facilities, ensuring our clients have the ability to exceed new emissions standards.
OzoFractionation®’s ability to integrate with both new and legacy infrastructure has proven to be a valuable and flexible tool for industries seeking a reliable upgrade path without disruptive capital construction.
How is foam sorted?
Simply put, the process involves injecting a thin stream of gas, usually air, near the bottom of a tower or tank containing contaminated water. As the gas bubbles rise, surface-active contaminants such as PFAS are captured and the contaminants are concentrated and transferred to the bubbles that collect at the top of the column. As the foam builds up, it is forced into a designed collection head where it collapses and exits as a concentrated liquid ‘foam’. Foam is typically less than 5% of the original raw water volume in the primary fractionation column and less than 1% in the secondary fractionation stage, significantly reducing waste volumes and allowing for more cost-effective downstream management.
Unlike traditional approaches that generate additional waste and require pretreatment processes to address co-contaminants that are often affected by PFAS, all foam fractionation systems, including OzoFractionation®, highly effectively separate surfactant contaminants by “flotation.” However, in contrast, OzoFractionation® was first applied in a highly contaminated and complex co-contaminated wastewater environment and intentionally enriched with ozone to provide the benefits of oxidation, bubble stability, and increased bubble electrostatic charge. These benefits provided by ozone improve flotation performance, decompose most organic compounds, and promote the formation of insoluble inorganic compounds that attach to air bubbles or separate as precipitates. The OzoFractionation® process therefore plays a multifaceted role.
Why is OzoFractionation® so effective against PFAS?
The engineering behind OzoFractionation® specifically targets the unique chemistry of PFAS. The process uses flexible gas mixtures, such as air-ozone, oxygen-ozone, or atmospheric air, tailored to the site’s specific contaminant profile and operational constraints. The ability to add ozone provides three major benefits for removing PFAS and a wide range of contaminants.
Smaller, more stable bubbles: Due to its chemical properties, ozone in a gas stream produces finer bubbles that are less likely to coalesce. This maintains a significant gas-liquid surface area throughout the water column, undiminished by coalescence, allowing PFAS and other contaminants to attach to the air bubbles and improve extraction rates. Due to the thin walls of the small bubbles, water loss into the foam is also minimized, and Ozofractionation® yields up to 75% less foam product than air bubble fractionation processes. Increased selectivity and reduced waste: Ozone-enhanced bubbles are smaller and more stable, so they more effectively capture and remove even the difficult short-chain PFAS compounds that often pass through traditional processes. Direct oxidation of co-pollutants: As a powerful oxidant, ozone can break down organic pollutants, degrade pesticides, and kill viruses and pathogens. For many non-PFAS contaminants that are difficult to remove using physical methods, OzoFractionation® provides a parallel degradation and removal pathway in a single step. This is ideal for complex water sources where traditional GAC and IX systems struggle with fouling and breakthrough.
Versatility, synergy and downstream integration
OzoFractionation® not only provides impressive volume reduction and concentration of contaminants, but also provides an ideal raw material for fracture techniques. By concentrating PFAS into foams that are typically only a few percent of their original volume, downstream treatments such as electrooxidation, supercritical water oxidation, and other advanced destructive processes can be implemented with a much smaller physical footprint and significantly reduced power requirements.
Global expansion and strategic partnerships
EVOCRA’s expertise and innovation have attracted international attention. In North America, EVOCRA maintains an exclusive license agreement with E2METRIX, part of the OVIVO family of companies, giving clients access to the OzoFractionation® process, branded Olift™. This partnership will allow customers in the US and Canada to benefit from technology that has already been battle-tested in some of Australia’s harshest conditions, with support from local experts.
In the UK, Europe and South America, EVOCRA has entered into a limited license and collaboration framework with Arcadis to leverage its global network to evaluate clients and scale up their supply chains. These relationships ensure that OzoFractionation® technology continues to evolve and adapt with feedback and validation from the world’s largest and most complex restoration projects.
OzoFractionation®: A smarter path to PFAS compliance
Multi-mechanism, single-process design reduces infrastructure, reduces downtime, and simplifies operations. Adaptability to diverse water matrices. The ability to handle high organic loads and variable co-contaminants provides future-proofing capabilities for the evolving water and wastewater challenges faced by industrial and municipal customers alike. Minimized secondary waste and lower energy requirements reduce long-term operating costs and environmental impact, providing financial and reputational benefits. It is the ideal partner for advanced destruction technologies, providing a highly concentrated and predictable PFAS waste stream. Internationally validated performance backed by 10 years of data ensures the confidence of regulators, asset managers and environmental officials.
Trust in our clients, value in our community
EVOCRA and its patented OzoFractionation® technology provides the market with a proven, versatile, and future-proof solution to one of the most challenging environmental challenges facing industry, regulators, and communities. With a proven track record ranging from proof of concept in Tasmanian gold mines to key roles at airports, landfills, fire training ranges and major liquid waste facilities, EVOCRA’s OzoFractionation® offers cost-effective true PFAS compliance and the opportunity to improve the energy efficiency of PFAS destruction technologies to break the pollution cycle.
For organizations in need of PFAS remediation, OzoFractionation® is the solution that turns uncertainty into measurable, reportable, and profitable success. EVOCRA is ready to provide sustainable water treatment solutions that meet your requirements.
This article will be published in an upcoming PFAS Special Focus Publication in January.
Source link
