Corewater is committed to the environment and is working to develop technologies that will create a safer world for generations to come.
Corewater Technologies (CWT) has developed an innovative technology to remove PFAS chemicals with its mission to eternally eliminate innovative technology (CWT) that provides a safer and more cost-effective way to remove PFAS chemicals from water. This solution provides an on-site process for complete PFA repair – achieves adsorption, removal, separation and destruction of PFA. This technology can also reduce the impact on landfills and the air we breathe.
The company’s flagship technology, Core+™, utilizes industry-standard media granular carbon (GAC) and adds a functionalized coating to effectively remove PFA from water.
For more information about the technology, the innovation platform is Corewater Technologies, Inc. Dennis M. Flood, president and CEO of
What inspired you to establish Corewater Technologies? Also, did you aim to solve the problem from the beginning?
Corewater Technologies was founded on the unique mission of removing and destroying PFAs that contaminate drinking water around the world. We realised early that 1) there was a lack of legacy technology because they were simply postponing the issue. 2) They were ultimately unsustainable. Our goal was to create solutions to eliminate PFA from an effective, scalable, accessible and sustainable environment.
What sets you apart from other companies tackling PFA pollution?
Unlike many players in the PFAS space, it doesn’t just make PFAS an AdSorb. AridProcess™ (Adsorb, Delete, Separate, Destruction) allows for complete destruction of them. Our technology is designed for closed loop processing, eliminating the need for costly reactivation or disposal. It also prioritizes modularity, making the system run for communities of all sizes.
There are several proven PFAS destruction techniques currently used to clean landfills and spill sites, but cannot be applied effectively or economically to the production of drinking water. They require a source of PFA concentrate and are unable to treat potentially millions of gallons of water in water treatment plants. Corewater’s technology provides a “bridge” in which these disruption technologies are applied to drinking water production.
Can you explain how patented composite particles adsorb and how PFA is destroyed?
Core+™ is designed to enhance hydrophobic adsorption of PFA. This provides stronger bonding than is achieved through the van der Waal or electrostatic coupling capabilities of a normal GAC. Hydrophobic binding also provides Core+™ specificity to PFA, allowing simple chemical rinses to be performed in situ. This eliminates the need to empty the filterbed when a breakthrough occurs.
Once removed and separated from Core+™, PFAS molecules are destroyed by any of several proven destructive methods, such as electrochemical oxidation (EO), supercritical hydroxylation (SCWO), or hydrothermal alkaline treatment (stop).
The final rinse of the Core+™ bed will result in GAC-based particles that can be reused for use in other carbon-based applications. Possibilities include conductive composites, mechanical reinforcement of thin films, and initiation sites for graphite polymerization as fillers for composite materials.
Why is an approach to PFA repair more sustainable or cost-effective than traditional methods such as GAC or anion exchange resin?
Traditional methods such as GAC and anion exchange resins adsorb PFA and become hazardous substances that require a unique, expensive disposal and/or reactivation process. Our technology eliminates the burden by separating and destroying PFA on-site. This reduces operating costs, carbon footprint, and long-term liability.
The anion exchange resin, the most widely used for PFA removal, cannot be reused. As a result, the resin cannot be recovered on the spot. The same applies to standard GAC. GAC updates require the entire bed to be empty and tracked to a central facility where it will undergo a high temperature regeneration process. The process itself is a large source of greenhouse gas emissions, destroying 15-25% of the original GAC. Replacing that 15-25% with new virgin GAC will more than double the production of greenhouse gases per reuse. There is also a limit to the number of reactions that can be performed in the initial volume of GAC. This means that a complete replacement with a Virgin GAC will be required sooner than later.
PFA captured by Core+™ can be removed from the bed in situ, isolated and destroyed. CWT’s current R&D shows that Core+™ can be reused at least 10 times. An absolute cap has not yet been established. Coupled with Arid Process™, we have developed a sustainable solution for PFA repair. Simply eliminating GAC reactivation reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 90%, eliminating the need to truck millions of pounds of dangerous goods into reactivated plants. We purposefully designed the technologies and processes to make our technology and processes sustainable by reusing not only Core+™ absorbents but also rinsing solutions.
What third-party verification or pilot-scale testing has Corewater’s technology been undergoing?
The company has a wide range of lab data that examines all aspects of the technology and is launching a series of independent, third-party pilot tests. It is worth keeping in mind that the pilot tests required to validate Corewater’s complete drying process technology are more complicated than simple adsorption tests. Pilot Test Skids require a complete, fully extended, fully extended replica™, not just an adsorption column. The initial absorption-only pilot test is scheduled to be carried out by an independent third party in early 2025. Then, the pilot skid system will soon follow.
How is your technology integrated with existing local government or industrial water treatment systems?
The patented adsorbent, Core+TM, is designed for plug-and-play integration. It was developed as a drop-in exchange for both GAC and anion exchange resins used in existing water treatment systems. If the “polishing step” of the existing PFA in the utility has already removed the PFA from the output water stream, the estimated additional CAPEX (no breakage) required for a complete drying system will be on the order of 10-15% of the adsorption system CAPEX already installed. Compared to the cost of complete change-out and off-site treatments of traditional GAC and anion exchange resins, there is a very small Opex for Core+™ and Arid Process™ installations.
What does Corewater think about environmental justice? Would you like to have small or resource-lacking communities access your solutions?
Corewater’s technology is scalable across a wide range of community water systems. These systems are defined in the United States by the US Geological Survey (USGS) and are divided into sets of population/customer ranges. Corewater’s technology can be provided as a leasing system skid for built-in polishing steps for new or existing PFA removal systems, or for any size utility that you would otherwise not be able to purchase Capex. The latter approach requires that small utilities, where getting CAPEX is a major problem, have access to the technology.
What customers and sectors will benefit from using Corewater’s solutions (e.g. municipal, industrial, or consumer solutions)?
This technology can be used in all three market segments. It can be used both as a capital add-on polishing step for large utilities and industrial users, and as a replaceable lease subsystem for small entities in the utilities, industrial commercials and hospitality services markets.
What are the biggest challenges Corewater faces in today’s PFAS restoration space?
The biggest challenge for CWT is achieving commercial technology readiness in a timely manner. The technology development roadmap is well laid out. The company is expected to be ready to lease or sell commercial full system skids to small/medium-sized community water systems by the end of the first quarter of 2026.
How will changes in regulations affect technology demand, like the EPA’s new PFA limits?
The US federal regulations calling for reduced and ultimately eliminated exposure to PFA in drinking water, food and everyday products are more than a significant increase in the demand for CWT’s full drying process technology. The current US EPA is pushing back the timeline of water treatment facilities and installing PFA remediation solutions. This allows the company to increase the time to work with established PFAS system providers as potential licensees and distributors.
What role does public awareness play in promoting the adoption of PFAS repair technologies?
The rapid growth of public awareness plays a major role in implementing the repair of PFA from the environment and eliminating the impact on public health around the world. State regulations have totally surpassed federal regulations. Some states have already implemented stricter guidelines for PFA exposure and repair.
Is Corewater going to compete with incumbents in the PFAS space for performance, price, or something else?
Corewater will work with existing providers of PFAS capture systems to expand its ability to not only remove from one area of the biosphere into another, but also include full repair of PFA. Currently, there are no current providers in the PFAS space that can provide full repairs. Given the magnitude of the problems around the world, competition with other full solution providers (some are undoubtedly unquestionable at different stages of development) presents no threat to gaining a large market presence.
We intend to make a collective effort to remove PFA from our water and environment. No one can complete the job. It will take a few.
Has Corewater considered licensing its technology or will it pursue direct market entry and manufacturing?
Corewater’s main business goal was to license the technology to established GAC providers who already have a market presence, along with the infrastructure needed to use it. Building such a company from scratch would lead to too many people at risk of health issues already known to be issues exposed to PFAS pollution.
From an R&D or product development perspective, what’s next for Corewater Technologies?
It is important to complete product developments, including NSF-I certification for Core+™ and Arid Process™.
If PFA is no longer a major global issue in 10 years, what role would you like Corewater to play in the outcome?
We expect Core Water to contribute significantly to the elimination of PFA from the global environment.
This article will also be featured in the 23rd edition of Quarterly Publication.
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