This project will improve on the first version of the portable Sorbent Onsite Testing Apparatus (SOTA) developed at Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific and initially demonstrated under the Navy Environmental Sustainability Development to Integration (NESDI) program, which allows rapid and inexpensive on-site testing of sorbents. This will be accomplished in two main tasks: 1) optimize the SOTA system so that it can be used under a range of conditions that would occur during on-site testing required at per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)-impacted sites and 2) demonstrate the optimized SOTA at two sites to evaluate the mobility and flexibility of the unit and the value of conducting site-specific sorbent evaluations.

Because different types of PFAS and background water quality conditions affect the ability of various sorbent materials to treat PFAS-impacted water, it is critical to evaluate a range of sorbents before selecting and installing a remediation treatment at a given PFAS-impacted site. The patent-pending SOTA was developed under the NESDI Program (Project 578) to meet this need. The current SOTA is a packable, reusable sorbent evaluation system that can be setup at a field site for the rapid testing of adsorbents with site-specific PFAS-impacted water. In simplest terms, it brings bench-scale column testing to the field in an easily portable package. It is designed to allow for each column test to be tailored to the requirements for the specific column size and media to be utilized, including rapid small-scale column testing setups for appropriate sorbents (e.g., granulated activated carbon). As such, SOTA allows for a complex laboratory column study to be deployed and conducted on-site at various field sites, allowing for direct testing of PFAS-impacted water at the site with potential adsorbents. This provides a more realistic evaluation of treatment in an operational environment while capturing variability in site conditions. Currently, the system is packaged such that only an external power source (120 volts alternating current) and water tubing is required to perform the setup. The system can be setup near existing treatment systems or pump stations and allows for concurrent column testing of a range of sorbents. It can also integrate standard passive samplers in the same test/evaluation event, which typically span about two to five months.

Sites impacted by PFAS are a complex remediation challenge. The effort and cost associated with full-scale remediation of PFAS (i.e., pump and treat systems, in situ sorbent amendment placement) is very high; therefore, an assessment of treatment efficacy for the wide variety of PFAS constituents in groundwater at a given site, should be known before investment is made to install a particular treatment system. A mobile, field-scale system that can be deployed will aid in rapidly and realistically evaluating multiple sorbent technologies to make informed remediation decisions, thereby supporting the development of cost-effective, field-ready solutions that support defending the homeland, establishing deterrence, and ensuring installations remain mission-capable while safeguarding critical defense infrastructure and the workforce. (Anticipated Project Completion - 2027)