Mobile Modular Plant for PFAS Soil Decontamination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for removing water-soluble chemical substances like PFAS from soil and mineral waste are inefficient, costly, and environmentally harmful, particularly due to the need for high-temperature incineration or transportation to stationary facilities.
Innovation Solution
A mobile, modular system for cleaning soil and mineral waste, comprising modules for screening and washing, separating process water, purifying water, and controlling the system, allowing for efficient on-site decontamination and recycling of water.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If high-temperature incineration is used to remove PFAS from soil, then complete destruction of chemical substances is achieved, but energy consumption and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the soil treatment process into multiple stages: screening/separation of soil fractions, selective washing of contaminated portions, and targeted thermal or chemical treatment only of the most contaminated material. This segmentation allows complete PFAS destruction while reducing overall energy consumption by treating only necessary portions at high temperature.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the temperature parameter dynamically, applying high-temperature incineration only to severely contaminated fractions while using lower-temperature washing and chemical treatment for less contaminated material. This parameter optimization achieves reliable PFAS removal while significantly reducing total energy consumption compared to uniform high-temperature treatment.
2Reliability
If soil material is transported to stationary facilities for decontamination, then professional treatment is achieved, but transport costs and environmental harm increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system integrates multiple treatment functions (screening, washing, separation, and thermal/chemical treatment) into a single mobile unit that can be deployed at the contamination site. This multi-functional mobile plant brings professional treatment capabilities to the location, eliminating transport needs and associated environmental harm while maintaining treatment quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile plant acts as an intermediary between the contamination site and stationary facilities, providing professional treatment capabilities directly at the site. This intermediary solution eliminates the need for transporting soil to stationary facilities, thereby preventing environmental harm from transport while ensuring professional-grade treatment.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If a treatment plant is set up at the site for large-scale contamination, then transport costs are minimized, but setup time and cost-effectiveness are compromised for smaller areas
Solution Approach 1:
The treatment system is divided into modular segments that can be rapidly deployed and configured at the site. This modular segmentation allows the plant to be set up quickly for both large and small contamination areas, minimizing setup time while maintaining the benefit of on-site treatment that eliminates transport costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile plant provides dynamic scalability, allowing the treatment capacity to be adjusted based on the size of the contamination area. This dynamic capability enables cost-effective operation for both large-scale and smaller contamination sites without requiring lengthy setup periods, as the system can be quickly deployed and scaled appropriately.
4Ease of operation
If modular units are designed as independent transportable components, then system mobility and assembly speed are improved, but system complexity and coordination requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The modular units are designed with nested connections and standardized interfaces that allow rapid assembly by connecting components in a hierarchical manner. This nesting approach simplifies the coordination complexity by providing clear assembly sequences and standardized connection points, enabling fast deployment while maintaining system integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses standardized connection parameters and interfaces across all modular units, creating uniformity in connection protocols, power requirements, and control signals. This parameter standardization reduces coordination complexity despite the multi-component nature of the system, allowing rapid assembly and easy integration of modules.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The mobile system enables flexible, efficient, and environmentally friendly decontamination of soil and mineral waste, achieving up to 99% PFAS removal from mixed-grain soils, with reduced costs and environmental impact.
Implementation Method 1
feeding process water to the soil material/mineral waste to be cleaned
Implementation Method 2
a screening device with which a coarse grain can be separated and washed
Implementation Method 3
a modular unit with at least one filter device for filtering/purifying the process water
Implementation Method 4
a modular unit with at least one adsorption device for filtering/purifying the process water or for separating the chemical substances, in particular PFAS
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
The invention relates to a mobile plant for cleaning soil material or mineral waste from water-soluble chemical substances, in particular from PFAS, with a first module which comprises at least one module unit for screening and washing, which has a feed device for feeding process water to the soil material/mineral waste to be cleaned and a screening device with which a coarse grain can be separated and washed, leaving a finer grain fraction of the soil material/mineral waste to be cleaned, which, together with process water, forms a process sludge, a second module which has a module unit for separating process water from the process sludge, a third module which has at least one module unit with a raw water basin for receiving process water with absorbed chemical substances, in particular PFAS,a modular unit with at least one filter device and/or an adsorption unit for filtering the process water or for separating the chemical substances, in particular PFAS, and at least one modular unit with a clean water basin for receiving the filtered/treated process water, and a fourth module with at least one modular unit for controlling the system, wherein the individual modular units are designed as independent units that can be transported by a truck, the system as a whole being easy to transport and assemble.