A leading European recycling site faced a dual challenge: managing conventional pollutants (suspended solids, COD, and dissolved metals) alongside PFAS contamination in its runoff water. The influent was highly variable due to site activities and weather conditions, making reliable treatment difficult. The client required a solution that was both robust and compact, fitting within the constraints of an active industrial site while ensuring compliance with tightening European regulations on PFAS.

A pre-treatment train for protection

Waterleau designed and delivered a multi-barrier treatment train to ensure stable operation and long-term compliance:

• Physico-chemical pretreatment to precipitate metals and reduce COD.

• Sand filtration to remove suspended solids and protect downstream units.

• Activated Carbon Filtration (ACF) for efficient removal of long-chain PFAS and co-organics.

• Ion Exchange (IEX) in lead/lag configuration to polish short-chain PFAS and ensure compliance with strict discharge standards.

The system was further equipped with sampling points and monitoring tools, enabling real-time breakthrough detection, predictive maintenance, and optimized OPEX.

A sustainable PFAS treatment solution

The installation has delivered:

• Consistent compliance with PFAS and conventional discharge standards.

• Extended media lifetime and reduced operating costs thanks to staged adsorption (ACF + IEX).

• A compact and modular footprint, well-suited for constrained industrial environments.

• Future-proof design, scalable to address stricter European PFAS regulations or to integrate additional technologies such as RO or destruction modules