Serving Our Planet
PFAS Solutions: SKB Environmental Leads with First-of-Its-Kind Treatment Plant
SKB Environmental — Rosemount, Minnesota
SKB Environmental is where research becomes actionable. SKB Environmental is a subsidiary of Waste Connections with a large landfill in the Minneapolis — St. Paul waste shed, handling construction and demolition debris, industrial wastes and other non-hazardous materials. In December 2023, the SKB Rosemount Landfill partnered with ALTRA SANEXEN to install and operate the first non-pilot PFAS treatment plant for landfill leachates in the United States. This plant employs foam fractionation, a cost-effective method that leverages PFAS's foaming properties to capture and concentrate these substances from leachate.
The PFAS plant treats an average daily flow of 72,000 gallons per day (GPD) with removal of up to 99% of PFOA and PFOS compounds, enhancing the quality of leachate that gets delivered to municipal wastewater partners. Taking one step further, in partnership with ALTRA SANEXEN, Waste Connections is also researching destruction technologies for eliminating PFAS from the concentrated PFAS foam removed from leachate, including an encapsulation approach using Portland cement.
Impact
This approach addresses the immediate need for PFAS treatment and reinforces the role of modern landfills in managing PFAS substances. The successful deployment of foam fractionation technology at the SKB Rosemount Landfill utilizes a scalable model with several Waste Connections landfills slated to bring online similar foam fractionation units in 2024. Additionally, Waste Connections continues to explore other technologies for leachate treatment and disposal, such as deep well injection and evaporation, further demonstrating the company's commitment to safeguarding the environment.
