Ion exchange succeeds in removing PFAS from drinking water

Tune Waterworks has recently taken a significant step towards ensuring safer drinking water by installing an ion exchange system provided by EUROWATER. This system is specifically designed to effectively remove PFAS substances, thereby ensuring clean and safe drinking water for the community.

The journey to this achievement began in 2022, when Tune Waterworks detected concerning levels of PFAS contamination in the local drinking water wells. Tests revealed a mix of various PFAS compounds, including PFOS, PFOA, and PFHxS, with concentrations exceeding the limits set by Danish authorities.

The contaminated wells are owned by the public authorities in Denmark. Typically, groundwater remediation is used to prevent contamination from spreading to other water sources. However, in this case, the authorities collaborated with Tune Waterworks to treat the contaminated water and bring it up to drinking water standards, making it safe for consumption, rather than sending it to a municipal wastewater treatment plant.

EUROWATER was selected to design the water treatment system after the company had successfully assisted a waterworks on the Danish island of Fanoe with similar PFAS challenges.

Successful pilot study

Compared to the water on Fanoe, the water in Tune contained significantly more PFAS substances. EUROWATER therefore initiated a pilot study to test whether ion exchange technology would also be the optimal solution in Tune.

“Drawing from our extensive experience with various PFAS removal technologies in industrial settings, we were confident that ion exchange was the way forward in this case. Our team of skilled specialists in ion exchange technology found the calculations promising, but we had to give it a real-life test to be 100% sure,” says Oleksandr Sadchykov, Head of Sales at EUROWATER.

The pilot test confirmed the calculations: The ion exchange resins removed all PFAS substances so effectively that they could no longer be measured in the water.

Kurt Ardal Larsen, Operations Manager at Tune Waterworks, takes a water sample from the new ion exchange system that treats PFAS.

New ion exchange system put into operation

EUROWATER started to design and manufacture a full-scale ion exchange system, and in April the new system went into operation at Tune Waterworks. The system has a capacity of 20 m³/h and will provide approximately 300,000 m³ of clean drinking water annually.

“I am so pleased that EUROWATER helped us find a solution that ensures we can deliver PFAS-free drinking water to our consumers, while also being economically sustainable and easy to operate,” says Operations Manager Kurt Ardal Larsen from Tune Waterworks.

Currently, EUROWATER has installed ion exchange for PFAS removal in Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Based on these experiences a standard ion exchange solution is being developed for the benefit of other PFAS-affected water supplies.

“The treatment of PFAS-contaminated water is complex and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. It’s the composition of substances in the water that determines whether carbon filtration or ion exchange is the best choice. But with our convincing results from both Denmark and other European countries, ion exchange will clearly play an important role in solving future challenges with contaminated groundwater,” concludes Oleksandr Sadchykov.