Impact of phosphate addition on PFAS treatment performance for drinking water.

Adding new unit operations to drinking water treatment systems requires consideration of not only efficacy for its design purpose but also costs, water quality characteristics, impact on overall regulatory compliance, and impact of other treatment unit operations. Here, pilot study results for ion exchange (IX) and granular activated carbon (GAC) are presented for a utility with both per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and volatile organic contaminant removal needs. Specifically, the impact of upstream air stripping and phosphate addition on PFAS treatment performance was evaluated.