A new $7-million research centre launched by Colorado School of Mines aims to help governments, utilities and industry better evaluate technologies designed to destroy PFAS contamination, as concerns continue to grow over the environmental and health impacts of the pervasive chemicals.
The new PFAS Remedial Technology Engineering Center, known as the PFAS RiTE Center, will bring together researchers, engineering firms and industry partners to test and validate treatment technologies intended to eliminate PFAS compounds from contaminated water and soil.
Funding for the centre comes from the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP), part of the U.S. Department of Defense and focused on environmental and energy challenges.
Researchers say the initiative responds to a major gap in the rapidly evolving PFAS treatment sector, where new destruction technologies are emerging but independent performance data remains limited.
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“With increasing regulatory pressure and widespread impacts at and from PFAS release sites, including those on military installations, the need for reliable, scalable and cost-effective remediation strategies has never been more urgent,” said Chris Higgins, principal investigator for the centre and AMAX Distinguished Chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Colorado School of Mines.
“The PFAS RiTE Center will provide decision-makers with the data they need to protect public health and the environment,” Higgins said.
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a broad class of synthetic chemicals used in consumer products and industrial applications because of their resistance to heat, oil and water. They are commonly associated with aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) used in firefighting, but are also found in products ranging from microelectronics and batteries to medical devices.
One of the major challenges facing remediation efforts is that many existing treatment methods only separate PFAS from contaminated materials rather than destroying the compounds outright.
Technologies such as activated carbon filtration can remove PFAS from water or soil, but leave behind concentrated waste streams that often must be landfilled or incinerated.
Researchers have also raised concerns that some destruction technologies may create potentially hazardous byproducts if PFAS are not fully broken down.
A recent study published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment by researchers from Colorado School of Mines and North Carolina State University warned that products of incomplete destruction could pose environmental risks similar to the original contaminants.
“Our mission is complete destruction,” said Timothy Strathmann, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Colorado School of Mines. “We want to ensure the next generation of tools are not only effective, but also economical and energy efficient.”
The PFAS RiTE Center plans to develop peer-reviewed evaluation protocols to assess both established and emerging remediation technologies. Its work will include standardized testing frameworks, pilot-scale studies, independent technology validation and commercialization support for promising systems.
The centre also plans to create public-facing online resources and technology roadmaps intended to help regulators, municipalities and utilities make informed decisions about PFAS cleanup strategies.
Academic partners include North Carolina State University, Texas Tech University, University of Minnesota and Florida International University. Industry partners include AECOM, CDM Smith and Jacobs, along with environmental consulting firms Geosyntec and GSI Environmental.
The centre said it expects to begin formally soliciting information from PFAS treatment technology developers later in 2026.
