Presently there are limited options for the treatment of PFAS impacted sand, concrete, rock, aggregate and asphalt. These materials are valuable resources but may, due to their PFAS impacts, present significant risk as sources of PFAS to the environment. The risk posed by many PFAS impacted materials significantly limits the ability for the material to be reused, presenting a financial and practicality hurdle for drivers which would reduce mass flux from these source materials. This is largely due to presently available treatment options being expensive and usually resulting in the same end use of the treated materials, this is of limited benefit and does not valorise the waste material.
Ambiolock, a new technology for the immobilisation of PFAS allows PFAS impacted materials to be reused in concrete products such as concrete slabs, bollards, and pavement. The physical immobilisation mechanism by which Ambiolock reduces PFAS mobility is robust and resistant to environmental changes consistent with those seen in the natural and built environment. Concrete materials derived from PFAS impacted waste materials and treated with Ambiolock have to date exhibited equal or greater strength and durability than their untreated counterparts and were demonstrated to immobilise up to 99% of tested PFAS congeners. Ambiolock’s key objective is to disrupt mass flows of PFAS into the environment, whilst simultaneously valorising waste resources. This culminates in a sustainable approach that reinvigorates drivers for addressing PFAS impacted source zones by removing the barriers presented by the previously limited options for PFAS impacted materials reuse and remediation.