Many pharmaceutical residues and PFAS are released into the environment via our wastewater. Removing these and other contaminants from (waste) water in an environmentally friendly way is a major challenge. A pilot project by Water Authority Zuiderzeeland and Witteveen+Bos using cyclodextrin polymers shows promising results.

Persistent per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) can enter surface water via wastewater and spread further, for example via rivers. Water authorities are struggling to remove these and other contaminants from wastewater at their treatment plants. Today, PFAS are often removed from (waste) water using granular activated carbon, followed by incineration of the contaminated activated carbon at over 1,200 °C - an environmentally unfriendly and inefficient technique.

But alternative, sustainable methods are being developed. A 2023 pilot project at the Zuiderzeeland Water Board’s Lelystad wastewater treatment plant shows that cyclodextrin polymers (CDPs) are potentially rich adsorbents for capturing both PFAS and pharmaceutical residues. The captured contaminants are then destroyed using a ball mill. Witteveen+Bos, the engineering company supervising the pilot project, said in a press release.