Element Six (E6), a pioneer in the development and manufacturing of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond solutions, and Lummus Technology, a global provider of process technologies and value-driven energy solutions, announced an exclusive global partnership that will leverage a unique solution to address the worldwide challenge of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) destruction.
“Destroying and eliminating PFAS from water is an important global challenge — a challenge that Lummus and Element Six fully embrace and can help address,” said Leon de Bruyn, President and Chief Executive Officer, Lummus Technology. “By combining our technologies, we are uniquely positioned to offer efficient, scalable and viable methods to destroy these chemicals, safeguarding public health and protecting our environment for future generations.”
PFAS are a large range of synthetic fluorinated organic compounds that have been produced and widely used in industrial applications and consumer products since the 1930s. Commonly referred to as ’forever chemicals’, PFAS do not naturally break down in the environment and can cause serious health problems in high exposure cases, including cancer, decreased immunity, and infertility. Consequently, government agencies across the world including in the U.S., UK, Europe, Australia and the Middle East are taking steps to regulate these compounds’ presence in drinking water and everyday consumer products.
“There are so many aspects of our daily lives which will benefit from the pioneering technology delivered through this partnership,” said Siobhán Duffy, CEO, Element Six. “From improving our environment, to safeguarding our health, this diamond-based electrochemical solution will address the critical global problem of PFAS, ensuring a better future can be built for everyone. I want to give huge credit to the Element Six and Lummus teams who have relentlessly tackled many technical challenges over the last 10 years to deliver this outstanding technology.”
This partnership combines Element Six’s leading patented boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrochemical oxidation technology with Lummus’ patented electro-oxidation technology and system integration for water and wastewater treatment. Lummus and Element Six have tested their combined technologies using free-standing BDD electrodes, which resulted in successful destruction of long and short chain PFAS. Free-standing BDD electrodes, as opposed to metal electrodes plated with BDD, enable the high current densities that destroy short-chain PFAS.
Lummus and Element Six are already making progress with customers to address numerous real-life applications leveraging this novel BDD electrochemical oxidation technology.