At the head of Haemers Technologies, the Belgian engineer Jan Haemers claims to have found a concrete solution to tackle the PFAS, nicknamed “eternal pollutants” for their resistance to conventional treatments. Used in all kinds of products (textiles, anti-fire foam, packaging, etc.), these compounds are found in floors, drinking water and the heart of the food chain.
A thermal process that goes to the end of the end
Haemers’ method is based on a double rise in temperature. The contaminated soil is first heated to 350 ° C, which allows the PFAS to evaporate. These vapors are then captured in a closed circuit and brought to 1,400 ° C, a temperature sufficient to break the particularly tenacious chemical bonds of these substances. Result: more detectable residues, and clean soil, including for agricultural use.
The system is energy delicious but faster than its competitors, who are content to heat the soil electrically without destroying the molecules. In 12 days, the treatment is over, against two months elsewhere, said Jan Haemers at Monde. And in the end, energy consumption per tonne of soil is lower: 300 kWh against 360. According to the fuel used, CO₂ emissions vary strongly – from 65 kg per tonne with propane to only 10 kg with biogas.
The Belgian company has already conducted several international trials. In return of mission, a blue treatment container has just returned from Denmark, where the authorities authorized two experiments on 35 tonnes of polluted soil. Verdict: undetectable PFAS rate, all validated by independent expertise. “” The soil is now reusable, even for cultures “The engineer welcomes.
This success attracts attention, especially in highly exposed countries like the United States, where the company opened a subsidiary in 2021. It aims primarily airports, industrial sites and military bases, often very affected by PFAS pollution. Ultimately, the company plans to create a factory in Wallonia and deploy processing units in around twenty countries with local partners.
The stakes are high: according to Forever Lobbying (a journalistic project), the cost of decontamination in Europe could reach 2,000 billion euros over twenty years. And the exhibition is very real: a study published in June by the NGO Générations Futures shows that 70 % of fish, 39 % of eggs, 23 % of milk and 14 % of meat analyzed in four European countries contained at least one of the four PFAS currently regulated.
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