Tonya Chandler

Pilot Study for the Aqueous Electrostatic Concentrator (AEC), an Efficient, Low-waste Solution for PFAS Treatment in Drinking Water

Tonya Chandler, President, BioLargo Equipment Solutions and Technologies

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a broad class of man-made chemicals known to contaminate aquifers across all 50 US states, and countless more around the world. While previously unregulated, PFAS are now the subject of escalating regulatory action by governments around the world due to mounting evidence of their links to health effects such as cancer, immune dysfunction, developmental delays, and more. PFAS have high chemical stability, and as a consequence they persist and accumulate in the environment and in humans, causing small amounts to have outsized effects over long periods of time. Changes in the CERCLA and other regulations have put a focus not only on PFAS, but on the waste generated from traditional removal technologies. 

BioLargo developed a PFAS treatment technology designed to be an efficient, low-waste solution to PFAS removal. Their Aqueous Electrostatic Concentrator (AEC) exploits the polarity of PFAS molecules to electro-migrate them onto proprietary membranes. The AEC can achieve removal rates over 99.99% of both long and short chain PFAS molecules, even in the presence of other constituents including TCE. 

BioLargo recently used the AEC to treat water from an impacted groundwater plume outside of an Air Force Base, a laboratory at the University of Tennessee independently verified the treatment rates using EPA methodology. The results of this pilot study and others, which will be shared, will highlight the AEC’s capabilities of reducing PFAS compounds to below their detection limits from various aqueous streams with low waste generation. 

Ms. Tonya Chandler, President of BioLargo's Equipment Division, and PFAS Regulatory Compliance expert for BioLargo Inc. has  spent her career in water and wastewater working both on municipally and industrially, worldwide.  She has a degree from Carroll College (now Carroll University) in Waukesha WI in both Biology and Communication. She has worked for such companies as Shaw Environmental and Veolia Water where she gained hands on experience in all aspects of the industry. Her current focus is on PFAS and water reuse.