What to do with the PFAS-containing soil that we have stored in temporary storage facilities at Schiphol? We could just dispose of the soil, but we would much rather choose a circular solution that fits our goal of becoming a waste-free airport. After almost three years of research and testing, we think we have found that solution.
Over the years, a lot of construction work has taken place at Schiphol and soil contaminated with PFAS is sometimes left over. But we have now found a circular solution for that soil. We have purchased a soil remediation facility that will clean the PFAS-containing soil at our own location. Such treatment facilities are already being used in Belgium.
The cleaning process produces 80% cleaned, reusable sand and 20% fine residual sludge. We are currently doing tests together with a start-up to bake bricks from the sludge. The theory is that high and prolonged heating causes the PFAS compounds to disintegrate. This makes the compounds safe to make bricks from. The results are promising. If we succeed, we will remove PFAS completely from the chain and use the bricks made through this process on our own site.
Een voorbeeld van een grondreinigingsinstallatie. Schiphol heeft een vergunning aangevraagd om een dergelijke installatie op Schiphol te plaatsen voor het reinigen van PFAS-houdende grond.
The final step in this test process is that we bake 50,000 bricks in the production oven of a brickmaker. We can only take this step when sufficient residual sludge is available, which is expected in 2025. We will then measure the PFAS content in the bricks and the flue gases again. If the results are positive, we can really start the production of bricks using the residual sludge from the cleaning process.
We would very much like to use these bricks again in projects at Schiphol. If we succeed, we will remove PFAS completely from the chain and use the resulting products on our own premises. This is the prospect of a sustainable and innovative solution for the PFAS in the soil at Schiphol.
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