Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Local hauler outlines pyrolysis process to remove PFAS from biosolids
Loading...
Summary
At a Swansea meeting, a local hauler described a thermal pyrolysis system he says converts municipal biosolids into an odorless carbon byproduct and reported tests showing undetectable PFAS in his output; he urged the village to study alternatives as regulations tighten.
At a March meeting of the Village of Swansea, a local biosolids hauler and operator (Mr. Reineck) described a multi‑year effort to thermally process sewage solids into a carbon byproduct he said is safe for broad land use and free of detectable PFAS.
Reineck told the board his plant dries, pelletizes and subjects biosolids to pyrolysis "and we're actually taking the material and turning it into carbon," producing a solid he called "odorless" and suitable for gardens. He said equipment suppliers have tested material run through his pyrolyzer and found "undetected PFOS in the carbon." He added that the process reduces volume dramatically — from a wet load to roughly a 3,000‑pound carbon product — and recovers some energy from sludge volatiles to help heat dryers.
The presentation came as state and federal regulators are moving toward PFAS monitoring and limits for wastewater and biosolids. Reineck warned trustees that legislation will create three PFAS categories that could limit or prohibit land application, require frequency limits, or mandate disposal plans. He said he hauls for three municipalities (Swansea, Caseyville Township and Belleville) and has invested roughly $3 million in equipment to pilot the pyrolysis route.
Board members and staff pressed on testing, costs and chain of custody. Reineck said laboratories certified to measure PFAS at the needed levels are scarce and that municipal governments have been reluctant to test raw solids for fear of triggering regulatory consequences. He invited trustees to tour his plant in Freerberg and provided samples he said verify his output lacks detectable PFAS.
Trustees asked about capacity and economics. Reineck said his current drying capacity is insufficient to process all solids from the three municipalities and that adding another dryer would raise processing costs by about $15 per ton; he contrasted that with his current land‑application rate of $30 per ton and reported landfill/tipping alternatives that some municipalities face costing about $75 per wet ton. He urged the village to begin evaluating disposal alternatives and to consider both logistical and budgetary impacts if stricter PFAS rules reduce allowable land application.
The board did not take formal action at the meeting; several trustees asked to organize a site visit and said staff would follow up to evaluate feasibility and costs.
