Time

12:00am - 12:00am

Venue

Virtual

Cost

€995

6 week short course description

PFAS - or ‘forever chemicals’ - are man-made compounds with strong carbon-fluoride bonds in their molecular structure. This bond confers many desirable properties in the chemical, but also makes it nearly indestructible and very difficult to remove from water and other environments. High and long-term exposure to PFAS has been known to increase the risk of cancer and liver problems and harm the reproductive and immune systems.

This course comprehensively explores per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Your will learn about PFAS molecular structures, their physico-chemical characteristics and the (eco) toxicity of the main PFAS groups.

You will gain an understanding of the industrial origins of PFAS, their pathways into environmental systems, expected concentration ranges, the analytical possibilities and limitations of PFAS detection in environmental samples and current attempts to regulate PFAS in Europe. Leading experts in the field will give advice on planning sampling campaigns and the interpretation of results.

In this course you will learn about the state-of-the-art approaches to PFAS separation and destruction. You will learn about and compare concentration technologies’ performance in separating PFAS. You will also learn about various PFAS destruction technologies, assessing their readiness levels, performance, and efficiency.

The course offers video tours of PFAS research labs and facilities, a water treatment plant, a variety of interviews with peer professionals, and provides high-quality learning material.

This course addresses the needs of professionals from the water industry, as well as decision-makers and policy-makers, to gain valuable insights into today's PFAS challenges. It is aimed at water professionals (engineers or consultants), technologists, laboratory researchers, innovators from water authorities, and practitioners in the fields of environmental and sanitary engineering.

Course starts 12 February 2025.

Course length: 6 weeks. Estimated effort: 4-5 hours per week.


After successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

  • Describe the main PFAS groups based on their molecular structure and link the main groups to origin, impact, and treatability
  • Describe the industrial origin of PFAS, their pathway into the environment, and estimate expected concentration ranges
  • Evaluate an analytical report of a PFAS sampling campaign considering the limitations of the sampling and analytical methods
  • Compare concentration technologies [such as IX, GAC, membranes, and DAF] with regard to their removal performance and process efficiency for PFAS of different chain lengths and other properties
  • Compare destruction technologies such as thermal, microwave, plasma, and cavitation with regard to the readiness of their technology, their performance, and process efficiency for PFAS of different chain length and other properties
  • Assess the feasibility of engineering solutions for PFAS removal/destruction

This course is accredited by the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management and attendance will contribute toward your continuing professional development (CPD). Participants who successfully complete this course will earn a professional education certificate and will be eligible to receive 3.0 Continuing Education Units (CEUs). 1 CEU corresponds to a study load of 10 hours

If you have any queries about this CPD, please contact Eduardo Landin at E.Landin@tudelft.nl.


Learn more & register

Meet the course team

  • Kim Maren Lompe is an assistant professor in the Sanitary Engineering department of Delft University of Technology. Her research focus is on emerging contaminants removal e.g. via adsorption on innovative, tailored materials and their regeneration.Before joining TU Delft, she worked as research associate and consultant at the interface between the University and the water industry in Montreal (Canada) where she also obtained her PhD. With her Veni grant she also investigates the fate and removal of nanoplastics during water treatment.
  • Eelco Pieke is Head of Department of Market & Advisory at Het Waterlaboratorium in Haarlem. He has an extensive background in analytical sciences, especially when applied to food and environmental matrices. Eelco has hands-on expertise in using complex analytical techniques to prioritise chemical contaminants of concern. From his background as analytical chemist, Eelco knows the (im)possibilities of analytical science and its application in the working field. He holds a PhD in analytical chemistry from the Technical University of Denmark and a Master in analytical chemistry from the VU University Amsterdam.
  • Harrie Besselink obtained his MSc degree in Molecular Science, orientation Biochemistry/Toxicology at Wageningen University, the Netherlands. He obtained his PhD degree in Environmental Toxicology also from the Wageningen University, the Netherlands. During his PhD research and afterwards, he specialised in the toxicology of dioxins, furans and PCBs with focus on the environment and human health.He was directly involved in the development of the first CALUX bioassay: the DR CALUX bioassay, a rat hepatoma lines (H4IIE), incorporating the firefly luciferase gene coupled to Responsive Elements (REs) as a reporter gene for the presence of dioxins and dioxin-like compounds. After working at Wageningen University and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (IVM), he joined BioDetection Systems in 2001 and specialized in managing contract analyses, technology transfer by coordinating training courses, validation and valorisation of bioassays and the development of application tools for the various CALUX bioassays such as the PFAS CALUX bioassay.
  • Mariska Ronteltap works for Delfland Water Authority with the transition to a circular water system as a main focus. She is an environmental engineer with a degree from Wageningen and ETH Zurich / EAWAG Swiss Institute for Aquatic Research. The transition to a circular water system raises many challenges: energy reduction, safe water reuse with respect to nutrients and micropollution, recovery of resources, sustainable sludge management, optimisation of the water system in its surrounding. Mariska applies an integrated vision to the water system in order to be more ready for a sustainable future

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