On May 25, the conference “PFAS: From Emergency to the Development of Solutions. The RADOX Technology” was held in the Palladio Hall of Palazzo Bonin Longare in Vicenza. The event was organized by Acque del Chiampo in collaboration with Confindustria Vicenza. During the conference, we presented the experimental results of the RADOX technology, developed together with Acque del Chiampo for the degradation of PFAS in contaminated liquid and solid matrices.
https://youtu.be/Rx_ncZ8DWcg?is=j29NxsvM_v3O6kKG
RADOX is a flame-based thermo-radical oxidation process. What distinguishes it from the most widely used PFAS treatment technologies is the ultimate treatment objective: activated carbon filtration, ion-exchange resins, membranes, and SAFF systems concentrate PFAS into a residual stream that still requires further management, whereas the RADOX process permanently breaks the carbon–fluorine bonds, converting fluorinated substances into hydrofluoric acid, which is subsequently neutralized and quantified.
The key topic presented at the conference concerned the method used to verify the process efficiency. Verification is based on the fluorine mass balance. Fluorine is an element and is therefore conserved: if, at the end of the treatment, it is not recovered as fluoride, part of the PFAS is still present, potentially fragmented into fluorinated intermediates that cannot be detected through analyses targeting only specific PFAS compounds. For landfill leachates treated in the pilot plant, the fluorine mass balance closure averaged approximately 95%. The operating principles of the thermo-radical oxidizer and the configuration of the pilot plant are described in detail in our dedicated technical article.
The tests presented involved landfill leachates and concentrated industrial wastewater. In addition, the technology is currently being evaluated for the treatment of spent activated carbon used in drinking water purification, a solid waste stream that is becoming an increasingly significant disposal cost for water utility operators.
RADOX was also presented at the Ecomondo trade fair in Rimini in November 2025 together with Viveracqua and Utilitalia, and it received the ASviS recognition as a “Good Practice for a More Sustainable Italy 2025/26.”
The Vicenza conference, attended by approximately 120 participants in person and connected attendees from across Italy, attracted significant interest from companies, institutions, and water utility operators.
The technology is currently under patent application and has been validated at pilot scale. We are now working on scaling it up to industrial dimensions. Organizations managing landfill leachates, concentrated wastewater streams, or PFAS-contaminated spent activated carbon can contact us to request a feasibility assessment for their specific matrix.
