"Forever chemicals", the colloquial term for the family of chemicals known as PFAS, is coming under increasing regulatory pressure globally as concerns over the negative effects of PFAS on human health and the environment are mounting. In this new report, "PFAS Treatment 2025-2035: Technologies, Regulations, Players, Applications", IDTechEx examines the current and proposed regulations on PFAS contamination in several key regions to identify the need and opportunity for PFAS treatment technologies. This is accompanied by comprehensive assessment of incumbent and emerging PFAS treatment technologies. In this report, IDTechEx considers the drivers and challenges facing PFAS treatment in key areas, like drinking water treatment, to offer a market outlook on this developing field.

 

Introducing the "forever chemical" family - PFAS

PFAS stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and refers to synthetic chemical compounds that contain multiple fluorine atoms attached to an alkyl chain. The broad definition of PFAS by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) encompasses nearly 5,000 unique chemicals, including PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate) and PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene).

 

Unsurprisingly, the applications of different PFAS chemicals are nearly as broad as the chemical family itself. Depending on the specific chemical, PFAS can confer helpful properties such as oil and water repellence, thermal stability, ionic conductivity, and more, making it applicable in many important application sectors including semiconductor manufacturing, healthcare, non-stick cookware, and firefighting foams.

 

Why are concerns over PFAS rising?

With so many PFAS and just as many applications for them, why are PFAS now coming under increased scrutiny? The colloquialism "forever chemicals" hints to a key issue for PFAS: its persistence in humans, wildlife, and the environment. Not only is PFAS persistent, but they can also be found in many environments, even isolated areas; as such, there is increased exposure to PFAS through a variety of sources. Now, scientific evidence is growing that, depending on different factors, continued exposure to specific PFAS may lead to negative health effects, such as increased risk of cancer, developmental delays, and hormonal issues (per the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the OECD).

 

Increasing global scrutiny on PFAS contamination in drinking water and the environment

PFAS has infiltrated the environment through numerous avenues: industrial discharge, usage of PFAS-containing firefighting foam (aqueous film forming foam (AFFF)), the leaching of PFAS-containing consumers goods, etc. Now, the sites of PFAS contamination around the world are just as numerous as the number of PFAS; one study estimated upwards of 57,000 sites of PFAS contamination in the United States alone. As such, human exposure to PFAS can occur in many ways. One of the most concerning is through drinking water, as PFAS has contaminated the groundwater and surface water sources supplying drinking water to millions across many countries.

 

In 2024, driven by concerns on the negative health effects of PFAS exposure, the US EPA instituted the lowest acceptable concentration levels for PFAS in the world: 4 ppt (parts per trillion) each for PFOA and PFOS, 10 ppt each for PFHxS, GenX, and PFNA, and additional Hazard Index that regulates mixtures of PFHxS, GenX, PFNA, and PFBS. The US is not the first to institute limits on PFAS in drinking water; several years ago, the European Union recast its Drinking Water Directive (DWD) to include limits on 20 individual PFAS. However, the US rules are the lowest PFAS limits in the world, potentially indicating the future trajectory of regulatory trends for environmental PFAS contamination. In its latest report, IDTechEx carefully considers the impact of adopted regulations and the potential influence of proposed regulations to provide a clear picture of the regulatory landscape on PFAS contamination.

Treating PFAS in the environment: a critical need and emerging opportunity

The scale of PFAS contamination and its threat to human health establishes a need to remove PFAS from the environment - PFAS remediation. It will require numerous treatment technologies to accomplish this, given the scale of PFAS contamination and its persistent nature. IDTechEx's new report extensively explores the technology landscape for PFAS treatment, appraising both incumbent and novel treatments to separate PFAS from the environment and permanently destroy it. This includes well-known technologies for water treatment, such as granular activated carbon and ion exchange resins, and emerging technologies like foam fractionation. The PFAS destruction technology landscape has received particular focus recently as key stakeholders, including regulators and the public, worry about the possibility of PFAS that was initially removed escaping back into the environment. IDTechEx highlights the most advanced emerging PFAS destruction technologies to examine their potential, considering factors like technology readiness level (TRL), active players, cost, and more.

PFAS treatment applications emerging in response to PFAS regulations

With so many water streams and sites contaminated with PFAS, it will take broad adoption of PFAS treatment technologies to effectively remediate the environment of PFAS. Additionally, each site or water source requiring treatment will have unique circumstances, such as the initial level of PFAS contamination, presence of other contaminants, treatment objective, etc. that no single PFAS treatment can be universally applied. Different key areas requiring treatment, including municipal drinking water, aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), and industrial wastewater, will all have specific needs. Many combinations of PFAS removal and destruction technologies will be utilized to fully treat PFAS, so every technology may find its unique opportunity in this burgeoning market.

 

IDTechEx appraises each technology, both incumbent and emerging, to analyze its potential in the different application areas needing PFAS treatment. This is accompanied by player landscapes to establish the activity in each treatment area and technology. IDTechEx's comprehensive discussion and analysis will offer a clear picture of the dynamic PFAS treatment market for those looking to understand this rapidly emerging field in sustainability.

 

Key aspects

This report provides critical market intelligence about emerging and incumbent PFAS treatment technologies. This includes:

• Introduction to PFAS and PFAS Remediation

o Overview of global PFAS contamination

o Regulatory landscape and standards for PFAS treatment in different regions: US, Europe, Australia, Asia-Pacific, etc.

• Full technology analysis for key PFAS treatment technologies

o Review of incumbent PFAS Removal Technologies: Granular activated carbon (GAC), Ion exchange resins, Reverse osmosis (RO)

o Review of emerging PFAS removal technologies: foam fractionation, ozofractionation, polymeric sorbents, clay sorbents, etc.

o Review of incumbent and emerging PFAS Destruction Technologies: incineration, supercritical water oxidation (SCWO), hydrothermal alkaline treatment (HALT), plasma treatment, electrochemical oxidation, photocatalysis, sonolysis

o Other technologies discussed: immobilization, PFAS treatment of soil, etc.

o Discussion on key players, technology readiness level, full-scale applications, etc. for each technology provided

• Analysis of PFAS Treatment in key application sectors, looking at regulatory pressures and technology outlook: drinking water treatment, aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), landfill leachate, industrial process water, industrial wastewater, municipal wastewater, PFAS contaminated groundwater, PFAS contaminated surface water

• Company profiles including interviews with key players

• PFAS treatment market forecast 2025-2035 that focuses on global expenditure of PFAS drinking water treatment and provides regional insights on the market