01 What Happened

CHAR Technologies reported high-temperature pyrolysis testing on PFAS-contaminated wastewater biosolids. Independent EPA Method 1633 analysis found all 40 targeted PFAS below detection limits in biochar samples. Five separate sampling events took place in 2025. The company says gas- and aqueous-phase testing is still underway, with a fuller data package targeted for submission to the U.S. EPA by the end of Q4 2026.

02 Key Takeaways

  • 01 Five independent 2025 sampling events were analysed by a third-party accredited laboratory.
  • 02 All 40 PFAS targeted by EPA Method 1633 were below detection limits in the biochar samples.
  • 03 Gas- and aqueous-phase data are still pending, so a complete PFAS destruction mass balance has not yet been demonstrated.

03 Why It Matters

EPA Method 1633 found all 40 targeted PFAS below detection limits in biochar from five 2025 operating days.

That is a strong result for the solid product, but it does not yet prove complete PFAS destruction across the process. A defensible destruction claim still needs gas- and water-phase results, transformation products and ideally a fluorine mass balance.

04 ATLAS Engineering View

For wastewater utilities, this distinction matters. Adsorption and dewatering usually move PFAS into a smaller residual stream, while thermal treatment aims to break the carbon-fluorine chemistry rather than only concentrate it. If later testing closes the mass balance, high-temperature pyrolysis could change biosolids economics. For now, the correct interpretation is promising solid-phase data, not proven full-process mineralisation.

05 Sources