Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances, more commonly known as PFAS, are defined by the strength of their C-F bond, a property that made them exceptionally useful to industry for decades and that now makes them exceptionally difficult to remove from the environment once released. This persistence lies at the heart of the PFAS challenge, a challenge that extends well beyond any single sector, affecting water treatment and air emissions across utilities, manufacturing, waste management and the chemicals industry alike. Puragen has positioned itself at the centre of the response, and its approach is distinguished by a single, deliberate commitment, that PFAS should not merely be captured but fully destroyed.
Beyond Capture and Containment
As Puragen explains, the complexity inherent to PFAS has historically encouraged approaches that focus on capture and containment rather than permanent removal. Activated carbon is recognised as a Best Available Technique (BAT) for PFAS removal, but Puragen’s approach is differentiated by the optimisation of granular activated carbon (GAC) and its advanced thermal reactivation process. This combination is designed not only to remove more PFAS effectively, but also to enable the captured contaminants to be destroyed during reactivation, supporting a more sustainable alternative to traditional incineration and reducing reliance on single-use filtration media.
This ambition to deliver a complete, end-to-end solution led directly to the development of the “Search, Capture and Destroy” methodology, an approach that begins with analysis to identify the specific PFAS present, proceeds through tailored carbon selection, and concludes with a destruction phase that closes the loop entirely, enabling the activated carbon to be recycled and reused.
Why Not All PFAS Are Equal
Central to Puragen’s ability to deliver this outcome is a detailed understanding of PFAS as a chemical family. Rather than behaving as a single, uniform substance, PFAS comprises a family of more than fourteen thousand distinct compounds, each with its own chemical structure and properties, unique characteristics that influence how a given compound behaves in the environment and that present their own particular challenges for detection, management and removal. It is these structural variances, rather than any inherent unpredictability, that account for the differing persistence and treatment potential observed across the group.
While the PFAS family is extensive, the list of species actively targeted by guidelines and regulation in any given jurisdiction is considerably more defined, for example forty-eight species in UK drinking water against twenty within the European Union, and Puragen’s stated aim is to help customers remain compliant as these requirements continue to evolve. This work is supported by in-house laboratories equipped with state-of-the-art lab equipment (LC-MS and GC-MS), allowing Puragen to identify a customer’s contaminant profile, propose an optimum treatment solution, and validate outcomes through post-treatment testing.
The breadth of Puragen’s engagement across the PFAS landscape was reflected in a recent visit to its Immingham facility by Emma Hardy MP, the United Kingdom’s Minister for Water and Flooding, coinciding with the launch of the government’s national PFAS Plan. Puragen maintains relationships with a significant number of water utilities in the UK and overseas, while also working across other sectors including waste and chemicals, and has maintained an active programme of external communication through conferences and industry events, placing the company firmly within the international conversation on PFAS. This standing has been formally recognised on a number of occasions, most notably through the Green Apple Global Award, won at United Kingdom level in 2024 in the Pollution and Emission Control category, before Puragen represented the United Kingdom at the global awards in New Zealand in 2025, taking the top prize in its category against some of the world’s largest companies.
Search, Capture and Destroy in Practice
Puragen’s engagement with customers spans multiple points within the PFAS journey, from initial identification through to customers whose existing treatment leaves them managing disposal independently, a matter that can prove technically complex, burdensome and costly. The process consistently follows “Search, Capture and Destroy”, delivered either through Puragen’s mobile filtration units or through activated carbon supplied in bags or bulk for fixed systems. Once carbon reaches the limit of its treatment potential, Puragen’s teams carry out an exchange on site, after which spent carbon is transported to the company’s award-winning reactivation facility, where PFAS is destroyed and fully mineralised rather than simply removed, allowing the reactivated carbon to be returned to customer sites for further use. Puragen also places considerable emphasis on helping customers navigate a regulatory environment that continues to evolve, closely monitoring developments across the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States on their behalf.
The practical value of this approach is well illustrated by example. A manufacturing customer facing unexpected PFAS emissions, and a resulting loss of compliance, saw Puragen deploy on-site pilot testing and high-flow mobile filter units, delivering PFAS removal in excess of ninety-two per cent almost immediately, with the treatment subsequently being refined towards an ambition of ninety-nine per cent removal. Separately, a drinking water facility experiencing contamination above safe limits saw a similarly rapid response, with pilot testing and a high-performance treatment system reducing PFAS concentrations to below detection limits.
A further distinguishing feature lies in the mobile filtration units themselves, which remove the need for on-site carbon handling by operators, with contaminants safely removed and handled entirely at Puragen’s own facilities, reducing both the equipment burden and the operational downtime on site. This same emphasis on sustainability shapes the long-term customer relationship, since reactivating spent carbon rather than producing, importing and disposing of single-use virgin material typically delivers a reduction in carbon dioxide footprint in excess of ninety per cent, supporting customers’ own sustainability ambitions and fostering a long-term partnership rather than a single-use supplier arrangement.
Search, Capture and Destroy in Practice
Reflecting on what Puragen would most like to be remembered for, the company points to recognition as a pioneer and technical leader in the application and recycling of activated carbon within PFAS abatement and destruction, and to an underlying approach built on genuine partnership rather than a conventional supplier relationship. Taken together, these principles describe a company whose position within the PFAS landscape rests on a sustained commitment to seeing the problem through to its actual conclusion, PFAS destruction rather than displacement, and partnership rather than transaction.
