Exploring Cationic Surfactants and PFAS Remediation Research

Welcome back to the Talking PFAS podcast.  If you are joining me for the first time a very big welcome to you.   I am a journalist and your host Kayleen Bell.

Last episode I brought you a discussion with Adjunct Professor David Beale.  He is a senior research scientist who leads the CSIRO’s Ecosurveillance Systems team in Queensland.  We discussed David’s work looking at the effects of PFAS on some freshwater turtles in Queensland, following a PFAS contamination event.  And I encourage you to have a listen to that episode.

Today my guest and I will be discussing in depth one of many remediation methods for removing PFAS from water.  Specifically we will be talking about the method of foam fractionation to remove PFAS. 

My guest is Peter Murphy, the Managing Director of EPOC Enviro.  This Australian company has recently managed to secure patents in Australia and the US for their SAFF technology.

On the 10/03/2025 EPOC Enviro announced the recent approval of its foam fractionation patent by the US Patent and Trademark Office, securing exclusive rights for SAFF technology in the territory through to December, 2040.

And on the 1/04/2025 EPOC Enviro announced the approval of its foam fractionation patent by IP Australia securing exclusive rights for SAFF technology Down Under through to December 2038.

EPOC Enviro first conceived of foam fractionation as a method for PFAS removal in 2015 and has since developed a fleet of PFAS remediation technologies based on this principle.  The technology has now successfully treated nearly 2 billion litres (or 530,000,000+ gallons) of PFAS impacted waters across three continents.

EPOC Enviro also has just released the news of the latest addition to their fleet of PFAS remediation technology being the SAFF 10 unit and you will hear more about that today from Peter.   The systems have been used in Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, England, Australia and the US.  At the moment they are going to be looking to expand into Japan and Israel.

I hope you enjoyed today’s discussion.  

Next episode I will be bringing you a discussion I had with John Gardella an Attorney from CMBG3 Law in Boston.  John is a return guest to the Talking PFAS podcast and it is always very informative to speak with him.  John had the honour of being the only person in the country that was recognised as a thought leader on PFAS in 2020 and 2021 by the esteemed National Law Review.  He writes regularly for the National Law Review and his website on PFAS. 

We had a really interesting and informative discussion about litigation, and regulation updates, including the rollbacks that are happening under the Trump EPA.  There is also some other really important information in next week’s episode about the health effects of PFAS including some new ones that are being acknowledged by the legal system in the US. I highly recommend you come back and listen to this episode which is not to be missed.   We also talk about how companies need to remain vigilant in protecting themselves from PFAS litigation.

I also would like to announce that today’s guest EPOC Enviro have agreed to sponsor my next episode. If you are a remediation company and are interested in finding out more about sponsorship opportunities please email TalkingPFAS@gmail.com.  Please note terms and conditions do apply, including being subject to the usual journalism rigour I apply to all my interviews, and the agreement that I will maintain editorial control over the discussion about your company’s technology, discussing pros and cons.

I look forward to you coming back to join me again for some more great PFAS discussions.  Lastly, to my valued listeners, thank you for listening!  Please consider subscribing to the podcast so you don’t miss an episode and also consider posting a review and consider sharing the podcast with a colleague or friend.  Thank you, it would just help more people get to hear this podcast. 

Thank you again for listening, see you next time.

EPOC Enviro home page: https://epocenviro.com/

SAFF Family: https://epocenviro.com/saff-family/

Technical Publications: https://epocenviro.com/technical-publications/

Case Studies: https://epocenviro.com/projects/

Socials: https://www.linkedin.com/company/epoc-enviro/?viewAsMember=true 

Contact Details: info@epocenviro.com

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