A pilot project at Campus Vesta in Ranst, Belgium, has demonstrated the significant potential of plants to remove PFAS contamination from soil through phytoremediation. This natural approach uses plants to absorb and break down harmful substances, offering a nature-based solution for PFAS pollution.
Campus Vesta serves as a firefighting training site and has historical PFAS contamination from firefighting foam. In collaboration with C-biotech and SGS, the project has achieved remarkable results: 67% of the contamination was eliminated in just four months using hemp and special nature-based soil additives.
Hemp, when combined with the right additives, has proven highly effective at accumulating PFAS in its leaves, making it a valuable ally in soil remediation efforts. These promising results highlight the potential for wider applications of this nature-based solution in addressing PFAS pollution.
DEME and C-biotech formed the Fytolutions joint venture in 2023, which focuses on tackling pollution from so-called ‘forever chemicals’ by utilizing a nature-based solution using industrial hemp.
