PFAS are man-made chemicals that have been used since the 1950s. PFAS are applied in both industry and consumer products such as waterproof clothing, frying pans, fastfood packaging and firefighting foam.
Over the years, PFAS have leaked into our environment. PFAS chemicals are very persistent and do not degrade naturally. Today PFAS are found all around us, including our water and soil. This is a problem since PFAS have been linked to various health concerns for both animals and humans.
How to deal with PFAS contaminated soils? This is a question many companies and governments are dealing with. Local regulations are becoming stricter while good cleaning methods are still scarce.
Some soil types, such as sandy soils, can be washed in order to remove or reduce the PFAS-levels. Clay soils however, are not suitable for most techniques on the market. Resulting in large amounts of PFAS contaminated clay soil without perspective.
How can we repurpose PFAS contaminated clay soils?
Claybens is developing an innovative solution to do so.
Claybens is developing the technique to transform PFAS contaminated clay soils into clean bricks.
How? By combining PFAS remediation with the ancient production of bricks out of clay. Studies have shown that PFAS can be destroyed at temperatures between 900-1200°C. This happens to be the same temperature range as used in brick production. By subjecting the PFAS contaminated clay soil to this heat, the PFAS chemicals can be destroyed while a is brick created.
Building a constructive solution out of PFAS contaminated clay soil.
We aim to create bricks that contain as much PFAS contaminated clay soil as possible. By doing so, we eliminate toxins from our environment and create a local building material instead of waste.
Claybens focusses B2B and government:
Organizations and companies owning or working with PFAS contaminated clay soil.
Brick manufacturers that are interested in innovation and sustainability.
Selection:
2022 - Documentaire serie - Circulair solutions | Museu Do Amanha
2021 - Van vuile grond naar schone bakstenen | Eureka! rubriek Cobouw
2021 - Six young designers to look out for at Salone del Mobile | Stirworld
2021 - Turing polluted soil into bricks | Material district
2020 - Ontwerper maakt van PFAS grond schone bakstenen | AD
2020 - Emy Bensdorp maakt van PFAS vervuilde grond schone bakstenen | Bouwwereld
2020 - 10 design graduates die je moet zien | VPRO Mondo
2020 - 20 best graduates | Dutch Designers Yearbook