Case Study
VACUUM SURFACE ACTIVE FOAM FRACTIONATION (SAFF)
SEAREN
- Mechanical
- Electrical
- PLC
Executive Summary
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pose one of the most severe economic and technical challenges in environmental remediation today. Because these “forever chemicals” resist natural breakdown, removing and destroying them on a global or regional scale faces massive financial barriers. Global estimates show that treating and removing perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) at current emission rates could cost between $20 trillion and $7,010 trillion USD per year—a figure that far exceeds the total global GDP of roughly $106 trillion USD (see the ACS Global PFAS Cost & GDP Study). Furthermore, while PFAS can be manufactured for $50 to $1,000 per pound, removing and destroying them from municipal wastewater costs between $2.7 million and $18 million per pound according to the MPCA PFAS Cost Study.
Conventional treatment technologies like granular activated carbon (GAC), ion exchange (IX) resins, and reverse osmosis (RO) merely transfer PFAS from water into spent filter media or toxic brine waste streams, requiring expensive secondary disposal as detailed in the EPA Water Treatment Technology Brief. Meanwhile, destructive technologies consume massive amounts of energy (2 to over 1,300 kWh/m³) and struggle with short-chain PFAS compounds that break through filters quickly.
To overcome these compounding economic, technical, and logistical barriers, Landi Industries was brought on to manufacture and integrate custom Vacuum Surface Active Foam Fractionation (SAFF) systems for SEAREN. Utilizing SEAREN’s patented Vacuum AirLift™ (VAL™) principles developed in partnership with EPA scientists, the system concentrates long- and short-chain PFAS out of water using micro-bubbles and vacuum pressure—reducing contaminant mass upstream and completely bypassing single-use consumable filter media.
Leveraging Landi Industries’ engineering expertise and status as an official Bosch Service Partner, Landi Industries architected the complete PLC control system, selected hardware components, and engineered a modular, elevator-friendly chassis. Beyond building the initial Proof of Value (POV) field units, Landi Industries developed a comprehensive Go-To-Market (GTM) and cost-down roadmap to transition the platform from prototype assembly to high-volume commercial production.
The Challenge
SEAREN and their end-customer, the EPA, needed to deploy custom Vacuum Surface Active Foam Fractionation (SAFF) systems across diverse field sites throughout the United States and globally. However, deploying advanced PFAS extraction hardware in real-world field conditions presented critical engineering and logistical barriers:
Global Mobility & Access Constraints: The equipment had to be easily transportable worldwide and compact enough to maneuver through standard commercial elevators and doorways into multi-story municipal plants or indoor test facilities without heavy machinery.
Non-Technical User Requirements: EPA field deployments are executed by research scientists rather than control engineers or technicians. The system required rapid, tool-less assembly and operation that non-technical users could deploy error-free in minutes.
Hazardous Contamination Risks: Because the SAFF process extracts highly concentrated, toxic PFAS waste streams, standard maintenance posed severe exposure risks to field personnel. The physical unit required a contamination-aware design for zero-leak servicing.
Control Complexity & Secure Remote Access: The architecture required complex Bosch PLC control automation and secure mobile IoT cellular connectivity. SEAREN needed an engineering partner to architect the PLC ecosystem, specify internal cabinet components, ensure defense-grade CMMC cybersecurity compliance, and map out a long-term cost-down roadmap for volume production.
Solution & Work Rendered
Landi Industries engineered, built, and validated complete field-ready SAFF units from the ground up, addressing every mechanical, electrical, safety, and commercial scaling requirement. As experts in UL standards and IP-rated deployments, Landi Industries analyzed the system’s operational environment and—as an active member of the NFPA—applied the correct NEC codes to match the exact work being executed. By bridging SEAREN’s patented Vacuum AirLift™ (VAL™) process with industrial-grade systems engineering, Landi Industries delivered a turnkey, highly portable platform capable of operating safely in the most demanding field environments:
Elevator-Compliant Chassis & Mechanical Architecture
Engineered a lightweight, modular T-slot extruded aluminum frame featuring precise weight distribution and center-of-gravity calculations. The entire physical assembly was dimensioned to pass cleanly through standard commercial doorways and elevators, enabling rapid indoor positioning without heavy rigging or facility modifications.
UL Standards, IP Enclosures & NEC Code Compliance
Applied deep internal expertise in UL deployment and Ingress Protection (IP) ratings to safeguard electrical components in harsh, wet, and hazardous fluid environments. As an active member of the NFPA, Landi Industries evaluated the system’s operational scope and correctly applied all relevant National Electrical Code (NEC) standards across internal wiring, grounding, overcurrent protection, and cabinet layout.
Tool-Less Quick-Connects for Research Teams
Developed intuitive, color-coded, and keyed snap-fit mechanical and electrical interfaces specifically designed for non-technical EPA research scientists. This error-proof physical layout allows field operators to assemble, wire, and deploy the system in minutes without needing specialized controls or mechanical technicians.
Contamination-Aware Hazard Isolation
Implemented complete fluid and foam path encapsulation paired with strategically isolated quick-swap service points. This design protects non-technical scientific personnel from toxic contact hazards during routine maintenance, drain cycles, and component servicing.
Bosch PLC System Architecture & Precision Controls
As an official Bosch Service Partner, Landi Industries architected the complete PLC control brain, specified internal cabinet components, mapped signal interconnections, and integrated high-accuracy sensors throughout the piping layout to continuously track flow, vacuum levels, and line pressure.
Mobile IoT Cellular Gateway & Defense Security
Integrated secure mobile cellular gateways to transmit real-time operational telemetry off-site. Configured network protocols to align with defense-grade CMMC cybersecurity standards, ensuring secure remote monitoring across U.S. and international test sites.
Go-To-Market & Commercial Cost-Down Roadmap
Collaborated with SEAREN post-POV to author a multi-phase production scaling roadmap. This strategy maps the transition of prototype off-the-shelf components and PLCs into custom welded frameworks, universal injection-molded brackets, daughter-board hardware, and proprietary C-coded PCB control architectures to drastically lower Bill of Materials (BOM) costs for mass manufacturing.
Results & Finished Product Overview
The engineering partnership produced a fully integrated, commercial-ready SAFF treatment platform designed for rapid global field deployment by EPA research teams and municipal operators. The final deliverable features a turnkey, modular skid engineered to fit cleanly through standard commercial doorways and elevator clearances, eliminating the need for crane rigging or structural facility alterations during indoor deployment. To support non-technical field scientists, the system integrates an intuitive “plug-and-play” physical interface with color-coded, tool-less quick-connect fittings that allow rapid setup and startup in minutes without complex wiring or manual calibration.
Safety and compliance are built directly into the physical design through an IP-rated, fully encapsulated fluid path that isolates concentrated PFAS foam waste streams, ensuring field operators can perform routine service with zero toxic exposure risk. For off-site command and control, industrial Bosch PLC automation works in tandem with a secure mobile IoT cellular gateway to stream encrypted, real-time operational telemetry to remote teams anywhere in the world. Finally, Landi Industries delivered a multi-phase mechanical and electrical scaling roadmap that establishes a clear, cost-optimized pathway for volume commercial manufacturing.
EASY TRANSPORT
Wheeled through elevators & standard doors in modules
QUICK SETUP
Snapped together by non-technical users in minutes
VACUUM FOAMING
PFAS sticks to rising bubbles; vacuum removes concentrated foam
SAFE SERVICE
Contained waste serviced safely; cellular IoT streams data
Services Rendered
Research and Strategy
- System footprint & elevator clearance logistics planning
- Contamination-aware hazard containment & operator safety modeling
- Rapid-deployment workflow analysis for non-technical field operators
- Mobile IoT cellular deployment strategy & client education
- Multi-stage GTM roadmap, BOM cost-down planning & high-volume scaling strategy
Mechanical & Physical Engineering
- Elevator-compliant modular skid architecture & custom T-slot aluminum CAD design
- System-wide weight distribution, balance, and center-of-gravity calculations
- Tool-less, quick-connect interface engineering for rapid field assembly
- Precision sensor mounting & hydraulic pipe geometry layout
- Roadmap transition to universal brackets, welded frame units, and injection molding
Electrical Engineering & Regulatory Compliance
- Complete NEC code analysis, mapping, and field execution
- NFPA compliance review and hazardous location wiring design
- UL deployment strategy, electrical isolation, and IP rating integration
- Bosch PLC control cabinet system architecture & interconnect mapping
- Control system component selection & sensor integration
- Mobile IoT cellular router setup & remote telemetry configuration
- CMMC-compliant cybersecurity network alignment for defense & EPA deployments
- Roadmap transition to C-language execution, daughter board simplification, and custom PCB systems
Fabrication, Assembly & Verification
- Full physical skid fabrication, enclosure assembly, and frame building
- Mechanical, electrical, and sensor hardware installation
- Pre-deployment operational testing, signal verification, and system validation