A Strategic Alliance Targets PFAS Challenge

Sentinel and DESOTEC team up to help US utilities cut PFAS costs with NSF-certified carbon reactivation

2 Nov 2025

A new partnership is giving US water utilities a more practical way to tackle PFAS, the stubborn chemicals now driving some of the toughest compliance demands in drinking water. Sentinel Water Solutions and DESOTEC formalized an exclusive channel agreement in August 2025, pairing Sentinel’s field service reach with DESOTEC’s large-scale carbon reactivation network.

The pitch is simple, but the timing matters. Utilities across the country are under pressure to remove PFAS without blowing up budgets, and granular activated carbon remains one of the most common treatment options. The problem is that used carbon has often been treated as a one-and-done material, sent off for disposal with all the cost, waste, and regulatory headaches that follow.

This alliance is meant to change that. Sentinel will serve as DESOTEC’s exclusive drinking water reactivation supply partner in the municipal market, managing the full service cycle from vessel swaps and media exchanges to NSF-certified reactivation and inventory management at DESOTEC’s US facilities. Instead of tossing spent carbon into the waste stream, utilities can keep that material in circulation and bring down long-term treatment costs.

The partnership got an early real-world test in October 2025 at Perkasie Regional Authority in Pennsylvania. Sentinel installed a preloaded Mobicon GAC system so the utility could begin treating well water right away, even as permanent infrastructure was still being built. The setup used four DESOTEC Mobicon vessels, each loaded with about 10,000 pounds of NSF-certified carbon, and was designed to handle a full well flow of 530 gallons per minute.

That prefilled approach also solved a more basic problem: neighborhood disruption. By skipping onsite carbon loading, the project reduced construction mess and let the utility move faster.

Executives from both companies cast the deal as a response to what utilities now need most: reliable treatment, less waste, and a clearer path through changing rules. The alliance also builds on DESOTEC’s 2023 acquisition of Evoqua’s carbon reactivation and exchange services business, which expanded its US footprint across Pennsylvania, Arizona, California, and Texas.

With EPA PFAS compliance deadlines now pushed to 2031, utilities still have time to act. But the choices they make now could shape both operating costs and environmental impact for years.