Hemp and Science: How We're Tackling PFAS at Campus Vesta

Campus Vesta, located in the province of Antwerp, is home to one of the most ambitious PFAS remediation experiments in Europe. Together with C-biotech and a consortium of national and international partners, including VITO, Inagro, Antea Group, DEME, and iFLUX,  the site is being transformed into a living lab where hemp is being used to pull PFAS contamination out of both the soil and groundwater.

Going underground

This week, the iFLUX team was on-site installing the groundwater monitoring infrastructure that will underpin the entire project. Specifically, we were installing piezometer tubes — the casings that house our flux sensors — to measure how groundwater moves through the contaminated area.

Different types of sensors are going into the ground:

Flux sensors track the direction and movement of groundwater: where it comes from, where it's heading, and where potential hotspots of contamination may still be lurking. Since PFAS contamination has already been found at multiple locations around the test field, understanding the flow of polluted groundwater is critical to mapping the full picture.

Pressure sensors monitoring groundwater levels to assess whether hemp cultivation influences groundwater dynamics, and conversely, whether varying water table depths affect plant growth or PFAS uptake.

Soil moisture sensors are equally important: soil moisture is directly linked to how effectively the plants can take up PFAS. The drier or wetter the soil, the more it affects the plant's ability to absorb contaminants — making this a key parameter for evaluating the phytoremediation process. 

7 metres depth

The boreholes were drilled manually — first using an Edelman auger to advance through the upper layers, then switching to pulse drilling once groundwater was reached. The tubes themselves go down to approximately 7 metres depth.

The choice of manual drilling — and pulse drilling in particular — was deliberate. The subsurface at Campus Vesta contains glauconite, a mineral that is sensitive to mechanical disturbance. Sonic drilling, which spins at high frequency, would pulverise the glauconite and alter the natural soil structure. Pulse drilling avoids this, preserving the integrity of the original ground conditions and ensuring the monitoring data reflects reality rather than a disturbed environment.

All data is aggregated in a central dashboard, providing real-time access that allows experts to remotely monitor and consult findings from their desks. Together, we will evaluate which data points are essential for gaining a comprehensive understanding of PFAS uptake in hemp.

Why this matters

The sensors being installed form the backbone of the project's monitoring network. Without accurate data on groundwater flow and soil moisture, it would be impossible to assess whether the willows and hemp are doing their job — or to identify where contaminated water is still migrating.