Incineration also involves high operational costs, increasing the financial burden of both GAC and IX treatment technologies. Effective management of spent media can mitigate these impacts. For instance, off-site thermal reactivation of GAC media reduces the need for new media production and minimizes waste, positively impacting environmental sustainability. However, the transportation and reactivation processes still contribute to environmental and social impacts. In IX systems, regenerating spent media involves handling and disposing of brine and cosolvents containing PFAS, which can cause significant environmental impacts and social risks due to the release of hazardous substances during incineration. Empty bed contact time and bed volume are directly proportional, as empty bed contact time is calculated by dividing the bed volume by the flow rate. While both are critical in PFAS treatment system design, their impacts on sustainability and costs are intertwined. For GAC systems, which typically require longer empty bed contact time (around 10 minutes) compared to IX systems (2-3 minutes), this means larger bed volumes, resulting in higher energy use, greater material needs, and increased costs. In contrast, shorter empty bed contact time allow for smaller bed volumes in IX systems reduces energy and space requirements, making them more efficient environmentally and economically. Another critical parameter affecting the sustainability of PFAS treatment technologies is media usage rate. A higher media usage rate results in frequent media replacements, increased production, and greater disposal needs, which escalate the environmental footprint and raise operational costs. High media usage rates in GAC systems lead to frequent replacements. This increases media production and disposal needs, escalating both environmental impacts and operational costs. Meanwhile, lower media usage rates in IX systems extend media life. This reduces replacement frequency, minimizes environmental impacts and lowers costs. Optimizing media usage rate can balance operational efficiency and sustainability, reducing both environmental and financial impacts. The choice of activating agent in GAC significantly affects both environmental sustainability and financial viability. For example, optimizing sludge-based GAC adsorbents by reducing the activating agent (ZnCl2) impregnation ratio can substantially lower environmental impacts and decrease production costs. By understanding and optimizing these technological parameters, stakeholders can better balance the environmental sustainability, social impacts, and financial viability of PFAS treatment technologies. This comprehensive approach is essential for designing more sustainable solutions for PFAS removal from water sources.