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Trickling filter

A trickling filter is a wastewater treatment system that utilizes a fixed bed of media over which sewage flows, promoting the growth of a microbial biofilm for pollutant removal. Key components include a filter medium, an enclosure, a wastewater distribution system, and a sludge disposal system. Various media types and configurations exist, with applications in both residential and industrial settings, often requiring maintenance to ensure effective operation.

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Mansoor Ali Khan
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4 views

Trickling filter

A trickling filter is a wastewater treatment system that utilizes a fixed bed of media over which sewage flows, promoting the growth of a microbial biofilm for pollutant removal. Key components include a filter medium, an enclosure, a wastewater distribution system, and a sludge disposal system. Various media types and configurations exist, with applications in both residential and industrial settings, often requiring maintenance to ensure effective operation.

Uploaded by

Mansoor Ali Khan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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A trickling filter is a type of wastewater treatment system.

It consists of a fixed bed of


some material, such as rocks, coke, gravel, slag, polyurethane foam, sphagnum peat
moss, ceramic, or plastic media, over which sewage or other wastewater flows
downward and causes a layer of microbial slime (biofilm) to grow, covering the bed of
media. Aerobic conditions are maintained by splashing, di usion, and either
by forced-air flowing through the bed or natural convection of air if the filter medium is
porous. The treatment of sewage or other wastewater with trickling filters is among
the oldest and most well characterized treatment technologies.

The fundamental components of a complete trickling filter system are:

 a bed of filter medium upon which a layer of microbial slime is promoted and
developed;

 an enclosure or a container which houses the bed of filter medium;

 a system for distributing the flow of wastewater over the filter medium; and

 a system for removing and disposing of any sludge from the treated e luent.

The terms trickle filter, trickling biofilter, biofilter, biological filter and biological
trickling filter are often used to refer to a trickling filter. These systems have also been
described as roughing filters, intermittent filters, packed media bed filters, alternative
septic systems, percolating filters, attached growth processes, and fixed film
processes.

Process description

[edit]
A typical complete trickling filter system

Image 1. A schematic cross-section of the contact

face of the bed of media in a trickling filter Broken


trickling filter unit at the sewage treatment plant in Norton, Zimbabwe, showing
importance of maintenance to prevent structural failure

Typically, settled sewage flow enters at a high level and flows through the primary
settlement tank. The supernatant from the tank flows into a dosing device, often a
tipping bucket which delivers flow to the arms of the filter. The flush of water flows
through the arms and exits through a series of holes pointing at an angle downwards.
This propels the arms around distributing the liquid evenly over the surface of the filter
media. Most are uncovered (unlike the accompanying diagram) and are freely
ventilated to the atmosphere.

The removal of pollutants from the waste water stream involves


both absorption and adsorption of organic compounds and some inorganic species
(such as nitrite and nitrate ions) by the layer of microbial biofilm. The filter media is
typically chosen to provide a very high surface-to-volume ratio. Typical materials are
often porous and have considerable internal surface area, in addition to the external
surface of the medium. Passage of the wastewater over the media provides
dissolved oxygen, which the biofilm layer requires for the biochemical oxidation of the
organic compounds and releases carbon dioxide gas, water and other oxidized end
products. As the biofilm layer thickens, it eventually sloughs o into the liquid flow
and subsequently forms part of the secondary sludge. Typically, a trickling filter is
followed by a clarifier or sedimentation tank for the separation and removal of the
sloughed film. Filters utilizing higher-density media, such as sand, foam and peat
moss do not produce a sludge that must be removed, but may require forced air
blowers, backwashing, and/or an enclosed anaerobic environment. [citation needed]

Biofilm

[edit]

The biofilm that develops in a trickling filter may become several millimetres thick and
is typically a gelatinous matrix that may contain many species
of bacteria, ciliates and amoeboid protozoa, annelids, round worms, insect larvae,
other microfauna. (If annelids are abundant, the filter may be considered
a vermifilter.) This is very di erent from many other biofilms, which may be less than
1 mm thick. Within the biofilm, both aerobic and anaerobic zones can exist supporting
both oxidative and reductive biological processes. At certain times of year, especially
in the spring, rapid growth of organisms in the film may cause the film to be too thick
and it may slough o in patches leading to the "spring slough".[1]

Design considerations

[edit]

A typical trickling filter is circular and between 10 metres and 20 metres across and
between 2 metres to 3 metres deep. A circular wall, often of brick, contains a bed of
filter media which in turn rests on a base of under-drains. These under-drains function
both to remove liquid passing through the filter media but also to allow the free
passage of air up through the filter media. Mounted in the center over the top of the
filter media is a spindle supporting two or more horizontal perforated pipes which
extend to the edge of the media. The perforations on the pipes are designed to allow
an even flow of liquid over the whole area of the media and are also angled so that
when liquid flows from the pipes the whole assembly rotates around the central
spindle.[1] Settled sewage is delivered to a reservoir at the centre of the spindle via
some form of dosing mechanism, often a tipping bucket device on small filters.

Larger filters may be rectangular and the distribution arms may be driven by hydraulic
or electrical systems.[1]

Types

[edit]

Single trickling filters may be used for the treatment of small residential septic tank
discharges and very small rural sewage treatment systems. Larger centralized sewage
treatment plants typically use many trickling filters in parallel.

Systems can be configured for single-pass use where the treated water is applied to
the trickling filter once before being disposed of, or for multi-pass use where a portion
of the treated water is cycled back and re-treated via a closed loop. Multi-pass
systems result in higher treatment quality and assist in removing Total Nitrogen (TN)
levels by promoting nitrification in the aerobic media bed and denitrification in the
anaerobic septic tank. Some systems use the filters in two banks operated in series so
that the wastewater has two passes through a filter with a sedimentation stage
between the two passes. Every few days the filters are switched round to balance the
load. This method of treatment can improve nitrification and de-nitrification since
much of the carbonaceous oxidative material is removed on the first pass through the
filters.

Media types

[edit]

Trickling may have a variety of types of filter media used to support the biofilm. Types
of media most commonly used include coke, pumice, plastic matrix material, open-
cell polyurethane foam, clinker, gravel, sand and geotextiles. Ideal filter medium
optimizes surface area for microbial attachment, wastewater retention time, allows
air flow, resists plugging, is mechanically robust in all weathers allowing walking
access across the filter, and does not degrade. Some residential systems require
forced aeration units which will increase maintenance and operational costs.

Synthetic filter media may pose a significant risk of flammability as demonstrated


in Christchurch, New Zealand in May 2022 when two large trickling filters filled with
plastic filter bales caught fire. The resultant smell had a significant impact on many
city residents and this event put out of action a significant proportion of the sewage
treatment capacity.[2]

Industrial wastewater treatment

[edit]

The treatment of industrial wastewater may involve specialized trickling filters which
use plastic media and high flow rates. Wastewaters from a variety of industrial
processes have been treated in trickling filters. Such industrial wastewater trickling
filters consist of two types:

 Large tanks or concrete enclosures filled with plastic packing or other media. [3]

 Vertical towers filled with plastic packing or other media.[4][5]

The availability of inexpensive plastic tower packings has led to their use as trickling
filter beds in tall towers, some as high as 20 meters.[6] As early as the 1960s, such
towers were in use at: the Great Northern Oil's Pine Bend Refinery in Minnesota; the
Cities Service Oil Company Trafalgar Refinery in Oakville, Ontario and at a kraft paper
mill.[7]

The treated water e luent from industrial wastewater trickling filters is typically
processed in a clarifier to remove the sludge that sloughs o the microbial slime layer
attached to the trickling filter media as for other trickling filter applications.

Some of the latest trickle filter technology involves aerated biofilters of plastic media
in vessels using blowers to inject air at the bottom of the vessels, with either downflow
or upflow of the wastewater.

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