Trickling filters and rotating biological

contactors: attached growth processes

Diederik Rousseau
Tineke Hooijmans This presentation is based on lecture notes of dr.
Peter van der Steen, UNESCO-IHE
Contents

• Introduction to attached growth

• What is a trickling filter?
• Trickling filter bed media
• Trickling filter types
• Trickling filter configurations
• Rotating biological contactors
 Attached growth: biofilm

Biofilm
• a biological slime layer
consisting of bacteria, inert
material etc.
• biofilm will develop on
almost anything

Suspended growth systems

such as activated sludge
 Aerobic biofilm processes
Wastewater
1. Wastewater components and
oxygen diffuse into the biofilm
2. Bacteria convert compounds BOD
3. End products diffuse out of NH4
biofim into bulk water

O2

CO2

NO3
 Combined aerobic and anaerobic biofilm processes

Water phase Biofilm

Oxygen diffusion
is limited to upper BOD Support
biofilm layer; lower
NH4
media
layers are anoxic
or even anaerobic

Air O2

Aerobic Anaerobic/Anoxic
What is a trickling filter?

• A packed or fixed bed of media covered with slime

or film over which wastewater is passed.

• Attached growth wastewater treatment process.

Schematics of a typical trickling filter

 Provision of oxygen to bacteria

!! Ventilation !!  Venting of waste gases (CO etc.)
2
 Why trickling filters?
Advantages
• Simplicity of operation
• Resistance to shock loads
• Low biosolids yield
• Low power requirements
Disadvantages
• Relatively Low BOD Removal (85%)
• High Suspended Solids in the
Effluent (20 to 30 mg/l) (“sloughing”
of biofilm)
• Very little operational control
Factors affecting performance

•Media type and depth

•Hydraulic and organic loading
•Ventilation
•Filter staging
•Recirculation rate
•Flow distribution
 Trickling filter media types

• Rock Media – Filter depth 1 to 2.5 m

• Rocks 3 to 10 cm in diameter
• Heavy so only suitable for small filter depths

• Plastic Media – Filter depth 10 to 13 m

• Greater surface area than rocks so more
attachment opportunity for bacteria
• Much Lighter so suitable for larger filter depths
• Larger filter depths means smaller surface areas
Trickling filter types using rocks

• Standard or low rate trickling filter

• single stage rock media units
• loading rates of 1-4 m3 wastewater/m2 filter cross-
sectional area-day
• large area required

• High rate trickling filter

• single stage or two-stage rock media units
• loading rates of 10-40 m3 wastewater/m2 filter
cross-sectional area-day
• re-circulation ratio 1-3
Super rate trickling filter

• synthetic plastic media units

• modules or random packed
• specific surface areas 2-5 times greater than rock
• much lighter than rocks
• can be stacked higher than rocks
• loading rates of 40-200 m3 wastewater/m2 filter
cross-sectional area-day
• plastic media depths of 5-10 m
 Typical trickling filter plant scheme
Recirculation

PC
Influent

Primary Secondary
PreTreatment

TF TF
PC SC

Disinfection

Biosolids Treatment
Disposal Effluent
Why Recirculation?

• Reduce strength of the filter influent and/or dilute

toxic wastes
• Maintain a constant wetting rate
• Force sloughing to occur due to increased shear
forces.
 Organic surface loading rate: definition

Organic Surface Loading Rate (gBOD/m2/day) =

Q ( m 3 / day ) * BOD ( g / m 3 )
OSLR =
Afiltermedia ( m 2 )

3 3
Q (m / day ) * BOD ( g / m )
OSLR = 3 2 3
V filter ( m ) * Aspecific ( m / m )
Design criteria for trickling filters

Low loaded High loaded

OSLR 1-7 gBOD/m2/day 4-38 gBOD/m2/day

Hydr. Load 0.1-0.3 m3/m2/h 0.4-2 m3/m2/h

Effl. BOD < 25 mg/l > 30 mg/l

BODremoval 80-90% 50-80%

Nitrification 60-80% 0-50%

 Design criteria for trickling filters
Table 10.5
Typical Design Criteria for Trickling Filters
Item Low-rate filter High-rate filter Super-rate filter
Hydraulic loading (m3/m2-d) 1-4 10 - 40 40 - 200
Organic loading (kg BOD5/m3-d) 0.08 - 0.32 0.32 - 1.0 0.8 - 6.0
Depth (m) 1.5 - 3.0 1.0 - 2.0 4.5 - 12.0
Recirculation ratio 0 1-3 1-4
Filter media Rock, slag, etc. Rock, slag,
synthetics
Filter flies Many Few, larvae are Few or none
washed away
Sloughing Intermittent Continuous Continuous
Dosing intervals < 5 min < 15 s Continuous
Effluent Usually fully Nitrified at low Nitrified at low
nitrified loadings loadings
 Rotating biological contactors

• Consist of 2-4 m diameter disks, closely spaced on a

rotating horizontal shaft
• Disks are covered with biofilm that rotates in and out of
the wastewater to repeatedly wet and aerate the biofilm
• Shaft rotates at 1-2 rpm

Film of Microorganisms
Rotation

Wastewater
Package RBC system
 Rotating biological contactors

• Shafts
• max. length limited to 9m with 8m occupied by media
• Disks (Media)
• polyethylene provided in different configurations or corrugation
patterns.
• Drive systems
• rotated by direct mechanical drive units, air-drive
• Enclosures
• segmented fiberglass-reinforced plastic covers or housed in a
building; for protection of plastic media from UV attack, for low
temperature control, for protection of equipment, and for control of
the buildup of algae in the process
• Settling tanks
• similar to trickling filter settling tanks
• Operating problems
• shaft failures, media breakage, bearing failure, and odor problems
Flow diagrams for RBCs
 Factors affecting RBC performance

•Number of stages
•Organic loading
•Hydraulic loading
•Recirculation rate
•Submergence
•Rotational speed
•Oxygen levels
 RBC design and operational parameters

Treatment level
Parameters Combined Separate
Secondary nitrification nitrification
Hydraulic loading, m3/m2·day 0.08~0.16 0.03~0.08 0.04~0.1
Organic loading
gSBOD5/m2 ·day 3.7~9.8 2.4~7.3 0.5~1.5
gTBOD5/m2 ·day 9.8~17.2 7.3~14.6 1.0~2.9
Maximum loading on first stage
gSBOD5/m2 ·day 19~29 19~29
gTBOD5/m2 ·day 39~59 39~59
NH3 loading, gN/m2 ·day 0.7~1.5 1.0~2.0
Hydraulic retention time, hr 0.7~1.5 1.5~4 1.2~2.9
Effluent BOD5, mg/L 15~30 7~15 7~15
Effluent NH3, mg-N/L <2 <2
 Energy requirements of RBCs

Unit Process Energy Usage (kWh/yr)

Activated Sludge 1,000,000
RBC 120,000
Waste Stabilization Pond 0

Notes:
Flow = 3.785 m3/day
Influent BOD5 = 350 mg/L
Excludes Pumping and Pretreatment Costs