TRICKLING FILTERS

By
Ishwarya R
14B217
 BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT
TECHNIQUES
• Suspended growth process
Eg: activated sludge, aerated lagoons
• Attached growth process
Eg: trickling filters, intermittent sand filters, packed bed
reactors, anaerobic lagoons
• Combined growth process
Eg: facultative lagoons
 TRICKLING FILTER
• Trickling filters are
conventional aerobic
biological waste water
systems
• Waste water trickles
over the medium
• Bacteria grow on the
medium thus creating
biofilm
 CONSTRUCTION
It mainly consists of four parts
• Holding tank
• Distribution system
• Filter media
• Under drainage system
 AREA AND COST REQUIRED
Factors to consider for total area:
Total surface area is dependent on the filter
media- diameter and pore space available
• Filter bed is typically 6 – 65m in diameter
• Filters filled with stone media are 1 – 3m deep
• Specific surface area should be atleast 30m³
and can go upto 900m³
Capital cost:
• Land area
• Construction and raw material
• Type of filter materials
• Feeder pumps

Operational cost:
• Electricity consumption for feeder pumps
• Labour cost
PACKING MATERIAL
PRE TREATMENT
BIOFILM FORMATION
 BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITY
• Animals – snails, worms, insect larvae.

• Bacteria species - Achromobacter, Flavobacterium,

Pseudomonas and Alcaligenes

• Fungi – Fuzazium, Mucor, Penicillium, Geotrichum,

Sporatichum and various yeasts

• Algae – do not take direct part in waste degeneration.

But during the daylight, add oxygen
POST TREATMENT
 CLASSIFICATION
• Conventional trickling filter (low rate)
-no recirculation and single stage
• High capacity trickling filter (high rate)
-recirculation takes place, may be single
stage or two stage
COMPARISON OF LOW RATE AND
HIGH RATE TRICKLING FILTERS
 EQUATIONS
Trickling filters are based on some empirical
relationships to find out the required filter
volume or efficiency
• NRC equation
• Rankins equation
• Eckenfilder equation
• Galler and Gotaas equation
 ADVANTAGES
• Simple, reliable and biological
• Effective in removing P, N, ammonia and BOD
• Less power requirement
• Produces less sludge
• Less skilled person and technical expertise
required
• Effluent produced is sufficiently stabilized
• Low operation cost
 MAJOR OPERATIONAL
PROBLEMS
• Cold weather – freezing may cause partial
clogging
• Filter flies – overcome by – high hydraulic
loading rate, high recirculation rate
• Snails - overcome by – backwashing
• Odour – caused due to anaerobic activity
overcome by – high recirculation rates which
will thin the film and supply oxygen
 DISADVANTAGES
• Additional treatment required
• Generated sludge must be treated and disposed
• Relatively high incidence of clogging
• Low loading can be required depending on the
type of media
• Accumulation of excess biomass
• Difficulty in maintenance and repair
THANK YOU