Backwashing process was used to recover the retention capacity of a deep bed filter. A field scale fiber filter was operated with an in-line injection of a coagulant for the treatment of natural surface water (Nak-dong River in Korea). A mass balance of SS could be made thus allowing a direct estimation of the effectiveness of the backwashing process. The purpose of this paper was to study the influence of two parameters of backwashing (air injection and number of backwashing stages) on its effectiveness. The backwashing efficiency was estimated through the initial pressure drop after the backwash, the effluent quality, the duration of the filtration time between two successive backwashes, and the detached mass of retained suspended solids. Conditions could be found for removing 99% of the retained SS. As a general conclusion, the effectiveness of backwashing mainly depended upon air injection. The duration of air injection and the number of sequences were the most important factors related to the efficiency of backwashing.

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