Applications of biofiltration in drinking water treatment – a review

Abstract

Biofiltration is a process in which an otherwise conventional granular filter is designed to remove not only fine particulates but also dissolved organic compounds through microbial degradation. Biofiltration can reduce the need for chemicals in drinking water treatment and thus improved applications of biofiltration in drinking water treatment can be viewed as green or sustainable engineering technology. Recent trends in biofiltration technology for drinking water treatment have or have attempted to extend the performance of biofilters through gaining a better understanding of operational constraints. This review articles summarizes important operational parameters influencing biofiltration performance such as hydraulic loading, empty bed contact time (EBCT), temperature, media type, and backwashing conditions. In addition, recent advancements in biofiltration operations including, ozonation, ammonia removal and the influence of nutrient (nitrogen, phosphorous) supplementation to facilitate carbon removal are explored.

From source to filter: changes in bacterial community composition during potable water treatment

“…In some instances, more than half of the organics present in raw water, including pesticides, sterols, flame retardants, and pharmaceuticals have been reported to be removed by GAC filters (Stackelberg et al 2007). But, biofilter efficiency depends not only on the properties of the filter medium, such as porosity, degree of compaction, and water retention capacity, but also its capacity to host and sustain a robust microbial population that can enhance contaminant removal (Basu et al 2016;Song et al 2015;Srivastava and Majumder 2008). Microbial communities that establish within the filter metabolize and precipitate contaminants through biodegradation and oxidation-reduction reactions (Zhu et al 2010), and are a function of the diversity of the community from which they are drawn, as well as substrate availability (Basu et al 2016;Curtis and Sloan 2004;Liao et al 2015;Liao et al 2016).…”

“…Microbial communities that establish within the filter metabolize and precipitate contaminants through biodegradation and oxidation-reduction reactions (Zhu et al 2010), and are a function of the diversity of the community from which they are drawn, as well as substrate availability (Basu et al 2016;Curtis and Sloan 2004;Liao et al 2015;Liao et al 2016). The subsequent performance of the filter communities appears to be influenced by a multitude of factors that include species richness, dynamics, evenness, and functional redundancy of the bacterial community (Basu et al 2016;Boon et al 2011;Briones and Raskin 2003;Fish et al 2015), making an understanding of the composition and interplay of microbial communities in source water, as well as within biofilters essential for enhancing drinking water treatment and water source management.…”

Potential biofilm control strategies for extended spaceflight missions

“…Normally, the clogging is addressed by backwashing wherein the flow is reversed through the biofilter. Backwashing will remove some of the biomass and regenerate the filtration capability [ 220 ]. While biological assisted wastewater treatment including biofiltration is worthwhile investigating in the context of a long-term low gravity environment such as a future Moon or Mars base (addressed below in section G), the generation of biomass from backwashing or simple promotion of growth would create additional engineering problems in the context of space flight and is not a practical approach at present.…”

Study of the Cu(II) Removal from Aqueous Medium Using Carbon Prepared from Licuri Shell (Syagrus coronata)

“…15 No processo de ativação química são utilizados reagentes ativantes com propriedades ácidas, tais como: H 3 PO 4 , HCl e H 2 SO 4, além de reagentes básicos como KOH e NaOH. 16,17 Uma grande variedade de técnicas têm sido utilizadas para o tratamento de efluentes e especialmente a adsorção em carvão ativado, [18][19][20] é um dos processos que vem dando resultados promissores, bem como pode ser aplicado para remoção de diferentes tipos de analitos de natureza orgânica e inorgânica, tornando-se uma técnica de tratamento atrativa. 21 Foram utilizados também balança analítica GEHAKA modelo AG200, mesa agitadora orbital NOVA ÉTICA modelo 109, pHmetro HANNA modelo pH 21, e forno mufla QUIMIS.…”