Use of biofilter as pre-treatment of polluted river water for drinking water supply

Abstract

Innovations in the biofiltration process can provide effective solutions to overcome crucial water pollution problems. The elimination of pollutants is a result of the combined effects of biological oxidation, adsorption and filtration processes. This research aims to evaluate the performance of quartz sand biofiltration for removing total suspended solids, turbidity, color, organic matter, and ammonium from polluted river water and develop an empirical model for designing quartz sand biofilters for the treatment of polluted river water. Experiments were conducted using two biofilter units filled with quartz sand as filter media. A set of experiments were performed to evaluate the effect of hydraulic retention time on biofilter performance in removing water contaminants. The kinetics of organic matter removal were also determined to describe the performance of the biofilter. The results show that biofiltration can significantly remove river water pollutants. Removal efficiency depends on the applied hydraulic retention time. At a hydraulic retention time of two hours, removal efficiencies of total organics, ammonium and total suspended solids were up to 78%, 82%, and 91%, respectively. A model for designing quartz sand biofiltration has been developed from the experimental data.

Integrated System of Biofilter and Constructed Wetland for Sustainable Batik Industry

“…The acclimatization process is carried out after the biofilter pilot system has been completed by flowing raw batik wastewater continuously and sufficient rate of aeration into the biofilter for 4 weeks at 27-29 ° C to grow the biofilm layer on the surface of the media. The layer serves to help reduce levels of wastewater pollutants in the biofilter [33][34] [35]. The acclimation process aims to obtain a stable growth rate of microorganisms characterized by removal efficiency of physical parameters and organic matter [33].…”

“…The layer serves to help reduce levels of wastewater pollutants in the biofilter [33][34] [35]. The acclimation process aims to obtain a stable growth rate of microorganisms characterized by removal efficiency of physical parameters and organic matter [33]. Biofilter system performance is shown by the efficiency of TSS, COD, and oil and grease removal.…”

“…At this point, steady state conditions have been reached which are characterized by the formation and development of biofilms by bacterial layers that can be observed visually. Longer HRT allows raw water to have a long contact time with the media and adequate oxygen supply, and thus accelerates the formation of biofilms in the media [33].…”

“…The TSS pollutant removal process is caused by the physical filtration effect of sand and gravel. However, it is also possible for organic particles to be captured by gravel sand media and degraded by microbes contained in the biofilm layer [33]. In the combination of these two methods which have a more important role in the TSS elimination is HSSFCW.…”

Application of aerated submerged spongebed biofilter for raw water pre-treatment in drinking water installation

“…Biofiltration can be the most suitable treatment due to its ability to remove pollutant contaminant that can't be naturally removed by the conventional treatment, such as organic compounds, ammonia, detergent, and pesticide [6]. The research about biofilter as pre-treatment for polluted water as drinking water supply had been done and found that on 2 h HRT the removal efficiency reached 78% for organic load, 82% for ammonium, and 91% for TSS [7]. Treatment using submerged sponge-bed with fraction volume of 20% was able to remove phosphate from wastewater up to 99% [8], [9].…”