TRICKLING FILTERS

Biological Wastewater Treatment

TRICKLING FILTERS
• Non submerged fixed-film biological reactor using rock or plastic
packing over which wastewater is distributed where treatment
occurs as liquid flows over attached biofilm.

 Alternative to suspended growth

 Attached growth system
 Media is provided for Mo’s to attach and grow
 High conc. Of Mo’s (& high SRT)
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Figure Photographic view of a conventional circular trickling filter with rotary

distributors 4
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• Influent pipe
• Rotary distribution
• Filter bed
• Underdrain system
• Effluent pipe

Downstream a
sedimentation tank
is provided to
remove microbial
growth that sloughs
from the medium

Figure of Typical section of a conventional circular trickling filter 5

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Figure of Photographic view of trickling filter with its rotary distributors

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Principles of operation
 WW is allowed to sprinkle or trickle down over tanks of coarser filtering media,
by means of distributors.
 Aerobic bacteria form a bacterial film around the particles of the filtering
media.
→ sufficient quantity of oxygen is supplied by providing suitable ventilation
facilities in the body of the filter or through natural draft
 Organic material from the liquid is adsorbed onto the biological film or slime
layer and get degraded by aerobic microorganisms
 As the microorganisms grow and the slime layer thickness increases, oxygen is
consumed and the substrate in the wastewater is used before it can penetrate
the inner depths of the biofilm.
 Bacteria in the slime layer enter an endogenous respiration state and lose their
ability to cling to the packing surface.
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 The liquid then washes the slime off the packing, and a new slime layer
starts to grow. The phenomenon of losing the slime layer is called
sloughing
 The percolating sewage is collected at the bottom of the tank through a
well designed under-drainage system.
 The effluent must be taken to the secondary sedimentation tank for
settling out the solids generated as a result of WW treatment.
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Types of Trickling Filters
(1) Conventional trickling filters /standard
rate /low rate trickling filters
• wastewater is applied intermittently
with rest periods
• 80% to 90% BOD reduction
(2) High rate trickling filters
(1)Usually characterized by higher hydraulic
and organic loadings than low-rate filters
(2)same construction details, but the Advantages of recirculation:
1-Return oxygen with wastewater.
recirculation of effluent is provided
2- Return active bacteria to increase reaction
(3)Thus the incoming wastewater is diluted rate which decrease the required area for the
and TSS concentrations are reduced. increase of the allowable load.
(4)65 to 85% BOD reduction 3- Decrease the concentration of BOD on filter.
4- Achieve the plant working day by night.
5- Prevent the growth of fly around the filter.
6- Make the gravel wet at any time.
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Design of Trickling Filters
involves the design of :
 the diameter of the circular filter tank and its depth
 Filter media
 the distributors and
 under-drainage system
 Efficiency
Filter size
the filter diameter and depth is designed for average value of sewage flow.
Is based upon the values of the filter-loadings adopted for the design.
This loading on a filter can be expressed in two ways:

i) Hydraulic-loading rate:
The quantity of sewage applied per unit of surface area of the filter per day
For conventional filters ……………………..…. 22 to 44 ML/ha/day
For the high rate trickling filters ………….. 110 to 330 ML/ha/day
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ii) Organic loading rate
 Is the mass of BOD per unit volume of filtering media per day
 For conventional filters ……………………….. 900 - 2200 kg BOD/ha-m/d
 For the high rate trickling filters ………….. 6000 – 18,000 kg BOD/ha-m/d

Total flow

 Knowing the area and volume, depth & diameter can be easily determined
 The depth of the rock packing ranges from 0.9 to 2.5 m (rock fill)
 Moreover, since the rotary distributors are available indigenously only up to 60m
in length, it is desirable to keep the diameter of the filter tank up to a maximum
of 60m.
 If the required filter diameter is more than 60m, then it is better to use more
units of lesser diameter.
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Filtering medias (stone used)
 consists of coarser materials like cubically broken stones, plastic packing, slag
…
 should not be easily affected by acidic WW, and should be sufficiently hard.
 Its resistance to freezing and thawing is another important property,
 A material with a specific surface area between
45 and 60 m2/m3 for rocks and
90 and 150 m2/m3 for plastic packing is normally used
 Generally may range b/n 25-75mm
 The filtering material may be placed in layers; with coarsest stone used near
the bottom, and. finer material towards the top.
 should be washed before it is placed in position to free from dust

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Sewage distributors over filters: are two types
- Rotary distributor:

• The rotary distributor consists of a hollow vertical central column

carrying two or more radial pipes or arms, each of which contains a
number of nozzles or orifices for discharging the waste water onto the
filter media.
• All of these nozzles point in the same direction at right angles to the
arms.
• The force of the water causes the spray heads to rotate (jet action)
above the media, acting like a sprinkler and evenly distributing waste
water across the media. (can also be driven by electric motor)
• The rotary reaction is furnished by a head of 45 to 60cm.

- Spray nozzles:
• Stationary /Fixed/ Individual Spray Heads work best
for smaller areas
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Under drains
Vitrified clay blocks are generally used as under-drains.
Ensures satisfactory drainage ……. Manning formula
The blocks are laid directly on the filter floor, which is sloped toward the
collection channel at 1 to 5% gradient.
The effluent channels are sized to produce a minimum velocity of 0.9 m/s
also ensure satisfactory ventilation and aeration of the filter bed
→ To allow air circulation, the under-drainage system should be designed
to flow half full

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Efficiency:
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Example
Sewage flows from primary settling rank to a standard rate trickling
filter at an average rate of 5million liters per day having a BOD of
150mg/l. Determine

a. The depth and volume of the filter, assuming suitable design data

b. Also design distribution and under drainage system

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Solution
Total BOD present in sewage to be treated per day
= (5*106)l/d * 150mg/l
= 750kg
• Assuming organic loading between 900 - 2200 kg BOD/ha-m/d
(conventional TF) ……….1500kg/ha-m/d , Volume of filter required,

= (750kg/d)/(1500kg/ha-m/d)
= 0.5 ha-m = 5000m3
• Assuming effective depth of filter, d = 2m;
• Surface area of filter (As) = 5000m3/2m = 2500m2
• Using circular filter; where diameter, D = 40m;
• Number of filter units required = Total area required / area of one unit
= 2500/(π/4*402) ≈ 2units …. A = 1256m2
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• Check hydraulic loading

Hydraulic loading = Total flow / Area of filter
= 5000m3/d / 1256m2
= 4.0m3/m2/d = 40 ML/ha-m/d
Where, it is within 22 - 44 ML/ha/day …………….. Ok!

• Hence two units of each 40m diameter and 2m effective depth

(total depth of 2 +0.6 = 2.6) can be adopted and extra unit as a
stand by can also be constructed
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Design distributors / Rotary type

• Since it should be designed at peak flow, assume a peaking factor of
2.25
• Qavg = 5Ml/d *2.25/2filters = 5.6Ml/d = 0.065m3/sec

• Since this flow is divided in to two flow units,

Qpeak one filter =0.065m3/sec , Qavg one filter =0.029m3/sec

• Assume central column (pipe) is designed for a velocity of 2m/s at

peak flow and 1m/s at average flow depending on head
requirement of the system
A = Qpeak/Vpeak = 0.065/2 = 0.0325m2
Dpipe = √(0.0325*π/4) = 0.2m , A=0.0314m2
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• Check velocity at average flow;
vavg = Qavg /A = 0.029/0.0314 = 0.92m/s < 1m/s

*Reduce diameter, to 0.19m, A= 0.028 ,

vavg = 0.029*4/(3.14*0.19*0.19)
= 1.023m/s >1m/s 

• Check velocity at peak flow;

vpeak = 0.065*4/(3.14*0.19*0.19)
= 2.29m/s ≈2m/s 
Hence central column with 0.19m diameter can be used
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Design of arms /rotary type

• Using reaction spray type with 4 arms (min. of 2);

Discharge per arm = 0.065/4 = 0.016m3/s

Arm length = 40m/2 – 0.5m = 19.5m

An arm of 19.5m length can be used with its size reducing from near
the central column towards the end (in 3 segments)
• The first two sections 6m each and the last one with 7.4m
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40m(diam. of filter)

A3
A2
A1
7.4m 6m 6m

Arm length

Diam.=0.19m
Plan of filter tank
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• As the area covered by each segment varies, the flow in the arms
has to be adjusted proportional to the area covered by each length
of arms
• A1, A2 and A3 are areas of the circular filter covered by each length
of arms, allowing for 0.19m diameter at the center to be used for
central column;
A1 = π(r22-r12) = (6.0952-0.0952) = 116.6m2
A2 = π(r22-r12) = (12.0952-6.0952) = 342.7m2
A3 = π(r22-r12) = (19.4952-12.0952) = 734m2

Total area = 1193.3m2

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• Percentage areas served by each segment

1st A1/A = 116.6/1193.3 * 100 = 9.8%
2nd A2/A = 342.7/1193.3 * 100 = 28.7%
3rd A3/A = 734/1193.3 * 100 = 61.5%

• Full discharge will flow through the first arm, i.e., 0.016m3/s and
this will go on reducing through the second and third sections
 Biological Wastewater Treatment
i. Design the 1st section
Qarm1 = 0.016m3/s, and assuming the velocity through the arm as 1.2m/s, As
velocity should be more than 0.3 m/s to prevent deposition of solids
Area required for arm 1 = 0.016/1.2 = 0.0133m2
Arm diameter required, Dsegment 1 = √(0.0133*4/π ) = 0.13m = 130mm

ii. Design of 2nd section

Discharge through the 2nd section Qarm2 = (100- 9.8)% * 0.016 = 0.0144m3/s
Aarm2 = Q/v = 0.0144/1.2 = 0.012m2
Dsegment 2 = √(0.012*4/π ) = 0.124m = 124mm
iii. Design of 3rd section
Discharge through the 3rd section Qarm3 = (100- 9.8-28.7)% * 0.016 = 0.0098m3/s
Aarm3 = Q/v = 0.0098/1.2 = 0.0082m2
Dsegment 3 = √(0.0082*4/π ) = 0.102m = 102mm
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Design of orifices
• Each arm section will be provided with different no. of orifices, depending
on the Q to be passed through each section.
Qorifice = Cd*A*√2gh

• Assuming 10mm orifice diameter and coefficient of discharge, Cd= 0.65,

with an assumed water head causing flow as 1.5m,
Qorifice = 0.65*π/4 *(0.01)2 * √2*9.81*1.5
= 2.768 *10-4 m3/s
• No of orifices = Total discharge on one arm /discharge through one orifice
= 0.016/(2.768*10-4)
≈ 58
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Number of orifices through each segment

1st segment = 9.8/100 * 58 ≈ 6
2nd segment = 28.7/100 * 58 ≈ 17
3rd segment = 61.5/100 * 58 ≈ 35

Spacing of orifices
In the 1st segment 6 orifices in 6m length = 6/6 = 1m
In the2nd segment 17 orifices in 6m length = 6/17 = 0.353m
In the 3rd segment 35 orifices in 7.4m length = 7.4/35 = 0.211m
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= 0.8% …….Should be 1-5%

Increase velocity
The liquid flow in under-drains and collection channels should not be more
than half full for adequate air flows
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• Design a one stage high rate trickling filter to

produce a BOD effluent of 50mg/l. Given the
following data:
– Influent Bod=400mg/l
– Primary sedimentation tanks with 33% efficiency
will be used before the trickling filter.
– Maximum rotating arm may range up to 35m.
• Review operational problems of activated
sludge and trickling filters
INFLUENT

Primary
Rotating
Treatment Biological
Pretreatment
Contactors

Disinfection

Secondary
Clarifiers
Solids Handling
EFFLUENT
 Biological Wastewater Treatment

Rotating biological contactors (RBCs)

• Series of closely spaced circular disks made of polystyrene or polyvinyl
chloride attached to a horizontal shaft (where, Corrugation patterns
increase surface area and structural integrity)
• Are provided at standard unit sizes of approx. 3.5 m in diameter and 7.62
m in length
• The RBC unit is partially submerged (typically 40% of the diameter) in a
tank containing the wastewater
• Disc rotation slow (1-1.6 rpm)
• While the lower half is in contact with the waste water (utilization phase)
the other half will access the ambient air (aeration phase)
• Under these conditions aerobic bacteria will soon develop a microbial
film which will carry out the biological degradation of organic pollutants.
• The rotation also helps to slough off excess solids.
• Can achieve BOD reductions of 80 to 90 %
 Contactors
Primary Secondary
Treatment Clarifier

Influent Effluent

Solids Removal
Advantages
• High contact surface and high effluent quality (both BOD and nutrients)
• High process stability, resistant to shock hydraulic or organic loading
• Short contact periods are required because of the large active surface
• Low space requirement
• Process is relatively silent compared to dosing pumps for aeration
• Low sludge production

Disadvantages
• Continuous electricity supply required (but uses less energy than activated
sludge processes for comparable degradation rates)
• Contact media not available at local market /high investment costs
• Must be protected against sunlight, wind and rain (especially against
freezing in cold climates)
• Requires permanent skilled technical labor for operation and maintenance
 Process arrangements
FLO RBC system is divided into a series of
W Baffles independent stages or compartments by
baffles in a single basin or separate basins
arranged in series
Each Zone of Treatment is
Called a “Stage”

 The disc system can be staged in

series to obtain nearly any
detention time or degree of
removal required.
 The culture of the later stages can Discs
be acclimated to the slowly
degraded materials.

Shaft
Individual Disc
 Influent
2 Trains
5 Stages

1st Stage

Effluent
When a System Has More Than One Train, Each Zone in the System That Receives the Same
Loading is Considered One “Stage”
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1. RBC Sizing :
 RBC surface area: are usually designed on the basis of hydraulic and
organic loadings derived from pilot plants and other full-scale installation
Flow Rate, m3/d
Hydraulic Loading, m /d/m =
3 2
Media Surface Area, m2
Soluble BOD Applied/Day
Organic Loading, Sol. BOD/Day/m2 =
Media Surface Area in m2

 For successful treatment, the loading rates must be within the oxygen transfer
capability of the system.
 If it exceeds ………………………Poor performance and odors problems occurs
 Biological Wastewater Treatment

• Empirical design approaches have also been developed for RBC systems
based on pilot-plant and full-scale plant data
• In order to predict the BOD5 removal efficiency, a second-order model
proposed by Brenner - Opatken (US EPA 1985) & modified by Grady et al
(1999)

 Tankage:
• Volume has been optimized at 0.0049 m3/m2 of disk area.
• A typical side water depth is 1.5m to accommodate a 40% submergence
of the disks.
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2. Other facilities for RBC process
 principal elements of an RBC system design are the shafts and disk
materials
Shafts: Maximum shaft length is presently limited to 8.23m with 7.62m
occupied by disks
Disk material: The type of RBC disks, classified based on the total area of disks
on the shaft, are commonly termed
 Low (standard) density: with a surface area of 9300m2 per 8.23 m shaft.
normally used in the lead stage of an RBC process flow diagram
• Medium density, and
• high-density. Medium- and high-density Disk assemblies have
surface area of 11,000 to 16,700m2 per 8.23-m
shaft.
And are used typically in the middle and final
stages of an RBC system where thinner
biological growths occur.
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Example on RBCs
• Given the following design conditions, develop a process design for a
staged RBC system.
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Biological Wastewater Treatment
Waste Stabilization Ponds
 Biological Wastewater Treatment
Waste Stabilization Pond

• Is large shallow basins enclosed by earthen embankments in which

wastewater is biologically treated by natural processes involving pond
algae and bacteria. (TSS and BOD removal)

• Pond system requires some preliminary treatment of municipal WW.

• Usually coarse screening and grit chamber is applied

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 Biological Wastewater Treatment
 Advantages include:
simplicity,
low cost,
low maintenance,
low energy consumption,
robustness, and sustainability.
However, large surface areas and expert design are required.

Types of Pond
» Anaerobic Ponds: reduces the organic load in the wastewater,
remove up to 60% of the BOD
» Facultative: where further BOD is removed further 15% removed
» Maturation/aerobic pond: designed for pathogen removal

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• Anaerobic and facultative ponds are generally designed for removal of

BOD, and
• maturation ponds for pathogen removal,
• However, some BOD removal also occurs in maturation ponds and some
pathogen removal in anaerobic and facultative ponds
• WSP commonly comprise a single series of these anaerobic, facultative
and maturation ponds or several of such series in parallel.
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Pond Configurations: Configurations can include either series or parallel

operations
– the advantages of series operation is improved treatment
because of reduced short circuiting and
– the advantages of parallel configuration is that the loading
can be distributed more uniformly over a large area
– combinations of parallel & series operation can be
accomplished

 Are well-suited for low-income tropical countries where conventional

wastewater treatment cannot be achieved due to the lack of a reliable
energy source.
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I. Anaerobic Ponds
 Anaerobic ponds receive such a heavy organic loading and biodegradation
in the absence of oxygen dominate.
 Pond depth is usually between 3 to 5 meters and
 In cold climates, anaerobic ponds mainly act as settling ponds, whereas
higher sewage temperatures enhance the anaerobic degradation process.
 At higher temperatures BOD is therefore more effectively removed.

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Treatment Mechanisms
•BOD removal is the combined effect of sedimentation and biological
degradation.
•Biological degradation is due to the anaerobic degradation of complex organic
material.
•Biochemical reactions in an anaerobic pond produce hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and
other odorous compounds.
•To reduce odors, the common practice is to recirculate water from a
downstream facultative or aerated pond. This provides a thin aerobic layer at the
surface of the anaerobic pond, which prevents odors from escaping into the air.
•A cover may also be used to contain odors
•The effluent from anaerobic ponds usually requires further treatment prior to
discharge
•Typical TSS removal percentages range between 50 and 70%.

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II. Facultative Ponds

• Are the second treatment step in a pond system.
• In facultative ponds the anaerobic pond effluent is further treated, aimed at
further BOD, nutrient and pathogen removal.
• Facultative ponds are usually 1.5 - 2.5m deep.

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Processes In facultative ponds

•the top layer of facultative ponds is aerobic due to oxygen production by algae
and surface re-aeration; the bottom layer is anaerobic due to the absence of
oxygen.
•The three main mechanisms for BOD removal are aerobic digestion,
sedimentation and anaerobic digestion.
•Sedimentation results only in temporary storage of BOD in the sludge layer.
•This BOD (in sludge) is removed while the pond is desludged. Part of the sludge
BOD is however anaerobically transformed into methane gas.

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Figure of BOD removal mechanisms in a facultative pond

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III. Maturation Ponds

 Maturation ponds are shallow ponds (1 - 1.5m deep).
 An active algal biomass is maintained throughout the entire depth of the
system
 so that during daytime large amounts of oxygen are produced.
III. BOD removal is much slower than in facultative ponds, since the most easily
degradable substances are consumed already.
IV. The major application of maturation ponds is to polish or upgrade
facultative pond effluents and achieve substantial microbial reductions to
allow safe use of the effluents in agriculture or aquaculture

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Removal of Pathogenic Microorganisms in maturation pond
 Pathogen removal occurs in anaerobic, facultative and maturation ponds, but
only maturation ponds are designed on the basis of required removal rates for
pathogens.
Four groups of pathogenic micro-organism can be distinguished in WW:
bacteria, viruses, protozoa and helminthes.
Both helminthes eggs and protozoan cysts are removed by sedimentation.
Removal of bacteria (fecal coliform) and virus is due to a combination of several
processes:
• Adsorption to particles and subsequent sedimentation
• Grazing by other micro-organisms (protozoa)
• Natural decay
• UV disinfection
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