5-Dec-23

21CE502 / Environmental Engineering

GMR Institute of Technology

Dr. S. Vivek
Senior Assistant Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
GMR Institute of Technology, Rajam,
Andhra Pradesh

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 Trickling Filters
5-Dec-23

• Trickling filter is an attached growth

process i.e. process in which
microorganisms responsible for treatment
are attached to an inert packing material.
• Packing material used in attached growth
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processes include rock, gravel, slag, sand,

redwood, and a wide range of plastic and
other synthetic materials.

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 Applicability
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• Trickling filters enable organic material in the wastewater to be

adsorbed by a population of microorganisms (aerobic, anaerobic, and
facultative bacteria; fungi; algae; and protozoa) attached to the medium
as a biological film or slime layer (approximately 0.1 to 0.2 mm thick).
• As the wastewater flows over the medium, microorganisms already in
the water gradually attach themselves to the rock, slag, or plastic
surface and form a film.
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• The organic material is then degraded by the aerobic microorganisms in

the outer part of the slime layer.
• As the layer thickens through microbial growth, oxygen cannot
penetrate the medium face, and anaerobic organisms develop.
• As the biological film continues to grow, the microorganisms near the
surface lose their ability to cling to the medium, and a portion of the
slime layer falls off the filter.
• This process is known as sloughing.
• The sloughed solids are picked up by the underdrain system and
transported to a clarifier for removal from the wastewater. 10
 Process Description
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• The wastewater in trickling filter is distributed over the top

area of a vessel containing non-submerged packing material.
• Air circulation in the void space, by either natural draft or
blowers, provides oxygen for the microorganisms growing as
an attached biofilm.
• During operation, the organic material present in the
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wastewater is metabolised by the biomass attached to the

medium. The biological slime grows in thickness as the
organic matter abstracted from the flowing wastewater is
synthesized into new cellular material.
• The thickness of the aerobic layer is limited by the depth of
penetration of oxygen into the microbial layer.

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 • The micro-organisms near the medium face enter the
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endogenous phase as the substrate is metabolised before it

can reach the micro-organisms near the medium face as a
result of increased thickness of the slime layer and loose
their ability to cling to the media surface.
• The liquid then washes the slime off the medium and a
new slime layer starts to grow.
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• This phenomenon of losing the slime layer is

called sloughing.
• The sloughed off film and treated wastewater are collected
by an underdrainage which also allows circulation of air
through filter.
• The collected liquid is passed to a settling tank used for
solid- liquid separation.
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 Advantages and Disadvantages
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Some advantages and disadvantages of trickling filters are listed below.

Advantages
• Simple, reliable, biological process.
• Suitable in areas where large tracts of land are not available for land
intensive treatment systems
• May qualify for equivalent secondary discharge standards.
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• Effective in treating high concentrations of organics depending on the type

of medium used.
• Appropriate for small- to medium-sized communities.
• Rapidly reduce soluble BOD5 in applied wastewater.
• Efficient nitrification units.
• Durable process elements.
• Low power requirements.
• Moderate level of skill and technical expertise needed to manage and
operate the system.
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 Disadvantages
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• Additional treatment may be needed to meet more

stringent discharge standards.
• Possible accumulation of excess biomass that cannot retain an aerobic
condition and can impair Trickling Filter performance (maximum biomass
thickness is controlled by hydraulic dosage rate, type of media, type of
organic matter, temperature and nature of the biological growth).
• Requires regular operator attention.
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• Incidence of clogging is relatively high.

• Requires low loadings depending on the medium.
• Flexibility and control are limited in comparison with activated-
sludge processes.
• Vector and odor problems.
• Snail problems.

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Types of Filters
Trickling filters are classified as
1. High rate and
2. Low rate or Standard rate trickling filter
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Based on the organic and hydraulic loading applied to the unit.

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1. Low Rate Filters

• They are also known as standard rate or conventional rate filters.
• The settled sewage is applied to the filter bed and after trickling through
it, passes through the final sedimentation tank for removal of most of the
stabilized solids.
2. High Rate Filters
• In case of high rate trickling filters the settled sewage is applied at much
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higher rate than for the low rate filter.

• The high rate filters of modern advancements also function on the same
lines and having the same construction detail but with the difference that
provision is made in them for recirculation of sewage through the filter by
pumping a part of the filter effluent to the primary settling tank (or the
dosing tank of trickling filter) and re-passing it through filter.

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 • The hydraulic loading rate is the total flow including recirculation
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applied on unit area of the filter in a day, while the organic loading rate
is the 5 day 20°C BOD, excluding the BOD of the recirculant, applied per
unit volume in a day.
• Recirculation is generally not adopted in low rate filters.
• A well operated low rate trickling filter in combination with secondary
settling tank may remove 75 to 90% BOD and produce highly nitrified
effluent. It is suitable for treatment of low to medium strength domestic
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wastewaters.
• The high rate trickling filter, single stage or two stage are recommended
for medium to relatively high strength domestic and industrial
wastewater.
• The BOD removal efficiency is around 75 to 90% but the effluent is only
partially nitrified.
• Single stage unit consists of a primary settling tank, filter, secondary
settling tank and facilities for recirculation of the effluent. Two stage
filters consist of two filters in series with a primary settling tank, an
intermediate settling tank which may be omitted in certain cases and a
final settling tank. 18
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 Features of High-Rate Trickling Filters:
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• High-rate trickling filters are similar to conventional or standard

trickling filters except that the rate of loading (both hydraulic as well
as organic) for high rate filters is several times more than that for
conventional trickling filters.
• The rate of loading is increased by adopting the process of
recirculation of sewage in high-rate trickling filters.
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• It consists of pumping back a part of the filter effluent or final effluent

(i.e., effluent from the secondary settling tank) to the filter unit.
• The addition of treated sewage effluent in raw sewage improves the
quality of later and make it possible to increase the rate of loading.
• A high-rate trickling filter is constructed in much the same manner as a
conventional or standard trickling filter.
• Thus most of the constructional features of high-rate trickling filters
are similar to those of conventional or standard trickling filters.

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 However, some of the distinguishing features of high-rate trickling filters are
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as indicated below:
1. Filter Depth:
2. Filter Media:
3. Stone Media:
4. Plastic Media:
5. Single Stage and Two Stage Trickling Filter Plants:
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6. Recirculation:
7. Recirculation Ratio:
8. Recirculation Factor:
9. Multiple Units:
10. Plant Hydraulics:
11. Pumping Arrangements:

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1. Filter Depth:
• The high-rate trickling filters are shallow in depth.
• The depth of filter media is reduced to about 0.9 to 2.5 m so as to
obtain better aeration needed to achieve high rate of biological activity.
2. Filter Media:
• High-rate filters employ rock, slag and synthetic materials such as
plastic modules as filter media.
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• However, super-rate filters or roughing filters employ synthetic

materials such as plastic modules or modules consisting of redwood
slats as filter media.
• The physical characteristics of commonly used filter media are given in
Table

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 3. Stone Media:
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• As indicated in Table with increase in stone size the specific surface area
decreases but the percent void space increases. The recent trend is
towards the use of larger size stones especially for high-rate trickling
filters.
The current specification for stone media is that when mechanically
graded over vibratory screens:
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• 100% should pass through 110 mm square mesh

• 95-100% should be retained on 75 mm square mesh
• 0.2% alone should pass through 50 mm square mesh
• 0.1% alone should pass through 25 mm square mesh
The above percentages are by weight.

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4. Plastic Media:
• Plastic media is one of the most common type of synthetic media used
for high-rate and super-rate trickling filters.
• The plastic media have specific surface area, high void space and low
weight.
• The plastic media consist of interlocking sheets of plastic which are
arranged like a honeycomb to produce highly porous and clog-
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resistant media which permit higher hydraulic and organic loading

rates.

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 5. Single Stage and Two Stage Trickling Filter Plants:
5-Dec-23

• High-rate trickling filter plants may be either single stage filter plants
or two stage filter plants.
• In a single stage filter plant sewage is passed through a single filter only
and hence if there are two or more filters they are operated in parallel.
• Sewage is, however, recirculated to each single stage filter.
• Thus a single stage filter plant consists of a primary settling tank, filters
operating in parallel, secondary settling tank and facilities for
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recirculation of the effluent.

• The flow diagrams for single stage high-rate trickling filter plants are
shown in Fig. which shows the various patterns of recirculation.
• Settling before recirculation may be carried out either in primary settling
tank as shown in Fig or in secondary settling tank as shown in Fig.
• Recent studies have indicated that for municipal sewage direct
recirculation without settling is as effective as recirculation of settled
effluent and hence recirculation pattern shown in Fig
• For single stage filters the depths of filter media usually range from 0.9 to
2.5 m with an optimum range of 1.5 to 2.0 m. 26
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• In a two stage filter plant sewage is passed successively through two

filters provided in series.
• Thus a two stage filter plant consists of a primary settling tank, two filters
in series, an intermediate settling tank which may be omitted in certain
cases and a secondary settling tank.
• Recirculation facilities are provided for each stage. The effluent from the
first stage filter is applied on the second stage filter either after
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settlement (in the intermediate settling tank) or without settlement.

• Some of the common flow diagrams for two stage filter plants are shown
in Fig. In Fig an intermediate settling tank or clarifier is used for settling
the first stage effluent before it is applied to the second stage filter and
the recirculation is only through the settling tanks.

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• In Fig. the intermediate settling is omitted and the recirculation flows are
settled.
• In Fig which is known as the series-parallel system, part of the settled raw
sewage is applied directly to the second stage filter increasing the
efficiency of that stage.
• In Fig (iv) there is neither intermediate settling nor settling of filter
effluent prior to recirculation.
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• For two stage filters the depths of filter media in each filter also usually
range from 0.9 to 2.5 m with an optimum range of 1.5 to 2.0 m for the first
stage filters and 1.0 to 2.0 m for the second stage filters.
• Two stage filtration will provide a higher degree of treatment than the
single stage filtration for the same total volume of filter media.
• Two stage filters are used for the treatment of strong sewage when the
effluent BOD has to be less than 30 mg/l.

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 6. Recirculation:
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• Another special feature of a high-rate trickling filter is recirculation which

is in contrast to a conventional or standard trickling filter.
• Recirculation consists of returning a part of the filter effluent or final
effluent (i.e., effluent from the secondary settling tank) to the filter.
• Recirculation is necessary to provide uniform hydraulic loading as well as
to dilute the high strength wastewaters.
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• Recirculation is expressed in terms of recirculation ratio, R.

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7. Recirculation Ratio:
• The ratio of the recirculated flow to the sewage flow is known as
recirculation ratio R.
• This ratio determines the required capacity of recirculating pumps and
the hydraulic load on filters. Thus, we have-
Capacity of recirculating pump= R x (influent sewage flow)
Hydraulic load on filter= (1 + R) x (influent sewage flow)
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• Recirculation ratios usually range from 0.5 to 3 and values exceeding 3

are considered to be uneconomical in the case of domestic sewage but
ratios of 8 and above have been used with industrial wastes.

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8. Recirculation Factor:
• The number of effective passes through the filter is known as
recirculation factor F, and is given by the equation-
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 9. Multiple Units:
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• In a single stage filter plant, it is advisable to split the required filter

volume into two or more units so that when one filter is taken out of
operation for maintenance or repairs, the entire sewage can be passed
through the remaining units, overloading them temporarily.
• In a two stage filter plant if multiple units are proposed in each stage, the
entire sewage may be routed through the remaining units of the stage
when one filter in that stage is taken out of operation.
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• However, the recirculation flow is maintained at the original level

operating the stage at a lower recirculation ratio. If, instead, only one
filter is proposed for each stage a bypass should be provided for each
stage. In the case of two stage filters the volume of filter media is usually
divided equally between the first stage and the second stage units.

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 10. Plant Hydraulics:
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• The feed pipe to the filter, the distributor, the underdrains and the main
collection channel should be designed for the peak instantaneous
hydraulic loading on the filter.
• In low-rate filters the peak loading will be the peak discharging capacity
of the dosing siphon or the dosing pump.
• In the case of high-rate filters, the peak loading on the filters will be the
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sum of the peak rate of sewage flow and the constant recirculation rate.
• When multiple units are used for the high-rate filters in any stage, the
hydraulics of the plant should be checked for peak loading with one filter
out of operation, the entire flow routed through the remaining units.
• A reduced recirculation ratio is adopted for this condition so as to reduce
the peak loading and avoid oversizing of the piping.
• When multiple units are used care should be taken to ensure that the
flow is divided between the various filters.

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 1. Pumping Arrangements:
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• In a high-rate filter, pumping is required for recirculation.

• Pumping may also be required for lifting the filter effluent to the settling
tank or to the next stage filter.
• Except in the case of small plants, recirculation pumps should be installed
in multiple units so that the recirculation rate can be changed as found
necessary.
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• Pumps for lifting the flow through sewage should have adequate capacity
to pump the peak flows through the plant.
• The pumps should be installed in multiple units to take care of diurnal
variations in flow which will approximately be the same as the sewage
inflow to the plant.
• It is further necessary to provide storage in the suction well equal to
about 10 minutes of discharge capacity of the lowest duty pump.
• Float control arrangements are desirable in the suction well for
controlling the number of pumps in operation.
• In all the cases, at least one pump should be provided extra as a stand by.
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 Comparison with Conventional or Standard Trickling Filter:
5-Dec-23

• To give a comparative idea of the working of conventional or standard

trickling filters and high-rate trickling filters, the salient features of
both of them are compared in Table
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 Types of High-Rate Trickling Filters:
5-Dec-23

There are following three principal proprietary types of high-rate

trickling filters:
1. Biofilters
2. Accelo-filters
3. Aero-filters
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 1. Biofilters:
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• These are relatively shallow filters with depth 1.2 to 1.5 m, and utilize
recirculation of a portion of the filter effluent to the primary settling tank
for a second passage through the filter.
• Fig. 14.9 shows the flow diagrams of biofilter plants giving the
following three types of treatments:
(a) Single stage intermediate treatment
(b) Single stage complete treatment
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(c) Two stage complete treatment

• In the case of industrial wastes which are strong two stage biofiltration
may be used. In two stage biofiltration recirculation is used for each stage.
The total filter volume of two stages is the same as a single stage. By
appropriate selection of flow diagrams and recirculation ratios the desired
degree of treatment can be achieved.
• The organic loadings adopted normally range from 9000 to 11000 kg of 5-
day BOD per hectare metre per day. The total hydraulic loading rates may
range from 110 to 330 MLD per hectare. The BOD removal in single stage
biofiltration may be about 80 to 90%, while two stage biofiltration 41
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 2. Accelo-Filters:
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• These are relatively deep filters with depth 1.8 to 2.4 m. These filters
utilize the direct recirculation of unsettled filter effluent to the
distributor feed. These filters use 100 mm size stones as filter media
and hydraulic loading rates are maintained at less than 340 Mld per
hectare of filter area.
• As with biofilters, in the case of Accelo-filters also a large variety of
flow diagrams is possible, including use of a primary high-rate filter
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and a secondary low-rate filter. The system of recirculating the effluent

from the bottom of the filter directly back to the top of the filter
provides a means of reducing odours, increasing the concentration of
dissolved oxygen and continuously reseeding the influent to the filter
with active organisms.
• The organic loading rate in single stage operation may be of the order
to about 9000 kg of 5-day BOD per hectare metre per day, with
recirculating rates of 100 to 200 per cent of raw sewage flow.

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 3. Aero-Filters:
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• In aero-filters sewage is applied continuously and uniformly over the

filter bed at a relatively low rate. Some aero-filters are provided with fans
that are used to draw air through the filter. Whereas, in the biofilters and
accelo-filters there is intimate contact of sewage with the biological film
of organic matter formed within the particles of the filter media, in the
aero-filters, on the other hand, the same results are obtained by the use of
special type of distributors designed to provide application of sewage in
the form of rain drops.
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• Recirculation is used only during periods of low sewage flow, and that too
only in amount necessary to ensure proper operation of the distributors.
Fig. 14.11 shows the flow diagrams of aero-filter plants. Ordinarily single
stage treatment is used. However, if additional treatment is required to
lower the BOD of the effluent a second stage filter may be used, and with
very strong sewage intermediate clarifier may be provided.
• Aero-filter beds are usually more than 1.8 m deep. The recommended
organic loading rate may range from 11000 to 12000 kg of 5-day BOD per
hectare metre per day. The hydraulic loading rate, for proper functioning
of filters, should not be less than 150 Mld per hectare of filter which46may
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