Effect of media characteristics on performance of upflow aerobic biofilters

Abstract

Laboratory studies were conducted to assess the influence of media related factors such as porosity, pore size, particle size and specific surface area on the performance of upflow aerobic biofilters (ABFs). Three simple models of 8 litre capacity upflow submerged ABFs packed with support media of size 40 mm, 20 mm and 10 mm respectively were installed. The hydraulic retention time (HRT) was maintained as 12 hours. The study was carried out for a period of 90 days. The reactor performance indicated that the aerobic biofilter (ABF-3), associated with media of lowest porosity, pore size, particle size and highest specific surface area, demonstrating the highest BOD and COD removal efficiency of 93.32 % and 85.01 % respectively.