Effects of Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT) on the Performance of a Pilot-Scale Trickling Filter System Treating Low-Strength Domestic Wastewater

Attached growth wastewater treatment systems are considered to be effective in developing countries due to their low energy, operational and maintenance costs. Thus the present study mainly focused on the treatment of domestic wastewater by a pilot-scale trickling filter system (TFs) installed in the natural environment at a residential area of Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan, and it was operated under three different hydraulic retention times (HRT), i.e., 24, 48 and 72 hrs. Furthermore, pilot-scale TFs showed significant efficiency regarding the removal of physico-chemical and microbiological parameters under different HRTs, i.e., 70.9 and 23.5% reduction in COD and EC contents, respectively, at HRT of 48 hrs., while significant removal of TDS (34%), SO4 (37%), PO4 (81.8%) and TN (66.6%) were noticed during operation of the system after 72 hrs of HRT. Likewise, a maximum of 86.4%, 82.5% and 83% decrease in total bacterial count were observed at HRT of 24, 48 and 72 hrs, respectively. Finally, it was suggested that pilot-scale TFs have great potential to be transferred to field scale in the areas disconnected from a centralized treatment system for handling sewage of small communities in underdeveloped and developing countries.

[1]  A. Rehman,et al.  Efficiency of a locally designed pilot-scale trickling biofilter (TBF) system in natural environment for the treatment of domestic wastewater , 2018, Environmental technology.

[2]  X. Sanchez‐Vila,et al.  Bilayer Infiltration System Combines Benefits from Both Coarse and Fine Sands Promoting Nutrient Accumulation in Sediments and Increasing Removal Rates. , 2018, Environmental science & technology.

[3]  Honglei Wang,et al.  Review on the Fate and Mechanism of NitrogenPollutant Removal from Wastewater Usinga Biological Filter , 2017 .

[4]  Muhammad Bilal Shakoor,et al.  Groundwater status in Pakistan: A review of contamination, health risks, and potential needs , 2017 .

[5]  P. B. Pedersen,et al.  Influence of fixed and moving bed biofilters on micro particle dynamics in a recirculating aquaculture system , 2017 .

[6]  J. Ebdon,et al.  Removal of phages and viral pathogens in a full-scale MBR: Implications for wastewater reuse and potable water. , 2016, Water research.

[7]  A. Selberg,et al.  The influence of lower temperature, influent fluctuations and long retention time on the performance of an upflow mode laboratory-scale septic tank , 2016 .

[8]  Wei Kang,et al.  Effect of Biofilm Density on Nitrous Oxide Emissions and Treatment Efficiency on Sequencing Batch Biofilm Reactor , 2016, Water, Air, & Soil Pollution.

[9]  Naeem Ali,et al.  Performance evaluation of stone-media pro-type pilot-scale trickling biofilter system for municipal wastewater treatment , 2016 .

[10]  Barry L. Loeb.  Water Reuse , 2016 .

[11]  J. González-López,et al.  Anaerobic/anoxic/oxic configuration in hybrid moving bed biofilm reactor-membrane bioreactor for nutrient removal from municipal wastewater , 2016 .

[12]  Marilet Laing,et al.  Investigating the performance of a novel Anaerobic Sequencing Batch Reactor (AnSBR) and optimisation of operational parameters to treat synthetic winery wastewater , 2016 .

[13]  M. Hafeez,et al.  A methodology to estimate equity of canal water and groundwater use at different spatial and temporal scales: a geo-informatics approach , 2016, Environmental Earth Sciences.

[14]  M. Rafiq,et al.  Performance efficiency of an integrated stone media fixed biofilm reactor and sand filter for sewage treatment , 2015 .

[15]  R. Fink,et al.  Microbial adhesion capacity. Influence of shear and temperature stress , 2015, International journal of environmental health research.

[16]  Timothy D Handelsman,et al.  Membrane treatment options for wastewater from cellulosic ethanol biorefineries , 2015 .

[17]  J. Ladu,et al.  Integrated Processes of Anoxic/Oxic Bioreactor and Artificial Wetland for Rural Domestic Wastewater Treatment , 2014 .

[18]  J. Ladu,et al.  Effects of hydraulic retention time, temperature, and effluent recycling on efficiency of anaerobic filter in treating rural domestic wastewater , 2014 .

[19]  V. Rocher,et al.  Variation of raw wastewater microbiological quality in dry and wet weather conditions , 2014, Environmental Science and Pollution Research.

[20]  Evan Diamadopoulos,et al.  Attached growth systems for wastewater treatment in small and rural communities: a review , 2013 .

[21]  C. Eskicioglu,et al.  Fate of estrogenic hormones in wastewater and sludge treatment: A review of properties and analytical detection techniques in sludge matrix. , 2012, Water research.

[22]  A. Rehman.  Sequential Application of Plastic Media- Trickling Filter and Sand Filter for Domestic Wastewater Treatment at Low Temperature Condition , 2012 .

[23]  I. Yeom,et al.  Treatment of poultry slaughterhouse wastewater in upflow anaerobic filter under low upflow velocity , 2011 .

[24]  U. Pinto,et al.  Effects of greywater irrigation on plant growth, water use and soil properties , 2010 .

[25]  M. Mahmoud,et al.  Simultaneous Organic and Nutrient Removal in a Naturally Ventilated Biotower Treating Presettled Municipal Wastewater , 2010 .

[26]  Marc A Deshusses,et al.  Removal of ammonia from contaminated air in a biotrickling filter - denitrifying bioreactor combination system. , 2008, Water research.

[27]  Grietje Zeeman,et al.  Effect of temperature on anaerobic treatment of black water in UASB-septic tank systems. , 2007, Bioresource technology.

[28]  Michael Melkonian,et al.  Removal of nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater using microalgae immobilized on twin layers: an experimental study , 2007, Journal of Applied Phycology.

[29]  R. Zeng,et al.  Enrichment of denitrifying glycogen-accumulating organisms in anaerobic/anoxic activated sludge system. , 2003, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[30]  L. Graveleau,et al.  Evaluation of Low Energy Requirements in Deammonification Systems , 2015 .

[31]  Mushtaque Ahmed,et al.  Opportunities and Challenges of Using Treated Wastewater in Agriculture , 2014 .

[32]  S. Salma,et al.  Rainfall Trends in Different Climate Zones of Pakistan , 2012 .

[33]  A. Bano,et al.  MICROBIAL ASSISTED PHYTOEXTRACTION OF METALS AND GROWTH OF SOYBEAN (GLYCINE MAX L. MERRILL) ON INDUSTRIAL WASTE WATER CONTAMINATED SOIL , 2012 .

[34]  Angélique Léonard.  Management of Wastewater Sludge's: A Hot Topic at the European Level , 2011 .

[35]  L. Seghezzo,et al.  Anaerobic treatment of domestic wastewater in subtropical regions , 2004 .