Mass separation techniques for the design of fixed film bioreactors

Abstract

Dissolved organics in wastewater samples were separated into three size fractions (0-1,000 amu, 1,000-10,000 amu, and 10,000 amu-0.22 m) using ultrafiltration (UF) membranes. The mass distribution within each fraction was adjusted by using a new permeation coefficient model to account for membrane rejection. Dissolved organic and soluble BOD (sBOD) removals in a trickling filter were studied for the different size fractions. The Logan trickling filter model was recalibrated and used to generate predicted removals by size fraction of sBOD, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and biodegradable DOC (bDOC) for a given influent. Although there was moderate agreement between observed and predicted removals, more investigation is needed to explain shifts in material between different size fractions. Of the three parameters, bDOC may offer a better parameter for modelling trickling filter performance than sBOD.