Bio-filter is considered the most important and efficient separation process that is used in the elimination of organic pollutants from water sources. The article focus on the biological processes that are used in bio-filtration and determination of their effectiveness (Acero, 2009). Full-scale laboratory applications of wastewater treatment and bio-filter are discussed and compared with their pollutant removal ability.
Filtration is defined as necessary treatment process used for pollutant removal in water and wastewater treatment (Adams, K, & M, 2002). In waste treatment, filtration is used to remove the contaminants so that it can be reused again while in water treatment it purifies the water for portable use. Bio-filter is where filters are attached to biomass on the filter media. The success of bio-filter has been seen in the water, air and waste-water treatment. The process has been used since 1893, and it has been effective in both industrial and domestic water treatment. In the past, water treatment using bio-filtration was through rock as the filter media, but the modern one uses several types and shapes of plastic media. There are several brands of bio-filters that are found in the market. Though of the different …show more content…
The filter media of a bio-filter are transportation, adhesion, firm attachment, and colonization. In transportation, the micro-organisms are taken to the filter media and are controlled by diffusion, convection, sedimentation, and the active mobility of the micro-organisms. When the micro-organisms reaches the filter media, adhesion takes place where there is total interaction of energy and can either be reversible or irreversible. The firm attachment and colonization process is dependent on the surface properties and influent characteristics of the filter media (Amy,