Fast-track evaluation of a compact chemically enhanced-trickling filter system

with the more stringent legislations pertinent to the management of industrial effluents, it deemed necessary to develop an efficient compact, low cost treatment system that complies with applicable laws. numerous versions of chemically enhanced - biological treatment schemes are commercially established. chemically enhanced-trickling filter has been perceived as an efficient intervention scheme. this paper presents a fast-track approach for estimation of the minimum total annual treatment cost for the proposed chemically enhanced primary treatment/ trickling filter (cept-tf) system under given sets of conditions. the effect of different chemicals has been incorporated through empirical performance formulas. in addition, the influence of the type and characteristic of the media filter has been also addressed. the analysis of the results of the performance of the first stage of the treatment scheme tends to indicate that about 80 % of the biological pollution load can be removed by the upstream chemical treatment at the optimal dose. the optimal economic dose of iron salts ranges from 30 to 40 ppm according to unit capacity and characteristics of the influent. further, the effect of biological filter media type on the total annual cost has been found to be relatively insignificant (6-16) %.