Date of Award

Summer 1977

Document Type

Thesis - Restricted

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering

Abstract

The increased concern over the environment and the subsequent passage of Public Law 92-500 have required the implemention [sic] of tertiary treatment of many wastewaters before discharge to surface waters. Filtration is the chosen alternative in most cases. Because of the widespread use of filtration in potable water treatment, there has been a great deal of experimentation, and much has been written on the subject. However, there are substantial differences between filtration of potable water and filtration of wastewater. One major difference is that wastewater filtration is very dependent upon the type of prior treatment. To the author 's knowledge, there have been no reports in the literature concerning the filtration of effluent from a rotating biological contactor (RBC). The purpose of this investigation, and subsequent thesis, was to evaluate the filterability of RBC effluent with regards to effluent quality and headless development. Another point of investigation was the condition of the filter bed after backwashing. Dirty bed problems, including mudball formation, are much more critical in the filtration of wastewater than water. One of the most successful means of cleaning filter beds is a combined air-water backwash at sub-fluidization rates. A pilot filter employing combined air-water backwash, which left the media unstratified, was used in this study. An evaluation of the effectiveness of the backwash was made on the basis of solids washout and visual observations.

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