Hi Raj

In response to your discussion topic and an extension upon James' discussion, i've decided to
focus in on biological filtration.
Biological filtration or bio-filtration is a process at which can effectively remove organic matter from water
and biologically treated sewage which is typically unable to be removed by conventional treatment
systems. This system literally relies on communities of microorganisms attached to filter media where the
performance of biological filtration is governed by the activity of the microbes.
The way in which these microbes continue to survive is by oxidizing organic matter in the water which
produces energy and available nutrients for their existence.
Bio-filtration and the GAC system
A bio-filter can be basically any type of filter with an attached biomass on the filter media. In terms of
drinking water treatment, an extremely efficient bio- filtration system is the Granular Activated Carbon or
(GAC) system. Although this system has a very high adsorption capacity, it cannot maintain its adsorption
for long periods of time of bio-filter operation before its adsorption capacity becomes depleted and as a
result it leads to a reduction in treatment efficiency.
In order to combat this problem of capacity exhaustion, the GAC can be regenerated via several different
modes such as ultrasonic, thermal, hydro-thermal and chemical regeneration. Similarly, the life of the GAC
can be can be extended by using other exhausted GAC as support filler media for biological filtration.
The GAC allows both adsorption and biological degradation to take place in the treatment process as a
result of the huge surface of the GAC which promotes both growth and development of microorganisms in
the bio-filter.
When the GAC is at full adsorption capacity, the microbes attach themselves to the filter media and begin
to develop. However during the later stages, the effectiveness of the bio-filter is dictated by microbiological
activity in particular biological degradation, so therefore careful maintenance of a sufficient amount of
biomass is paramount.
Blockages of the bio-filter can occur due to excess build-up of biomass, however this can be controlled by
simply backwashing. Furthermore the microbiological community can be preserved by removing dead cells
and end products which cause poisoning however this has its benefits by allowing the possibility for new
communities of organisms to develop in the newly freed up space.