ASSESSMENT OF AERATED BIOFILTRATION AT INDUSTRIAL-SCALE

Experience with biofilters, acquired over many years, has made it possible to control their operating parameters. The goal of this article is to present an assessment of operational biofilters, in particular their air consumptions, their sludge productions, their energy balances as well as the duration of their filtration cycles. Some tests, carried out on medium to large full scale units, are described at the same time as the process results. These experiences in the design and operation of biofilters led to their optimization and make it possible to build very large scale installations. Examples of such plants, now being built or started up, are also presented, treating flows in excess of 50 000 m(3)/d even for low nitrogen residuals.