EVALUATION AND DESIGN OF DEEP-BED DENITRIFICATION FILTERS: EMPIRICAL DESIGN PARAMETERS VS. PROCESS MODELING

Engineers have traditionally relied on manufacturers for design guidance for deep-bed denitrification filters, particularly with respect to kinetic design parameters. Review of industry-standard textbooks for wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) design reveals that design guidance for packed-bed denitrification filters is largely empirical and has not advanced much in the past 15 years. Although some of the commercially available wastewater process simulators contain a fixed-film module, unlike activated sludge modeling it has not been the subject of practical, industry-wide application for process design. This paper reviews the current design guidance, including empirical and kinetic models, and develops calibrated process models for downflow denitrification filters and upflow continuous backwash denitrification filters using the GPS-X software.