A Full Scale Evaluation of Ultra-fine Microfiber Cloth Medium to Achieve a 0.1 mg/L Total Phosphorus Limit

A comparative evaluation was performed to determine if a newly developed ultra-fine microfiber cloth media (UF-CMF) is capable of enhancing particulate phosphorus removal and to attain a 0.10 mg/L effluent total phosphorus (TP) concentration. Two existing filtration systems were studied in parallel with one configured with the original polyester pile cloth medium (CMF) to serve as a control.The UF-CMF achieved a 0.08 mg/L effluent TP level, representing a 27% reduction compared to the original CMF medium. Supporting evidence of improved particulate phosphorus reduction was corroborated by an additional 37% total suspended solids (TSS) reduction to 0.66 mg/L along with improved particle population reductions across all six measured channels ranging from 2 to >30 μm. Backwash rates for the UF-CMF remained low at about 1.3% of the applied flow but were slightly higher than rates observed for the CMF medium, further suggesting enhanced solids capture and TP removal.