Bulk Liquid

1.0

Case b

Attachment Surface

Case a

0.50

Sf / Ss

0.75

Case a: 1 = 11 m, Lf /1 = 9.1
Case b: 1 = 450 m, Lf /1 = 0.22

0.25

20

40

60

80

100

z, m

Substrate concentration profiles for characteristic deep (case a) and nearly fully penetrated (case b) biofilms.
The ratio Lf / determines if the biofilm is deep. Many values of k1, Df , and Xf can give the same 1 value,
and Rittman and McCarty (2001) illustrate how this affects J1.

Figure by MIT OCW.

Adapted from: Rittman, Bruce E., and Perry L. McCarty. Environmental Biotechnology: Principals and
Applications. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2001.

z
Bulk Liquid

Diffusion
Layer

Biofilm
Fully penetrated

Attaching
Surface

Ss
al

Sh

Concentration

Sb

lo

Sw

De
ep

Lf

Distance normal to the surface of the biofilm

Characteristic Substrate Concentration Profiles within a Biofilm

Figure by MIT OCW.

Adapted from: Suidan, M. T., B. E. Rittman, and U. K. Traegner. "Criteria establishing biofilm-kinetic types." Water Research 21,
no. 4 (April 1987): 491-498.

Approaching 1/2 - order

0

1st Order
Sdeep

log10J

-1

-2
Deep
-3

-4

-5

Steady-state
solution
Smin = K

-6

-3

-2

-1

b'
Yq - b'
0

+1

log10S
Typical response of a steady-state biofilm to changes in S.
For this example, Smin = 0.0204 mg/cm3. S has units mg/cm3,
and J has units mg/cm2-d.
Figure by MIT OCW.
Adapted from: Rittman, B. E., and P. L. McCarty. Environmental Biotechnology: Principles and Applications.
Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2001.

Trickling
filter

Source: U.S. EPA, 2000. Wastewater Technology Fact Sheet: Trickling Filters. Report No. EPA 832-F-00-014. Office of Water, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C. September 2000.

TRICKLING FILTER DETAILS

Effluent Channel

Floor slope
B

B
A

A
Underdrain
blocks

A
A UNDERDRAIN BLOCK

B
A FLOOR PLAN

Top of Bed

Top of Bed

Depth of Media or Packing

Depth of Media or Packing

Effluent Channel

Underdrain
block

Slab

C
A SECTION A-A

D
A SECTION B-B

Figure by MIT OCW.

Adapted from: Reynolds, T. D., and P. A. Richards. Unit Operations and Processes in Environmental
Engineering. 2nd ed. Boston, MA: PWS Publishing Company,1996, p. 543.

Primary settling

Secondary settling

Raw waste
water

Treated
wastewater

Sludge to treatment or disposal

Figure by MIT OCW.

Adapted from Gonzalez, J. F. Wastewater Treatment in the Fishing Industry.