PROVIDING MOISTURE PASSIVELY TO ENHANCE START UP AND MAINTAIN BIOFILM ACTIVITY IN AN INTERMITTENTLY LOADED REACTOR

摘要

This research investigated techniques to passively add and maintain moisture during flow interruptions by the selection of the support media and the addition of a water holding amendment to the media. The specific application studied was the treatment of storm water contaminated with ethylene glycol originating from airport deicing operations by a bench-scale subsurface microbiological contactor located at an outfall to a receiving stream. The use of a media with a high water holding capacity and slow drying time, such as lava chips, was found to greatly decrease the time required for reactor start up. The addition of a water holding amendment, such as a cross-linked polyacrylamide (Soil Moist), improved the recovery of the biofilm reactor after periods of no flow. The media, however, did not appear to offer a significant benefit once an established biofilm developed in this regard.