Tertiary nitrifying trickling filters (NTFs) at the Littleton/Englewood wastewater treatment plant provide for nitrification to meet seasonally varying effluent requirements for ammonia nitrogen. Operation of the full-scale facilities during the past two years demonstrates highly efficient oxidation of ammonia and the effectiveness of biofilm control strategies. A decline in nitrification performance caused by predators was successfully corrected by the use of a special alkaline backwash feature which controlled the level of larval development within the NTFs.
Maximizing Trickling Filter Nitrification Rates Through Biofilm Control: Research Review and Full Scale Application
Authors: Denny S. Parker, Tom Jacobs, Erich Bower, Dennis W. Stowe, Greg Farmer
1997 Water Science and Technlogy, Vol. 36, No. 1