Impact of biofilter operation on microbial community structure and performance

The objectives of this pilot-scale study were to evaluate biological acclimation of virgin granular activated carbon (GAC), quantify the impact of nutrient (phosphorus and nitrogen) enhancement and to compare the performance of parallel biologically active carbon (BAC) filters operated continuously or cyclically (12 h/day), with respect to removal of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and disinfection by-product (DBP) precursors. Virgin GAC media outperformed biologically active carbon for an initial 4-month period in terms of DOC reduction (30%), as expected based on the superior performance associated with adsorption compared to biodegradation. Once the adsorptive capacity was exhausted and the media was biologically acclimated, the performance of the new GAC was statistically similar in terms of organic carbon and disinfection by-product precursor removal to a filter containing media harvested from a filter operating biologically for 12 years. Phosphorus addition to the filter influent (0.3 mg PO4-P/L; C:N:P = 400:1:30) had a small impact on DOC (3 +/- 2%) and THM formation potential (5 +/- 3%) reduction when compared to biofiltration without nutrient enhancement. Ammonia nitrogen added to the filter influent (0.8 mg NH4-N/L; C:N:P = 200:40:1) was completely consumed through the biofilter; however, no impact on measured performance parameters was observed. Cyclical operation of fullscale biofilters resulted in a modest, but significant improvement in DOC removal (3 +/- 2%) when compared to continuously operated pilot fillers. Genotyping of both cyclically and continuously operated biofilters (with varying GAC ages) showed similar community composition; however, differences in the phylogenetic diversity of the samples were evident.