Role of reduced empty bed contact times and pre-treatment by coagulation with Fe(III) salts on the removal of trace organic compounds during sequential biofiltration.

Sequential biofiltration (SBF) has been demonstrated to be a promising approach to achieve enhanced biological removal of various trace organic compounds (TOrCs) from wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents by establishing oxic and carbon-limited conditions. This study investigated options to further advance the feasibility of SBF systems by reducing empty bed contact times (EBCTs). Additional experiments were conducted to investigate the pre-treatment of WWTP effluent by coagulation as an option to further decrease the organic carbon availability during SBF.