Cascade Bio-Rings

A new style of plastic media, specially manufactured for applications where biological filters are used, has been introduced by Jaeger Products, Inc., of Houston, Texas.

Jaeger Cascade Bio-Rings are used by wastewater facilities with biological filters. The plastic material fills the inside of the filter, then the facility's wastewater is trickled evenly over it.

The rings provide surface area for a biomass (a viscous layer of jelly-like organic material composed of a very large and diverse population of living organisms) to attach and grow. The aerobic biomass uses organic matter in the wastewater as a food source and oxygen in the wastewater to metabolize it; as the various microorganisms feed on the different organic substances, new cells are produced and the layer grows thicker. Eventually, when the organic material layer becomes so thick that the innermost layers are deprived of oxygen, the microorganisms die and lose their ability to cling to the plastic media. At the same time, anaerobic microorganisms near the surface of the media feed on the aerobic microorganisms, producing gases that also tend to loosen the organic material layer.

Incoming liquid from the wastewater trickle then washes the loose layer from the filter media. The sloughing, or dead biomass, is carried out of the filter through an underdrain system for final settling in a clarifier. A new jelly-like layer begins to grow.

Properly designed and operated, the system is continuous and efficient.

Jaeger Cascade Bio-Rings are designed to provide greater void areas for the sloughing to pass while providing an optimum surface area for biomass growth.

Jaeger Products, Inc., 1611 Peachleaf Street, Houston, TX 77039-1227. Tel: 281-449-9500; Fax: 281-449-9400.