biofilter media options / discussion

Moderator:Bob

Post Reply
blimpyway
Posts:11
Joined:Wed Jul 11, 2007 6:54 am
Location:Bucharest/Romania
Contact:
biofilter media options / discussion

Post by blimpyway » Thu Jul 12, 2007 12:29 pm

Hi Bob,

I apreciate alot the work you do. I think a thread about various options of biofilter media would be interesting.

Since I'll start experimenting a small (model) biofilter myself, here-s the type of media it will use.

The woven polypropylene bags used to pack cereals or cement are woven with a ~3mm wide ribbon. A 0.5x1m (1.65x3.3ft) bag provides 4 sqm (43sq.ft) area of ribbon.

Taking a bag apart in 700pcs 3ft long individual ribons, costs me 20-30 minutes. The resulting "wool" fills quite well in a 4 liter (1 gal) space, giving a surface ratio of 1000 sqm/m3 (305 sq ft/ cu ft)

Should also mention that one bag weighs only 58 grams (2 oz), and costs here $0.45 in small quantities.

------------

Initially I thought the ribbons are too soft , but when they are together in a random orientation at this density (of one bag worth of ribbon /gal), they-re quite stiff. My tests will show if they colapse under wheight when they are loaded with bacteria.

regards,
cezar

User avatar
Bob
Posts:631
Joined:Tue Jul 03, 2001 11:01 pm
Location:Willow, Alaska USA
Contact:

Post by Bob » Fri Jul 13, 2007 9:08 am

I think a thread about various options of biofilter media would be interesting.
Great idea, cezar,

Check out http://www.biorealis.com/phpBB3/viewtop ... 28&start=9 for some discussion about media. I was particularly interested in the do it yourself ribbon. I had the same idea while cleaning up all the cuttings from drilling holes in the PVC baffle plates for my
composting toilet. Here is what they look like on the floor.


Image

blimpyway
Posts:11
Joined:Wed Jul 11, 2007 6:54 am
Location:Bucharest/Romania
Contact:

Re: biofilter media options / discussion

Post by blimpyway » Tue May 06, 2008 4:27 am

Bob - I wonder how would expanded perlite grains/sand behave ?

It is a very light, completely inert, aerated media, with >90% porous space.
It is used in thermal insulation and also as hydroponic culture media.

I see few possible uses:
- as a trickle down filter.
- or replacing sand/gravel in a constructed wetland - in this case it has the advantage of much larger free (water) volume than gravel or greater retention times for the same size wetland.
- as insulation/mulching layer above wetland sand, or as insulation around tanks.

regards,
cezar

Post Reply