Upgrading of waste water treatment plants by cloth-filtration using an improved type of filter-cloth

In order to reach in the effluents of wastewater treatment plants values for phosphorous below 0,5 mg P/l and for the suspended solids below 5 mg SS/1, a filtration stage is necessary in almost all instances. Apart from conventional deep-bed porous media filters (gravity filters), cloth filtration systems offer a viable alternative because of the low head loss, and their low price. The use of pile fabrics instead of conventional needle felt solves the crucial problem of cloth filtration: the considerable increase of cloth resistance due to the irreversible soiling. Cloth filtration plants equipped with this filter media allow for considerably higher hydraulic strains and for higher surface loads with a separation performance on the same level as reached by conventional systems. If the problem of clogging is solved as well, it should be possible to use pile fabrics with even finer filaments on a pile of micro-fibres, which would further increase the effluent quality.