trickling filter

trickling filter, in wastewater treatment, a bed of crushed rock or other coarse media roughly 2 metres (6 feet) deep and up to 60 metres (200 feet) in diameter. Settled sewage is sprayed over the bed surface and is further purified as it trickles downward, coming in contact with filmy layers of microorganisms (slime) attached to the media. The microorganisms absorb the organic matter in the sewage and stabilize it by aerobic metabolism, thereby removing oxygen-demanding substances from the sewage. Trickling filters remove up to 85 percent of organic pollutant from sewage.