Abstract
The industrial development of large scale deep bed filters has been a very important step in the process of drinking water production and more recently in the tertiary treatment of wastewater. The target of deep bed filtration is the retention is the retention of small particles generally smaller than 30 microns at relatively small concentration, generally less than 30 mg/l from natural water (surface water or aquifers) or secondary treated wastewater. The relation between the retention efficiency and the characteristics of the particles has been extensively studied experimentally and through different models of retention. During the last years the development of new technologies (fiber filter, membrane modules) lead to more intensive processes compared to conventional sand filtration. Fiber filters can combine intensification with a decrease in specific energy needed however they cannot be operated under gravity like sand filters. Membrane filters (UF or MF) are much more intensive and efficient than sand filters. The specific energy needed is not so high (about $0.1Kwh/M^3$) but is higher than sand or fiber filter. A Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) has to be made for a complete comparison between these technologies taking in account that the efficiency of particle retention obtained by membrane filters is unique.