The discharge of steroid estroens from sewage treatment works (STW) is to be regulated by Environmental Quality Standard in the UK,thus requiring the understanding of removal characteristics of steroid estroens in trickling filters to benefit UK water industry with trickling filters used in 75% STWs. Two pilot-scale trickling filters were operated in parallel to treat synthetic sewage spiked with oestrone (E1),oestradiol (E2) and 17α-ethinyl oestradiol (EE2) at environmentally related concentrations. Control experiments show that biodegradation is the dominant removal mechanism although adsorption onto biofilm solids prior to biodegradation would be part of the overall mechanisms of estrogen removal. Approximately 44.7%-58.9% is removed by the pilot trickling filter normally operated,whilst the 1:1 recirculation increases 29.0%-32.2% estrogen removals by improved wetting rate and hydraulic retention time supported by tracer experiment with lithium chloride. Extra feed solids with 32.0% higher suspended solids levels inhibited estrogen removals by 10.8%-34.4% rather than helping bridge adsorption to the biofilm,and the change of particle characteristics with higher adsorption potency would benefit the removal.
