Kristy Chycota is a process engineer in the filtration product management team at Aqua-Aerobic systems. Her responsibilities include overseeing pilot studies and lab-scale filtration tests. These studies are the foundation for innovative applications of cloth media technology. She has also worked as an Application Engineer at AASI, developing process and equipment recommendations for biological and filtration applications. She holds a degree in Paper Engineering - Environmental processes from Western Michigan University.

Cloth media filtration has been used for wastewater tertiary treatment for nearly 30 years in the United States.  The popularity of this technology is largely due to the compact footprint, ease of maintenance, and ability to produce excellent effluent quality.  Innovation in cloth media technology has continued to improve on these benefits and enable cloth media to be used in diverse applications.  This presentation will focus on several recent innovations with the pile cloth media filtration.

The first section of the presentation will include newer media designs and mechanical configurations that allow the technology to meet needs of each site.  Continued improvements in these areas have opened the doors for large facilities and unique retrofits.  The new media options have opened the doors for many new applications.  The second section of the presentation will focus on new applications including ultra-low level phosphorus removal, microplastics removal, peak flow management, and primary filtration.