From The International Desalination & Water Reuse Quarterly:
[Western Municipal Water District, Riverside, California] completed extensive facility testing of the fixed-bed biological treatment (FXB) process in late 2008. The district and Carollo have received provisional approval from the California Department of Public Health to use FXB to remove nitrate from drinking water.
A key benefit discovered during testing is the ability to remove multiple contaminants from the water supply. In addition to removing nitrate, the FXB process destroys perchlorate and volatile organic compounds (VOC).
While existing nitrate treatment processes such as ion-exchange, reverse-osmosis and electrodialysis-reversal remove nitrate effectively, each creates a nitrate-laden concentrate waste requiring treatment and disposal. The FXB process converts nitrate to harmless byproducts such as nitrogen gas, thereby also eliminating the need for nitrate-waste handling, making this technology sustainable.
Other benefits include competitive operating cost and highly efficient water recovery.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.