| Summary: | The aim of the present study is to assess the wastewater treatment efficiency of a low-cost pilot-scale trickling filter (TF) system under a prevailing temperature range of 12 °C–38 °C. Operational data (both influent and effluent) for 330 days were collected from the pilot-scale TF for various physicochemical and biological parameters. Average percentage reductions were observed in the ranges of 52–72, 51–73, 61–81, and 74–89% for BOD<sub>5</sub>, COD, TDS, and TSS, respectively, for the whole year except the winter season, where a 74–88% reduction was observed only for TSS, whilst BOD<sub>5</sub>, COD, and TDS demonstrated reductions in the ranges of 13–50, 13–49, and 23–61%, respectively. Furthermore, reductions of about 43–55% and 57–86% in fecal coliform count were observed after the 1st and 6th day of treatment, respectively, throughout study period. Moreover, the pilot-scale TF model was based on zero-order kinetics calibrated at 20 °C using experimental BOD<sub>5</sub> data obtained in the month of October to calculate the k<sub>20</sub> value, which was further validated to determine the <i>k<sub>t</sub></i> value for each BOD<sub>5</sub> experimental setup. The model resulted in more accurate measurements of the pilot-scale TF and could help to improve its ability to handle different types of wastewater in the future.
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