Bio Tower
Comparison of Stone and Plastic Media

Plastic Media was first introduced as an alternative to stone in the latter 1950’s & early 60’s. Since then, Plastic Media has been adopted as an standard within the Water Treatment Industry. Early comparisons showed considerable improvements over stone using simple Plastic Rings. Since then, major developments in shape and profile have lead to even greater improvements.

Comparison of typical value for Rock and Plastic shows the advantages of the latter :-

The above data equates to the following operational advantages :-

Higher specific surface area of Plastic Media allows greater hydraulic and organic loadings to be applied, resulting in smaller volume requirements for comparable requirements.

	Higher voidage of Plastic Media reduces the risk of blockage and vastly improves oxygen transfer, resulting in superior performance of media at high strength loading.
	The lower weight, both dry and operational, reduces loading on tank structure and foundations, reducing capital outlay costs of plant. The reduced weight of the Media also allows tower height to be increased, reducing the diameter and hence, offering more efficient space utilisation.