已经证明，即使在颗粒活性炭（GAC）的吸附能力饱和后，GAC过滤器仍能有效地减少溶解有机碳的数量，这要归功于在碳中定居的细菌的活性。即使在使用这种生物过滤的工厂中获得的结果非常令人满意，这些过滤器运行的管理和优化也会引发一些问题:这些过滤器的运行平衡是什么？过滤过程中被清除的有机物会怎么样？过滤器正常运行所需的清洗效果如何？如何以最佳方式确定用于生物目的的活性炭过滤器的尺寸？什么样的过滤速度和接触时间能提供最好的性能？它们的运行对季节性温度变化的依赖性是什么？通过使用新的过滤器，培养基的生物定殖阶段持续多长时间？在此期间过滤水的质量如何？由于开发了适用于GAC过滤器研究的微生物学方法，在Choisy对第一代GAC过滤器进行研究后，给出了答案- le Roi和飞行员，一年多时间，在南马恩纽伊（Neuilly sur-Marne）。

It has been demonstrated that, even after saturation of the adsorbent power of granular activated carbon (GAC), GAC filters remain efficient in the cutting down the amount of dissolved organic carbon thanks to the activity of bacteria which colonize the carbon. Even if the results obtained in a plant using this type of biological filtration are more than satisfactory, the management and optimization of the operation of these filters raises certain questions: What is the operational balance of such filters? What becomes of the organic matter eliminated during filtration? What is the effect of the washing required for the proper operation of the filters? How can activated carbon filters used for biological purposes be dimensioned in an optimum manner? What are the filtration rate and contact time which give the best performances? What is the dependence of their operation upon seasonal temperature variations? By bringing new filters into operation, what is the duration of the biological colonization phase of the medium? What is the quality of the filtered water during that period? Thanks to the development of microbiological methodologies adapted to the study of GAC filters, answers have been given following the studies carried out on the first generation of GAC filters at Choisy-le-Roi and on pilots, for more than a year, at Neuilly-sur- Marne.