Chapter 1: Introduction to Treatment Processes

Wastewater (Sewage):
Any water that has been adversely affected in quality by
anthropogenic influence and which for reasons of public
health and for recreational, economic, and aesthetic
considerations, cannot be disposed of merely by discarding
them untreated into lakes or streams
Sewerage
The physical infrastructure, including pipes, pumps, and
screens, channels etc. used to convey sewage from its origin
to the point of eventual treatment or disposal
Sewer systems

Wastewater treatment
Any process to which wastewater is subjected to
make it suitable for subsequent use
History
 Collection of wastewater and stormwater began in the
early 1800's.
 Wastewater was collected for the purpose of discharging
it, untreated, into the nearest receiving water, i.e. stream,
lake, or ocean.
 In the latter half of the nineteenth century the germ theory
of disease was introduced. Until that time, there was only
a weak conceptual link between human wastes and
disease.
 Treatment of wastewater began in the late 1800's, mainly
due to the nuisance conditions created by the untreated
wastewater discharges.
 Europe, which was more densely populated, was the first
to treat their wastewater.
 The United States followed, with a few wastewater
treatment plants being constructed by the beginning of the
20th century.
Sources of Wastewater
The wastewater received at a typical municipal
wastewater treatment plant comes from many different
sources, including

 homes,
 apartments,
 commercial businesses,
 industries,
 street and parking lot runoff, etc.
 suspended solids

biodegradable organics

pathogens, parasites

nutrients
contaminants of
concern in
priority pollutants
wastewater
treatment
refractory organics

heavy metals

dissolved inorganics

(after Bitton, 1994)

 Important Wastewater Contaminants
Contaminant Source Environmental significance
Suspended solids Domestic use, industrial Cause sludge deposits and anaerobic
wastes conditions in aquatic environment
Erosion by infiltration/inflow
Biodegradable Domestic & industrial waste Cause biological degradation, which
organics may use up oxygen in receiving water
&result in undesirable condition.

Pathogens Domestic waste Transmit communicable diseases

Nutrients Domestic & industrial waste May cause eutrophication

Refractory Industrial waste May cause taste or odor problems,
organics may be toxic
Heavy metals Industrial waste, mining, etc Are toxic , may interfere with effluent
reuse
Dissolved Domestic /industrial May interfere with effluent reuse
inorganic solids
Composition of Domestic Wastewater
TYPICAL COMPOSITION OF UNTREATED
DOMESTIC WASTEWATER
Characteristics of Typical Domestic Wastewater (Metcalf)
TYPES AND NUMBER OF MICROORGANISMS TYPICALLY FOUND
IN UNTREATED DOMESTIC WASTEWATER
 WHY TREAT WASTEWATER ?
 to reduce the amount pollutants in the water to
such a level that the water can be returned to the
environment without causing stress on aquatic life
and also be of sufficient quality for subsequent
(downstream) users
Main objectives of wastewater treatment
The removal of suspended and floatable material
The treatment of biodegradable organics
The treatment of pathogenic organisms
Removal of toxic and trace compounds that may cause
long-term health effects
 Wastewater Treatment Steps
 Conventional wastewater treatment is a multi-
step process which consists of:
 removal of materials which will interfere with pumping
and later treatment steps,
 removal of the solid materials which will settle by
gravity under quiescent conditions,
 conversion of the remaining soluble and colloidal
material into microbial solids,
 removal of most of the remaining pollutant materials
by a second sedimentation step,
 and treatment and disposal of the residual solids and
sludges generated in the other steps.
Typical Municipal Wastewater Treatment System
Typical Municipal Wastewater Treatment System

Preliminary or Pre- Primary Secondary Disinfection

Treatment Treatment Treatment

Sludge Treatment
& Disposal
Treatment Classes and Terms
 Primary treatment -- physical operations (screening,
grinding, and sedimentation) used to remove solids.
 Secondary treatment -- biological and chemical treatment
processes to remove most of the organic matter and
reduce the number of pathogens.

 Advanced treatment--also called tertiary treatment--is

additional combinations of unit operations and unit
processes to remove additional constituents.
Typically this involves:
 removal of nitrogen or phosphorus,
 or attainment of very low BOD5 and TSS levels.
Wastewater Characteristics
 A) Physical Characteristics
i) Total solid content (TS)
The matter that remains as residue upon evaporation at 103 to 105°C

General Classification Of Wastewater Solids

 Imhoff cones
Fig Interrelationships of wastewater solids (also called dissolved solids)
Solution
 ii) Odors
caused by gases produced by the decomposition of
organic matter or by substances added to the wastewater.
 Rotten egg smell - due to H2S - or other odors indicate either
that the organic matter in the waste waters has begun to
decompose, or that chemical substances brought by industrial
waste waters are present

Major Categories of Offensive Odors

 Important from the increasing concern of the public with the
proper function of wastewater treatment facilities

Offensive odors can cause:

Poor appetite for food
Lowered water consumption
Impaired respiration
Nausea & vomiting
 iii) Color

Significance of Color in Wastewater

iv) Temperature
Important parameter because of its effect on:
Chemical reaction & reaction rates
Aquatic life
Suitability of water for beneficial uses

Usually, waste water temperature is higher by 2 to30C than

that of drinking water
B) Chemical Characteristics

Three categories

organics -proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, surfactants,

phenols and pesticides ;

 inorganic - pH, chloride, alkalinity, nitrogen,

phosphorus, heavy metals, toxic
materials ;

 gases - oxygen, hydrogen, sulphide, methane.

Inorganics

i) pH
 ii) Nutrients (Nitrogen)
 Ammonia , organic nitrogen, nitrites and nitrates are the
characteristic compounds of the nitrogen (25 to 85 mg/l in
raw waste water).
Fresh waste waters have a relatively high content of
organic nitrogen and a low content of fresh ammonia
nitrogen. If waste waters are less fresh, then they have a
high content of ammonia nitrogen and a low content of
organic nitrogen.
Organic nitrogen
 Essential for the treatability of wastewater by
biological processes (recommended function of organic
matter concentration : BOD5/N=100/5)
 Stimulate the growth of algae and other green plants
(eutrophication phenomena)
Processes
Ammonification
Nitrification
Denitrification

Simplified Nitrogen cycle

 iii) toxic materials
 Copper, lead, silver, chromium, arsenic and iron are toxic
in varying degree to micro-organisms and therefore this
must be taken into consideration in the design of
biological treatment plant
iv) Grease and Oil
Create a film upon the water surface
detrimental to the treatment plants. They can clog up the
biological filters, prevent the development of biological
processes either in activated sludge units or in sludge
digestors, etc.
v) Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
The oxygen content of water is one of the chemical measures
best characterizing the degree of pollution of water and the
stage of decomposition of organic matters in waste water
during biological treatment and in streams
 Generally, waste waters
do not contain dissolved
oxygen.

At 20º C (room temperature) and standard

atmospheric pressure (sea level)
ii) Organic matter
75% of the suspended solids & 40% of the filterable solids
are organic in nature
Principal groups of organic substances found in wastewater
 proteins (40-60%)
carbohydrates (25-50%)
fats &oils (10%)

Methods used to measure gross amounts of organic matter

(greater than 1mg/L) in wastewater

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)
Total Organic Carbon (TOC)
Definitions
 Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)
The amount of oxygen consumed during microbial
utilization of organic matter
Most widely used parameter of organic pollution
applied to both wastewater and surface water is the
5-day BOD (BOD5).
BOD test is used
To determine the approximate quantity of oxygen that will
be required to biologically stabilize the organic matter
present
 To determine the size of wastewater treatment facilities
To measure the efficiency of some treatment facilities
To determine compliance with wastewater discharge
permits
 The 5-day BOD test (BOD5) begins by placing
samples into standard 300-mL BOD bottles
 The oxidation of organic matter follows an exponential
decay curve Typical oxygen uptake curves in a BOD test

A biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) bottle

 Diluting the sample (Curve B)

Seeding : a process in which the microorganisms that

oxidize organic matter are added to the BOD bottle
The BOD5 for a diluted, seeded effluent sample
Typical biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) curve
EXAMPLE:

Calculate the BOD5 of a water sample, given the following

data:

- Temperature of sample = 20oC,

- Initial dissolved oxygen is saturation
- Dilution is 1:30, with seeded dilution water
- Final dissolved oxygen of seeded dilution water is 8 mg/L
-Final dissolved oxygen bottle with sample and seeded
dilution water is 2 mg/L
- Volume of BOD bottle is 300mL
Solution:

Consider dissolved oxygen saturation at 20°C is 9.2mg/L, hence

 I' = initial dissolved oxygen of the seeded dilution water=9.2mg/l &
also
 I = initial dissolved oxygen in the bottle containing both effluent
sample and seeded dilution water =9.2mg/l (given condition)
Since the BOD bottle contains 300 mL, a 1:30 dilution with seeded water
would contain 1OmL of sample and 2 9 0 d of seeded dilution water;
Hence
 F = final dissolved oxygen in the bottle containing the effluent and
seeded dilution water =2mg/l (Given)
 X = mL of seeded dilution water in sample bottle=290
Y = total mL in the bottle =300
D = dilution of the sample =1/30=0.033
 BOD for any other time
 BOD removal often approximates first-order kinetics; that
is, the rate of BOD removal (= the rate of oxidation of
organic matter) at any time is proportional to the amount
of BOD present in the system at that time.
it can be integrated to

OR

OR

Generalized BOD Curves Kt =K20θT-20oc

Example:

The BOD5 of a wastewater is determined to be

150mg/L at 20oc. What will the BOD20 be if the
test was run at 15oc? (Take k=0.23/day)
Solution:

1. Determine the ultimate BOD.

Yu=y5/(1-e-kt) =150/(1-e-0.23x5)=220mg/L

2. Calculate the k value for 15oc.

Kt=K20θT-20 =0.23(1.047(15-20)) =0.18

3. Calculate y20 : Yt= yu (1-e-kt)=y20=220(1-e-0.18x20)

=214mg/L
 CHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND(COD)
BOD
 takes 5 days to run
Less effective in Some organic materials resistant to
biological degradation
issue of non-biodegradable materials
Pretreatment is needed when dealing with toxic mastes
COD
organic compounds oxidized chemically, the test could be
shortened considerably
nearly all organic compounds are oxidized in the COD
test
COD>BOD
The standard COD test uses a mixture of potassium
dichromate and sulfuric acid to oxidize the organic
matter (HCOH), with silver (Ag+) added as a catalyst
 TOTAL ORGANIC CARBON (TOC)

Total organic carbon is measured by oxidizing

the organic carbon to C02 and H20

the C02 gas measuring using an infrared carbon

analyzer

 oxidation done by direct injection of the sample

into a high-temperature (680-950°C)
combustion chamber
 C) Biological Characteristics
Why Biological characteristics of wastewater?
 know the principal groups of micro-
organisms found in surface water and
wastewater as well as those responsible for
biological treatment.
Know the pathogenic organisms found in
wastewater
 The organisms used as indicators of pollution
& their significance
The methods used to enumerate the indicator
organisms
The methods used to evaluate the toxicity of
treated wastewaters
Microbial Metabolism
 Nutrients for:
 synthesis
 energy
 Nutrients include:
 carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur,
potassium, calcium, magnesium, others
 Synthesis
 Converting available carbon into biomass
 Heterotrophs utilize organic carbon for
biosynthesis
 Autotrophs utilize inorganic carbon for
biosynthesis
 Energy
 Chemotrophs utilize chemicals as an
energy source
 Phototrophs utilize light as an energy
source
 Classification of Micro organisms

Nutritional Requirements
Autotrophic
Heterotrophic
Energy Requirements
Phototrophs
Chemotrophs
Temperature Range
Psychrophilic
Mesophilic
Thermophilic
Oxygen Requirements
 Aerobes:
 Anaerobes:
Facultative organisms
 Microorganisms

 Bacteria
 Fungi The environment of micro-
 Protozoa organisms (in treatment plants)
can be controlled by:
 Rotifers  pH regulation
 Temperature regulation
 Algae  Nutrient or trace element addition
 Viruses  Oxygen addition or exclusion
 Proper mixing
Most bacteria grow well in the temperature range 15–40oc and are termed ‘mesophils’
Most bacteria prefer near neutral or slightly alkaline conditions, around pH 6.5–8.5
Domestic wastewater fortunately contains roughly the right balance of nutrients for
bacterial growth – a BOD:N:P ratio of ~100:5:1
 Bacterial growth Curve

Typical bacterial growth curve in terms of numbers

Growth pattern has more or less four distinct phases

The Lag Phase
The Log-growth Phase
The Stationery Phase
The Log-death Phase
 Pathogenic Organisms
Use of indicator organisms
The ideal pathogen indicator would

Be applicable to all types of water

Always be present when pathogens are present
Always be absent when pathogens are absent
Lend itself to routine quantitative testing procedures
without interference from or confusion of results
because of extraneous organisms
For the safety of laboratory personnel, not a pathogen
itself
One such indicator organism is Escherichia coli
Tests to determine the presence of coliform bacteria in
water and to enumerate the quantity

The membrane –filter technique

Multiple fermentation test
Effluent Standards
Population Equivalent (PE)
The number of persons that would be required to
contribute an equivalent wastewater load. 1 PE is
generally considered to be 60gm BOD5/day
 Elements for treatment Plant Design & Selection

The principal elements of conceptual process design include:

Strength & Characteristics of waste water
Flow rates and their fluctuations
Mass Loadings (Preparation of solid balances)
Selecting appropriate units and processes & Development
of the process flow diagram
Establishing the design period for facilities
Establishing process design criteria
Preliminary sizing of treatment units
Site layout considerations
Evaluation of plant hydraulics (hydraulic profile, etc)
Quantity or volume of waste water & their fluctuations

Usually expressed in terms of Flow rates (m3/s)

Flow is never steady or uniform throughout the year
 Wastewater Quantity Estimation
Quantity= Per capita sewage contributed per day x Population
Usually 80% of the water supply may be expected to reach the sewers.
(i) Maximum daily flow = 2 x average daily flow and
(ii) Minimum daily flow = 2/3 x (average daily flow).

Typical Diurnal Flow pattern of Domestic wastewater

Flow rate applications to wastewater treatment plant design
Concept of Mass Loading

The mass population load in terms of any particular parameter, say ,

BOD or SS is usually defined as the product of volume (flow rate) and
strength of wastewater and is expressed as mass load per unit time.
The combined effect of both varying flow and its characteristics are
taken care together by a factor known as mass-loading factor.
 Treatment process flow diagrams
process flow diagrams
 graphical representations of particular combinations of unit
operations and processes.

Factors that influence unit selection

 suitability of the types of individual treatment unit
the designer past experience
design and regulatory agency policies on the application of
specific treatment methods
the availability of supplies of equipment
the maximum use that can be made of existing facilities
initial construction costs
future operation and maintenance costs
Typical process flow diagram for the treatment of
wastewater to meet secondary treatment standards
 Establishing process Design Criteria
The most frequently assumed criteria for designing a
conventional wastewater treatment plant are
 hydraulic detention time ,HRT (tor theta)
 Flow through velocity(horizontal velocity of flow) , Vh
 Settling velocity, Vs
 Surface loading rate or Overflow Rate (SLR, OFR)
 Weir Loading Rate (WLR)
 Organic Loading (BOD or COD or VSS loading)
 Food to Microorganism Ratio(F/M)
 Mean Cell Residence time (MCRT), theta c or Solids
Retention time (SRT)
 Hydraulic loading
 Volumetric Loading
 Basin Geometry
 Flow through velocity(horizontal velocity of flow ), Vh & Settling Velocity Vs
 Sit layout considerations
 spatialarrangement of the physical facilities required
to achieve a give treatment objective

factors to consider
Geometry of the available treatment plant sites
Topography
Soil and foundation conditions
Location of the influent sewer
Location of the point of discharge
Plant hydraulics, probably with straight flow paths between units to
minimize loss and provide symmetry for flow splits
Process performance and efficiency
Transportation access
Accessibility to operating personnel
Provision of future plant expansion