Large-scale WW Treatment

Schemes

 Characteristics of wastewater ( domestic)

CONSTITUENT
(mg/l)

STRONG

Diluted

1200
850
525
325
350
75
275

720
500
300
200
220
55
165

20

10

400

220

290

160

1000

500

85
35
50
0
0
15
5
10

40
15
25
0
0
8
3
5

Chlorides

100

50

Alkalinity (as CaCO3)*

200

100

Grease

150

100

Solids: Total
Dissolved, Total
Fixed
Volatile
Suspended, Total
Fixed
Volatile

Settleable solids
Biochemical oxygen
demand(BOD5, 20C)
Total Organic
compound (TOC)
Chemical oxygen
demand (COD)
Nitrogen (Total as N)
Organic
Free ammonia
Nitrites
Nitrates
Phosphorus (Total as P)
Organic
Inorganic

Treated WW
for discharge
to water bodies

100

30

250
50 (NH4)
10( NO3)

Wastewater Treatment System

Wastewater treatment system in general comprises of three parts:
(i) primary treatment
The objective of primary treatment is to remove suspended, easily settleable
and floating material

(ii) secondary treatment, and

Secondary treatment systems are mostly biological processes to remove
colloidal and dissolved carbonaceous organic matter.

(iii) tertiary treatment.

Tertiary treatment systems are aimed at nitrogen and phosphorus removal
provided for polishing the secondary treated effluent to meet the discharge
requirements

(iv) Quaternary treatment : To bring back waste water to the similar or

better quality as the freshwater by removing dissolved solids so that it can be

reused in industries or recycled back into the water supply

Wastewater Treatment:Reactions
The aerobic conversion of the organic matter occurs in three steps:
1. Oxidation
COHNS + O2 + BACTERIA
(Organic matter)

CO2 + NH3 + END PRODUCTS+ ENERGY

2. Synthesis of new cells

COHNS + O2+ BACTERIA + ENERGY C5H7NO2

Organic matter
(new cells )
3. Endogenous respiration
C5H7NO2 + 5O2 5 CO2+ NH3+ 2H2O + ENERGY
(Bacterial cells)

Tertiary Treatment for nitrogen removal ( Biological)

NH4 + + Nitrifying bacteria NO 3 - + Denitrifying bacteria Nitrogen gas

Tertiary Treatment for phosporus removal with Alum or Ferric or Lime( Chemical)
Al3+ + PO4 -3 -- AlPO4;
Ca(OH)2 + PO4 Ca5OH(PO4)3

Fe3+ + PO4-3 Fe PO4;

Different Biological Systems

Suspended growth
Activated Sludge process
SBR, Extended Aeration, contact stabilisation
Attached Growth
Tricking Filters, Bio towers
Hybrid systems
Rotating Biological Contactors ( RBC)
Moving Bed Bio reactors( MBBR)
Membrane Bio reactors (MBR)

Sewage Treatment Process Selection

Considerations
Consideration
Treated Sewage
standards
Power requirement
Land required

Goal
quality The technology must consistently meet the standards as
required.
The process choice should consider minimizing power
requirements
Minimize land requirement

Capital Cost of Plant

Process should allow optimum utilization of capital

Operation & Maintenance

costs
Maintenance requirement
Operator attention
Reliability
Resource Recovery

Process design should be conducive to attaining lower

running cost
Simplicity and reliability
Easy to understand procedures
Deliver the desired quality on a consistent basis
Ability to minimize operational costs.
Plant can able to withstand organic and hydraulic load
fluctuations

Load Fluctuations:

Flow diagram ASP based WWTP

Bar screen - coarse

Oil and Grease removal Skimming

Tank

An empty sedimentation tank.

secondary Sedimentation tank at a rural

treatment plant.

Suspended Growth Processes

Activated Sludge Process

Designed based on loading

(the amount of organic
matter added relative to
the microorganisms
available)
Commonly called the foodto-microorganisms ratio,
F/M

F measured as BOD. M
measured as volatile
suspended solids
Concentration MLSS

Conventional Activated Sludge Process

Activated Sludge Process is a suspended growth aerobic process.

About 40% of organic load is removed in primary clarifier
Detention period in aeration tank is maintained between 4-6
hours.
A major portion of the sludge is re-circulated and excess sludge is
sent to a digester

Merits and Demerits

Good process flexibility
Reliable operation
Proven track record in all plant sizes
Less land requirement
Low odour emission
Energy production
Ability to withstand nominal changes in water characteristics
Demerits

High energy consumption

Skilled operators are needed
Uninterrupted power supply is required
Requires elaborate sludge digestion, drying and disposal arrangement
No nutrient removal

Extended Aeration ASP System

External substrate is completely removed.
Auto oxidation (internal substrate is used)
Net growth = 0

Advantages of Extended aeration ASP (

IITM plant)
Sludge production minimal
Stabilized sludge No digesters are required
Nutrient requirement minimal

Disadvantages of Extended Aeration ASP

High power requirement
Large volume of aeration tank
Suitable for small communities

Aerated lagoon used to treat wastewater

from a hogfarm

Fine bubble membrane diffusers in an

aeration tank

Sequencing Batch Reactor

It is a fill-and-draw batch ASP incorporating all the features
of extended aeration plant.
Reactor operation takes place in certain sequence in cyclic
order and in each cycle

Filling tank
Aeration
Sedimentation/clarification
Decantation
Sludge withdrawal

A number of large and small scale plants exist with several

years of continuous operation in India and elsewhere.

System Schematics
SELECTOR

DECANTER

INLET

OUTLET

DIFFUSER BIOMASS

C-Tech Basin

SLUDGE PUMP

SBR Cycle of operation

Inlet
start

B
Anoxic
Inlet
end
Outlet
end

B
Anoxic

Aerobic

Outlet
start

B
Aerobic

Anoxic

System Schematics

Time - 0 hrs

Basin - 1
Basin - 2

1.5 Hrs

Fill + Aeration
Settling

Decanting

3 Hrs

Settling

Decanting

Fill + Aeration

Operating sequence of a 2 Basin system

Concurrent Nitrification / Denitrification in SBR

Ammonia converted to Nitrates in the Aeration basin.

Denitrification of recycled effluent occurs in the selector basin

Denitrification occurs concurrently in the aeration tank during

the settling / decant phase

Nitrogen gas is stripped off during aeration cycle.

Nitrate diffusion rate is 5 times more than Oxygen. So Nitrate

reaches the center of the flocs faster than Oxygen, thereby
promoting denitrification.
Nitrification happens
in the periphery of
the floc

Biofloc

De-nitrification occurs
in the central portion
of the floc

Biological Phosphorous Removal in SBR

Anaerobic conditions for short time followed by aerobic phase will

increase the uptake of Phosphorous by biomass

During settlement and decant the biomass oxidation reduction

potential depletes from a positive value of around +50 to +100 mV
to a negative value of around 150 to 200 mV. This aids P removal

Over 50% Energy Reduction

Continuous measurement of DO and Temperature in the basin

Predictive calculations of Biological metabolic activity by the PLC

Automatic and dynamic control of aeration time and intensity by the PLC
based on the existing metabolic activity - Oxygen Uptake Rate (OUR).

Recovering the oxygen used for nitrification back in the process by

denitrification
Blower can be switched off during low flow as there is no problem of short
circuiting like in continuous system like ASP..
1.200

25

COD
ffc-OUR

800
15
600
10
400
5

200

0
25.6

26.6

26.6

26.6

26.6

27.6

27.6

27.6

27.6

Dynamics of OUR and COD-loads

28.6

28.6

KWH/Kg COD

20

OUR [mg/l.h]

[kgCOD/2hrs]

1.000

Conventional

Merits and Demerits of SBR

Excellent effluent quality
Smaller footprint because of absence of primary and secondary
clarifiers, and digester
Proven technology
Biological nutrient (N and P) removal
High degree of coliform removal
Less chlorine dosing required
Can withstand hydraulic and organic shock loads
Demerits
Comparatively higher energy consumption
To achieve high efficiency, complete automation is required
Highly skilled operators are needed
No energy production
Uninterrupted power supply is required

Attached growth process

Trickling filter

Attached Growth Systems - Trickling Filters

T.F Reactor in which randomly packed solids
forms provide surface for microbial growth.
- system for wastewater distribution
Specific surface area and porosity
Specific surface area: The amount of surface area
of the media that is available for bio film growth

A typical complete trickling filter system

Trickling Filters
With time, the slime layer
becomes thicker and thicker until
oxygen and organic matter can not
penetrate to the organisms on the
inside.

The organisms on the inside then

die and become detached from the
media, causing a portion of the
slime layer to slough off.

This means the effluent from a

trickling filter will have lots of solids
(organisms) in it which must be
removed by sedimentation

Trickling filter
- A schematic cross-section of the contact face of the bed of media in a
trickling filter

Trickling Filters -Single Stage and Twostage

Single Stage Trickling Filter

Two Stage Trickling Filter

Hybrid systems
Rotating Biological contactor

RBCs

Moving Bed Bio film Reactor

MBBR is an aerobic attached biological growth process
It does not require primary clarifier and sludge
recirculation.
Raw sewage, after screening and de-gritting, is fed to
the biological reactor.
Floating plastic media is provided which remains in
suspension. Biological mass is generated on the surface
of the media.
Excess biological mass leaves the surface of media and
is settled in clarifier.
Usually a detention time of 5 to 12 hours are provided
in the reactors.

Moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR)

Presence of plastic media of various shapes on which bacteria grows into thick biofilms
which are always kept suspended thus facilitating attached and suspended conditions

Aerobic reactor

Anoxic reactor

The Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor

(MBBR)

The principal moving bed

processes
The basic MBBRTM
processes

The BASTM
processes

The IFAS
(HYBASTM)
processes

The components of the MBBR

treatment system

MAJOR COMPONENTS
a) Media
b) Aeration System
c) Sieve Assemblies
d) Tank
e) Blowers
f) Mixers

The carriers most commonly

used today
Biofilm chip-P
K1

K3

500 m2/m3 bulk

500 m2/m3 bulk

900 m2/m3 bulk

9,1 mm diameter

25 mm diameter

45 mm diameter

7,2 mm length

12,0 mm length

3 mm thick

335 m2/m3 67 %

335 m2/m3 67 %

500 m2/m3 55 % fill

Comparison between systems

Parameter

MBBR

IFAS (HYBAS)

Activated
sludge

Biomass

Attached

Suspended

Recycle
MLSS-conc

No
Low (100
300)
Any

Attached and
suspeded
Yes
High (2000
4000)
Settling
Both

F/M kg
BOD/kgMLSS*d
c kg SS/kgSS d-1 =

Biomass
separation
Design rate

r = Q*C/A
kg/m2*d

Yes
High (3000
5000)
Settling

Hybrid SystemsMembrane Bioreactors (MBR)

Employ biological reactor and membrane
filtration as a unified system for the secondary
treatment of wastewater
Membranes perform the separation of the
final effluent from the biomass through
filtration
Filtration takes place by the application of a
pressure gradient

Process Basics
DN

discharge

SCT

SS
conventional technology
membrane technology
effluent
SS
Deni

Nitri

UF not
Sec. Clarif.

Schematic of conventional activated sludge process

(top) and membrane bioreactor (bottom)

Hybrid systems -Membrane bioreactor

Simple schematic describing the MBR process

Schematic of a submerged MBR

Merits and Demerits of MBR system

Low hydraulic retention time and hence low foot print (area)
requirement
Less sludge production
High quality effluent in terms of low turbidity, TSS, BOD and bacteria
Nutrient Removal is possible
Stabilized sludge
Ability to absorb shock loads

Demerits

High construction cost

Very high operation cost
Periodic replacement of membranes is required
High membrane cost
High automation
Fouling of membrane

Anaerobic digestion
Can be done for raw wastewater or
sludge from aerobic systems

Stages of anaerobic digestion

Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket

Process
Promote Anaerobic treatment technologies for
energy generation
Less energy intensive
Can generate alternate energy
So far not very successful due to the lack of
information about the process
Demonstration plants
Operational guidelines
Training in design, maintenance and operation

UASB Reactors
UASB is an anaerobic process
in which influent wastewater
is fed from the bottom of the
reactor and travels in an upflow mode through the
sludge blanket
Critical components of UASB
design are the influent
distribution system, the gassolids separator and effluent
withdrawal design.
Compared to other anaerobic
processes, UASB allows the
use of high hydraulic loading.

Biogas
Biogas
Effluent

Settling

Phase
Separator

element
Hydraulic
Seal

Anaerobic Sludge Blanket

Screened
and degritted
sewage

Anaerobic digestion and regenerative thermal oxidiser

component of Lbeck mechanical biological treatment plant
in Germany, 2007

Application-Gas street lamp

Tertiary Treatment
Aimed at removing nutrients and make effluent recyclable

Advanced Water Treatment Facility

Flow Diagram
Microfiltration
(MF)
Treated
Sewage

Reverse Osmosis
(RO)

Ultraviolet
Disinfection
(UV)
Purified
Water

Microfiltration is the First Step

Water + contaminants
under pressure

Backwash
to OCSD

S S

S
S

S
S

Porous hollow
fiber
MF membrane

S
S

Purified
Water

Technology brought to
the U.S. after WW II
Used in computer,
food and
pharmaceutical
manufacturing
Used to sterilize
medicines that cant
be heated
Best pre-treatment
before reverse osmosis

RO Membrane Is Like a Microscopic

Strainer That Allows Water Molecules
to Pass Through
Water
Molecules

Protozoa

Bacteria

Virus

Inorganics
Organics