Wastewater treatment

Sewage treatment is a multi-stage process: Preliminary, Primary,

Secondary, Tertiary. First, wastewater is subjected to the preliminary
treatment, then primary, then secondary, and then tertiary or advanced
treatment. Preliminary, Primary, Secondary treatment of wastewater is
common steps for any treatment plant, but depending on the types of the
contaminants present and expected use of the wastewater, we need to
carry out the Tertiary treatment. Tertiary treatment also known as
ADVANCED TREATMENT.
Preliminary treatment includes
(a) screening
(b) comminution (breaking up of solids into pieces) and
(c) grit removal.

Screenings
Grit

What is Sewage?

Faecal matter
Urine

Water

Preliminary Treatment

Bar Screen

Screening:
Screens are made of long, closely spaced, narrow metal bars. They block large
floating material that could clog pipes or pumps. Bulky materials such as sticks,
wood, rags, large food particles, toys and other bulky objects are removed through
screening.
Comminutors:
A comminutor contains a rotating cutting screen. Hence, it shreds the solid
material which could not be blocked by the screens into smaller pieces.

Grit removal :

Then sewage flows through a grit chamber to remove sand and gravels are
removed. Inert dense material such as sand, broken glass, silt, and pebbles
is called grit. If these materials are not removed from the wastewater, they
abrade pumps and other mechanical devices, causing undue wear. In
addition, they have a tendency to settle in corners and bends, reducing
flow capacity and, ultimately, clogging pipes and channels.
In the grit chamber, flow rate is slowed just enough to allow the sand and
gravel to settle on the bottom. The grit is collected and disposed of in
landfill.

Primary Treatment

Primary treatment :
The next step after the grit removal in the wastewater treatment process is
primary treatment, which involves the use of clarifiers (sedimentation
tanks) to settle down the suspended solids where suspended solids and
portion of the biodegradable organic matters are settled out.
Primary sedimentation tanks removes 20 to 30 percent of the BOD.

Primary treatment removes the undissolved suspended solids oil, grease

and lighter solids float to the surface, suspended solids.

For this purpose coagulants such as calcium hydroxide and aluminum

sulfates are added. Alum forms gelatinous metal hydroxide precipitate at
high pH, it eventually settle downs by gravity and it settle downs along with
the suspended particles.
These settled materials are known as primary sludge and these precipitates
settle down in the sedimentation tanks (primary basin) and the remaining
liquid subjected to secondary treatment.

Primary sedimentation tank :

Primary Sedimentation Tank

Sludges

Secondary Treatment

Trickling Filter Method

i) Trickling filter method:

The purpose of the trickling filter is to remove the dissolved organics.
Trickling filter is simply a tank filled with a deep bed of stones or
perforated plastic material . The most common design is a bed of stones
three to ten feet deep inside a large circular concrete tank. Some tanks are
more than 200 feet in diameter.
Sewage is continuously sprayed over the top of the stones from rotating
arms and trickles to the bottom, Bacteria gather and multiply on the
stones. Microbes break down the dissolved organics, thus lowering the
BOD of the sewage thereby removing contaminants. Since, this
decomposition is taking place in presence of aerobic bacteria, so, to
accelerate the decomposition process, air must be blown through the
pipes, blowers. Air is circulated upward through the spaces among the
stones providing sufficient oxygen for the metabolic processes.
Sludge is produced by this process and these sludges comprise remaining
undecomposed solids found in wastewater plus organisms used in the
treatment process. These sludges reach the secondary basin and collected
from the bottom of the secondary basin (secondary sedimentation tank /
clarifiers).

Major Players

Microorganisms are
used to destroy
waste materials.
Microorganisms
include:
Bacteria (aerobic
and anaerobic)
Fungi
Algae

Sludge is produced by this process and these sludges comprise remaining

undecomposed solids found in wastewater plus organisms used in the
treatment process. These sludges reach the secondary basin and collected
from the bottom of the secondary basin

ACTIVATED SLUDGE METHOD

Aeration Tank

Secondary Sedimentation tank

Activated Sludge

Wastewater flows into the aeration basin,

where it is brought into contact with a heterogeneous culture of
microbes, consisting primarily of heterotrophic bacteria.
air is injected into the wastewater either in the form of bubbles
through diffusers or by surface aerators
About eight cubic feet of air are required for every cubic foot of
wastewater.
A variable and mixed community of microorganisms is added in the
aeration tank to facilitate the aerobic decomposition reaction.
A schematic of the process is presented in the next slide
Settled sludge contains 20-30% microbes,
They are essential for the decomposition, therefore they are sent back
to the aeration tank to expedite the microbial decomposition reaction;
larger amount of microbes means higher will be the decomposition. The
sludge is returned to the aeration tank is called return sludge.

Activated sludge process

Aeration Tank

MICROORGANISMS IN ACTIVATED SLUDGE

Rotifers

are multicellular animals with rotating cilia on the head

and a forked tail.
are an indication of an old activated sludge with a high
MCRT and are usually associated with a turbid effluent.

Worms

are strict aerobes and can metabolize solid organic matter

not easily metabolized by other microorganisms.
are usually found in sludge from extended aeration plants.
21

Sludge Treatment
Application of Microbiology

WHAT IS SLUDGE?

WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE

WHAT IS SLUDGE?
Mainly water (up to 99%)
Dissolved solids
Settled and suspended solids
Faecal matter
Bacteria and other micro-organisms
Nutrients (N, P, K)
Metals
Energy

Sludge Treatment

Anaerobic Digestion

Fundamental Microbiology

The first stage is commonly referred to as "acid fermentation"

the chemical breakdown of a substance by bacteria, yeasts, or other
microorganisms, typically involving effervescence and the giving off of
heat.
However in the second stage the end products of the first stage are
converted to gases (mainly methane and carbon dioxide) by several
different species of strictly anaerobic bacteria. This stage is generally
referred to as "methane fermentation".

C6H12O6

3CH4 + 3CO2

Digestion" :
Digester : An air-tight container where the substrates are heated and
the fermentation process takes place
Sludges generated at primary and secondary sedimentation tank are
pumped to anaerobic digesters.
Mesophilic: organisms whose growth is optimum within 30 to 45C.
Thermophilic: organisms whose growth is optimum within 45 to 70C

Anaerobic digester

Two end products of Anaerobic Digestion

(a) Energy from sludge Treatment (biogas formation)

(b) Sludge cake formation : used as fertilizer

(a) Energy from sludge Treatment

Composition of biogas is

50 to 75 per cent CH4 and

25 to 45 per cent CO2 together with minor
quantities of nitrogen ( 1%), hydrogen ( 1%),
ammonia ( 1%) and hydrogen sulphide ( 1%).

Biogas may be used as the source of alternative

energy.
Like natural gas, biogas can also be used as a fuel
in power generators, engines, boilers and
burners.
cooking gas
as replacement to LPG gas.
For large-scale piggery farms,
to produce electricity.

(b) Fertilizer pellets from Sludge Treatment

After the sludge digestion, the sludge is dewatered and hence the volume
is reduced.
This dried sludge is called a sludge cake.

Caustic chemicals can be added to sludge or it may be heat treated to kill

disease-causing organisms.
Sludge cake may be converted into fertilizer pellets

sludge cakes are turn into fertilizer pellets and can be used as fertilizer.
The product is then sold to the local market.

Advantages of anaerobic digestion:

(a) Less energy is required : 0.5 -0.75kWh energy is needed for every
1 kg of COD removal by anaerobic process.

(b) Energy generation in the form of methane gas : 1.16kWh energy

is produced for every 1 kg of COD removal by anaerobic process. The
caloric value of the biogas is about 5.56.0 kWh m3. This
corresponds to about 0.5 L of diesel oil.
(c) Production of sludge cake :

Tertiary treatment :

Final cleanup of the water effluent

from the secondary treatment

REMOVAL OF CALCIUM AND MAGNESIUM

Calcium and magnesium salts cause water hardness.

Several processes are used for softening water.
a) Calcium may be removed from water very efficiently by the addition of
orthophosphate followed by filtration
b) On a large scale, such as in community water-softening operations, the
lime-soda process is used.
The precipitation of magnesium as the hydroxide requires a higher pH (by
adding Na2CO3)
Calcium is precipitated as CaCO3 and magnesium as Mg(OH)2.

Removal of Iron and Manganese

Soluble iron and manganese are found in many groundwaters.

The basic method for removing both of these metals depends upon
oxidation to higher insoluble oxidation states. Fe(II) is soluble in water but
Fe(III) is insoluble in water.

Removal of Iron and Manganese

(a). The oxidation is generally accomplished either by aeration or by

adding some oxidizing agents.
Chlorine and potassium permanganate are sometimes employed as oxidizing
agents for iron and manganese.
(b) Electrodeposition (reduction of metal ions to metal by electrons at an
electrode),
(c) reverse osmosis, and
(d) ion exchange also effective in removing many metals.
(e) Adsorption on activated carbon

(e) Adsorption on activated carbon :

Activated carbon adsorption effectively removes some metals from water.
Activated carbon, also called activated charcoal or activated coal. It is a form
of carbon, it has extremely porosity, very large surface area available for
adsorption or chemical reactions.

REMOVAL OF ARSENIC

Arsenic, a toxic metalloid not allowed more than 10 g per liter of water
Arsenic usually is present in water as As(V) H2AsO4- and HAsO42-.
water supplies if contains the more toxic As(III) then,
a. Chlorine, ozone, or permanganate oxidants to convert the As(III) to the
As(V)
b. Coagulation with aluminum sulfate, iron(III) salts and with lime effectively
removes arsenic.

REMOVAL OF DISSOLVED INORGANICS

(a) The most effective method is membrane processes as they are most
cost-effective. Membrane processes includes,
Electrodialysis and
Reverse Osmosis (RO).

Electrodialysis

A) direct current is applied across a body of water.

B) There are several vertical membranes which are alternately permeable to
cations and anions.
C) Adjacent layer to the cathode is cation-permeable membrane and adjacent
layer to the anode is anion-permeable membrane.
D) Cations migrate toward the cathode and anions toward the anode.

E) Cations and anions both enter into different layer in the body of water, and
leaving the adjacent layer of pure water

Reverse Osmosis

Osmosis = natural movement of water from low concentration to high

concentration through a through a semi-permeable membrane

Reverse osmosis = purification of water using high pressure to force water

from high to low concentration through a semi-permeable membrane
Membrane only allows water, not ions, to pass due to size
Cellulose acetate is often the membrane compound
Problems: expensive, wasteful (discard more H2O than keep)
Desalination = fresh water from salt water
Expensive, less than 0.1% of fresh water used is desalinated

39

Reverse Osmosis

40

REMOVAL OF DISSOLVED NON-BIODEGRADABLE ORGANICS

a. The standard method for the removal of dissolved organic material is

adsorption on activated carbon. Adsorption on activated carbon treatment is
the best means of removing herbicides and their metabolites from drinking
water sources.

b. Material with carbon content may be exposed to an oxidizing agent

(oxygen, or steam) above 600-700C.

REMOVAL OF PHOSPHORUS

a) Chemically, phosphate is most commonly removed by precipitation (at

least 90-95% phosphorus removed) ----- Chemical method
Lime, Ca(OH)2 most commonly used chemical for phosphorus removal:

REMOVAL OF NITROGEN (AMMONIA)

Next to phosphorus, nitrogen is the nutrient most commonly removed.

Nitrogen in municipal wastewater generally present as organic nitrogen
or ammonia.

a) Ammonia striping :

Air Stripping method removes

volatile contaminants from a
liquid stream by air. Volatile
compounds have high vapor
pressure and low aqueous
solubility.
The NH4+ ions may be stripped in
the form of NH3 gas from the
water by air in a stripping tower.
For ammonia stripping to work,
the ammoniacal nitrogen (NH4+)
must be converted to volatile
NH3 gas

This is done by raising the pH 10.8 to 11.5 by the addition of lime or caustic
which converts ammonium ions to ammonia gas according to the following
reaction(s):
NH4+ + OH- H2O + NH3

 contaminated water is distributed over the packing in the column and

water is falling downwards
The air is blown into the column and forced (there is a fan) to move
upward,
After the addition of lime, ammonia is produced and is removed as
vapor at the top of the tower
Since stripping is easier at warmer temperatures, so, sometimes heat is
applied at the bottoms of the stripper. At the bottom of the tower
decontaminated water is collected.

b) Nitrification followed by denitrification is arguably the most effective

technique for the removal of nitrogen from wastewater.

I) ammonia and organic nitrogen compounds are completely converted into

nitrate under strongly aerobic conditions

II) The second step reduc on of nitrate to nitrogen gas. This reac on is
also bacterially catalyzed and requires a carbon source and a reducing
agent such as methanol, CH3OH

Water disinfection

Secondary sewage effluent often contains a number of disease-causing

microorganisms, requiring disinfection.
Common Disinfection Agents
(a) chlorine and chloramines;
(b) bleaching powder;
(c) chlorine dioxide;
(d) ozone;
(e) ultraviolet radiation

Chlorine and chloramines have been the mostly used but their uses
becoming less because of the byproducts they produce.
The use of ozone is growing; it is the greenest disinfection agent,
because it can be made on site with air as the raw and produces few
undesirable byproducts.

DISINFECTION WITH Chlorine and chloramines

How chlorine kills pathogens ?

In water chlorine, rapidly hydrolyzes

Hypochlorous acid and HOCl is a weak acid that dissociates
The two chemical species formed by chlorine in water, HOCl and OCl-, are
known as free available chlorine.
Free available chlorine is very effective in killing bacteria.

 Now, if nitrogenous contaminant is present in water, ie., it has not been

removed before the disinfection step,
then ammonia consumes HOCl and form chloramines - monochloramine,
dichloramine, and trichloramine.
The chloramines are called combined available chlorine.
These are weaker disinfectant than free available chlorine,
Effective against bacteria, but not virus.

Trichloramines cause the chlorine smell

The trichloramines are especially irritating to the eyes, nose and lungs.

Break Point Chlorination

If the water to be chlorinated contains significant amounts of ammonia,

then addition of sufficient amount of chlorine will form monochloramine
to di- or tri-chloramines (all present ammonia is oxidized).
The ratio of Cl:N (chlorine:ammonia mass ratios higher than 7.6:1
(mg/L:mg/L)) at which all ammonia present in the water has been
oxidized to tri-chloramine and ultimately to nitrogen gas (which leaves the
system) is known as breakpoint.
The overall breakpoint reaction is as follows:

The excess chlorine may be removed

(i) by filtering the overchlorinated water through activated carbon.

(ii) by addition of a small % of SO2, Na2SO3 or Na2S2O3.
SO2 + Cl2 + 2H2O

Na2SO3 + Cl2 + 2H2O

H2SO4 + 2HCl

Na2SO4 + 2HCl

b) Removal of microorganisms by adding beaching powder:

In small water-works, about 1 Kg of bleaching powder per 1000 kiloliters of

water is mixed and water is allowed to stand undisturbed for several hours.
This produces hypochlorous acid.
Ca(OCl)Cl + 2H2O
Ca(OH)2 + Cl2
Cl2 + 2H2O
HOCl + OCl-

c) Chlorine Dioxide

Chlorine dioxide, ClO2, is an effective water disinfectant that is of particular

interest because, it does not chlorinate or oxidize ammonia or other nitrogencontaining compounds.
In neutral water, the two half-reactions for ClO2 acting as an oxidant are the
following:

d) Ozone is sometimes used as a disinfectant in place of chlorine.

ozone is more destructive to viruses than is chlorine.

Disadvantage:
(i) Quite expensive method, hence not employed for disinfection of
municipal water supply.

Removal of Taste and Odor :

Both organic and inorganic substances may produce taste, odor, and color
in water.
Taste, odor, and color agents can come from
i) microorganisms in the water,
ii) mineral substances in water,
iii) salts from soil,
iv) end products generated from biological reactions in soil, and
v) from chemical pollutant sources. and must be removed from water.

Color producing substacnces:

Yellow tinge indicates the presence of chromium.

Yellowish red color tinge indicates the presence of iron.
Red brown color indicates the presence of peaty matter (partially
decomposed vegetable matter saturated with water).

Odor producing substances:

Disagreeable odor in water may be caused by

the presence of living organisms (algae, bacteria, fungi and weeds),
decaying vegetation.
there could be chemical impurities.
Iron and hydrogen sulfide are two common inorganic compounds known
to produce odors in drinking water.

Taste producing substances:

Most of the mineral substances affect water taste but do not cause odor.
Bitter taste is due to the presence of iron, aluminium, manganese,
sulphate or excess of lime.
Soapy taste is due to the presence of large amount of NaHCO3.
Brakish taste is due to the presence of unusual amount of salts.

The most commonly reported taste and odor compounds, geosmin and
methylisoborneol are produced in surface water sources by naturally
occurring cyanobacteria (blue-green algae).
Geosmin and MIB typically produce earthy or musty tastes and odors in
water

Various processes are used to remove agents that cause

taste, odor, and color.

i) Simple aeration can remove volatile materials, such as odorous hydrogen

sulfide.
ii) For non-volatile metabolic products by bacteria, oxidation that destroys
organics usually removes taste, odor, and color. Chlorine, Potassium
permanganate, chlorine dioxide can be used.
iii) Ozone Water Treatment :
Ozone used by itself or UV has been found to be effective in removing
geosmin and MIB.