Introduction to Environmental Engineering

CVE 3007
Sahlu Baker
School of Engineering
Chemical Engineering Department
1

Overview
Collections
Preliminary, Primary, Secondary and

Advanced Wastewater Treatment

solids treatment and disposal
Performance Criteria for Primary and
Secondary Treatment
Design of Wastewater Treatment Facilities
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Wastewater, also known as sewage, originates

from household wastes, human and animal

wastes, industrial wastewaters, storm runoff, and
groundwater infiltration
sanitary sewers, usually large pipes owing
partially full
collecting sewers, which collect the wastewater
from homes and industries,
all converge to a central point where the waste
ows by trunk sewers to the wastewater
treatment plant
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Inow of stormwater, which is supposed to

ow off in separate storm sewers

water seeping into the sewers from
groundwater ow is known as inltration

Flow chart of
Wastewater
Treatment
Processes
Preliminary
Treatment
Physical Process

Primary Treatment
Physical Process
Secondary Treatment
Biological Process
Advanced/Tertiary

Treatment
Combination

Typical Municipal Wastewater Treatment System

Preliminary or Pre- Primary
Treatment
Treatment

Sludge Treatment
& Disposal

Secondary
Treatment

Disinfection

Preliminary Treatment
physically remove or cut up
larger suspended
oating materials
heavy inorganic solids
Excessive amounts of oil and grease
protect pumping equipment and the

subsequent treatment units

Preliminary Treatment
Units
ow measurement devices and regulators
racks and screens (course and fine)
comminutors
grinders, cutters, and shredders

ow equalization
grit chambers
Preaeration tanks
and(possibly)chlorination

Preliminary Treatment
Racks
and
Screens
Usually 1 Unit
operation
st

Remove large oating objects, such as:

rags, cans, bottles, pieces of wood, plastic, dead
animals etc.
They prevent oating materials to accumulate on

the surface of the primary or secondary treatment

units.
Coarse screens
bar racks (trash racks) clear spacing of 5.08 to
10.16 cm
bar screens, clear spacing of 0.64 to 5.08
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Fine screens typically consist of wedge-wire,

perforated plate, or closely spaced bars with

openings 1.5 to 6.4 mm (0.06 to 0.25 in).
used for preliminary treatment are rotary or
stationary-type units

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Bar Rack
Reciprocating
rake screen
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Preliminary Treatment
Grit
Chamber
It follows
screens
inert inorganic material :sand, cinders, rocks,

gravel, cigarette filter tips, metal fragments,

bone chips, eggshells, coffee grounds, seeds, and
large food wastes (organic particles)
Grit removal should be provided for all wastewater
treatment plants
The grit chambers are placed in front of
comminutors
3 types: hand cleaned, mechanically cleaned, and
aerated or vortex-type degritting units.
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Preliminary Treatment
Grit Chambers

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Preliminary Treatment
Comminutors
Alternative to Racks and Screens
cuts and grinds solids to about 6 to 10 mm
Solids removed in primary sedimentation

basins
consists of a fixed screen and a moving cutter
rags and large objects cause clogging problems
installed directly in wastewater ow channel
equipped with a bypass to allow isolation for
service maintenance
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Preliminary Treatment
Comminutors

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In-Line Equalization

Off-Line Equalization
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Primary Treatment
reduce the ow velocity of the wastewater

sufficiently to permit suspended solids to

settle
Floating materials are also removed by
skimming

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Primary Treatment
Units
Settling Tanks /Basins
plain sedimentation with mechanical sludge removal
two story tanks (Imhoff tank)
upow clarifiers with mechanical sludge removal
septic tanks

chemical feeders,
mixing devices
occulators
sludge (biosolids) management systems

(treatment and dispose of)

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Primary Treatment
50% to 70% TSS removal

(Sedimentation)
80% to 90% TSS removal (addition
of coagulant)
25% to 35% BOD5 removal
10% insoluble phosphorus removed
biological activity is negligible
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Primary Clarification
Scum: Oil, Grease,
Floatable Solids

Primary
Effluent

Primary
Sludge

Influent from Preliminary

Treatment
Section through a Circular Primary Clarifier

Primary Treatment

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Oil/Water Separator

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Primary sedimentation tanks or clarifiers

may be round or rectangular basins,

typically 3 to 5 m deep, with hydraulic
retention times of between 2 and 3 hours.
The solids usually settle out by the
physical process of gravity.
Special treatment is required either for
removal of excessive fat or high phosphate
content, chemical processes are used to
enhance solids sedimentation through the
addition of coagulants such as ferric
chloride/sulphate.
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Some of the grease and oil is also

released through a combination of

sedimentation and biological activity.
The scum layer is usually removed by
rotating surface skimmers while sludge
scrapers/rakes located on the bottom of
the tank are used to scrape the settled
sludge into a central well from which it
is sent to a sludge processing or
dewatering unit.
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Effective primary treatment removes 50

70% of the suspended solids, 25 50%

of the organic content, 33% of BOD and
65% of the oil and grease.
Some organic nitrogen, organic
phosphorus, and heavy metals
associated with solids are also removed
during primary sedimentation but
colloidal and dissolved constituents are
not affected.
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The effluent will still contain high levels of

organic material, nutrients and pathogenic

organisms such as bacteria and viruses as
the process only involves the filtering and
settling out of solids in the incoming
wastewater.
There is also limited breakdown of organic
material. The effluent from primary
sedimentation units is referred to as primary
effluent.
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The effluent from the clarifier can be

disinfected using chlorination, UV light, and

Ozone in order to reduce the pathogen load of
the effluent. Within the Caribbean,
chlorination is the most common form of
disinfection utilised.

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Secondary Treatment
remove the soluble and colloidal organic matter

which remains
Utilises naturally occurring biological processes to
purify the partially treated or primary effluent from
the clarifiers,.
This step utilises bacteria, protozoa, fungi, algae and
oxygen to:
Decompose and stabilize the biodegradable dissolved

and colloidal organic components of the wastewater,

and
Absorb the inorganic nutrients such as phosphorous
and nitrogen, for growth and cell production.
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Secondary Treatment
Dissolved and suspended organic and inorganic solids

are removed through bacterial decomposition which

breaks down the material into its simpler constituents.
process can remove 85 90% of BOD and suspended
solids.
Significant amounts of sludge generated( activated
sludge variants and anaerobic digesters)
secondary clarifier is required to remove solids from
the secondary processes this has to be collected,
dewatered and properly disposed of at landfills or
through biosolids reuse.
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Secondary Treatment
Units
Attached (film) growth processes
Trickling filter
Rotating Biological Contactors (RBC)
Intermittent sand filters

Suspended growth processes

Activated sludge (conventional and modified forms)
Aerobic and Anaerobic digesters
sequencing batch reactors (SBR)
Ponds or Lagoons (oxidation/facultative, aerated,

aerobic, anaerobic)
Septic systems (tank and soil absorption system)
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Major Aerobic Biological

Processes
Type of
Growth

Common Name

Use

Suspended
Growth

Activated Sludge (AS)

Carbonaceous BOD removal

(nitrification)

Aerated Lagoons

Carbonaceous BOD removal

(nitrification)

Trickling Filters

Carbonaceous BOD removal.

nitrification

Roughing Filters
(trickling filters with
high hydraulic loading
rates)

Carbonaceous BOD removal

Rotating Biological
Contactors

Carbonaceous BOD removal

(nitrification)

Packed-bed reactors

Carbonaceous BOD removal

(nitrification)

Activated Biofilter
Process

Carbonaceous BOD removal

(nitrification)

Attached
Growth

Combined
Suspended

Aerobic TreatmentGenerals
It is performed in the presence of oxygen by

aerobic microorganisms (principally bacteria)

that metabolise the organic matter in the
wastewater, thereby producing more
microorganisms and inorganic end-products
(principally CO2, NH3, and H2O).
Several aerobic biological processes are used for
secondary treatment differing primarily in the
manner in which oxygen is supplied to the

microorganisms and
the rate at which organisms metabolize the
organic matter.
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Common high-rate processes include the

activated sludge processes, trickling filters or

biofilters, oxidation ditches, and rotating
biological contactors (RBC).
A combination of two of these processes in
series (e.g., biofilter followed by activated
sludge) is sometimes used to treat municipal
wastewater containing a high concentration of
organic material from industrial sources.

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Trickling Filter

Primary effluent
drips onto rock or
man-made media

Rotating arm to
distribute water
evenly over filter

Rock-bed with slimy

(biofilm) bacterial growth
Treated waste to
secondary clarifier

Primary effluent pumped in

http://www.rpi.edu/dept/chem-eng/Biotech-Environ/FUNDAMNT/streem/trickfil.jpg

Trickling Filter

http://www.eng.uc.edu/friendsalumni/research/labsresearch/biofilmreslab/Tricklingfilter_big.jpg

Simplified Activated Sludge Description

Aerobic microbes utilities carbon and

other nutrients to form a healthy
activated sludge (AS) biomass (floc)

The biomass floc is allowed to

settle out in the next reactor;
some of the AS is recycled
Secondary Treatment

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High-rate biological processes are characterised

by relatively small reactor volumes and high

concentrations of microorganisms when
compared with low rate processes.
The growth rate of new organisms is much
greater in high-rate systems because of the
well-controlled environment.
The microorganisms must be separated from
the treated wastewater by sedimentation to
produce clarified secondary effluent.
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Rotating
biological discs

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Major Anaerobic Biological

Processes
Type of
Growth

Common Name

Use

Suspended
Growth

Anaerobic Contact
Process

Carbonaceous BOD
removal

Upow Anaerobic SludgeBlanket (UASB)

Carbonaceous BOD
removal

Anaerobic Filter Process

Carbonaceous BOD
removal, waste
stabilization
(denitrification)

Expanded Bed

Carbonaceous BOD
removal, waste
stabilization

Attached
Growth

Anaerobic Process
It is carried out in an anaerobic digesters, biodigesters

or bioreactors which have been in use for over 200

years.
Wastewater from many sources including industries,
households and farms can be treated very efficiently.
Treat wastewater while producing usable products
such as methane, fertiliser/soil enhancer and irrigation
water.
It is a source of renewable energy (producing energy
without using finite resources) and is therefore an
environmentally friendly form of wastewater
treatment.
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Pond Treatment Processes

Common
Name

Comments

Use

Aerobic
Stabilization
Ponds

Treatment with aerobic

bacteria; oxygen is supplied by
algal photosynthesis and
natural surface reaeration;
depth of 0.15 to 1.5 m

Carbonaceous BOD
removal

Maturation
(tertiary)
Ponds

Use aerobic treatment; applied

loadings are low to preserve
aerobic conditions

Secondary effluent
polishing and
seasonal nitrification

Facultative
Ponds

Treatment with aerobic,

anaerobic and facultative
bacteria; the pond has 3 zones:
a surface aerobic zone, a
bottom anaerobic zone, and an
intermediate zone partly
aerobic-anaerobic

Carbonaceous BOD
removal

Anaerobic
Ponds

Treatment with anaerobic

bacteria; depths of up to 9.1 m

Carbonaceous BOD
removal (waste

Facultative Ponds

Facultative Ponds, Montego Bay Jamaica (Photo: Dr. Johan Verink)

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Advance/Tertiary
Treatment
methods and processes that remove more

contaminants from wastewater than the

conventional treatment
follows secondary treatment, or that modifies or
replaces a step in the conventional process
tertiary system is the third treatment step that is
used after primary and secondary treatment
processes
remove nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended
solids (including BOD)
Removal of specific toxic compounds and
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refractory organics

Advance/Tertiary
Treatment
Colloidal and fine SS
Nitrogen
chemical coagulation

of wastewater,
wedge-wire screens,
granular media filters,
diatomaceous earth
filters,
microscreening,
Ultrafiltration and
nanofiltration

biological

assimilation,
nitrification
denitrification
Ion exchange
Breakpoint
chlorination,
Air stripping

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Denitrification- the nitrate must be converted

to nitrogen gas
facultative and anaerobic bacteria, such as
Pseudomonas

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Advance/Tertiary
Treatment
Phosphorus
N and P
chemical

lagoons,

precipitation
biological(bacteria
and algae)uptake
reverse osmosis
ultrafiltration
Oxidation ditch

aerated lagoons,
natural and

constructed
wetlands

47

Phosphorus removal is accomplished by either chemical

or biological means
Wastewater, phosphorus - orthophosphate ,
polyphosphate, and organically bound phosphorus.
Create anoxic then reintro of oxygen-luxury uptake of
phosphorus is followed by the removal of the cells
popular chemicals used for phosphorus removal are lime,
Ca(OH)2, and alum, Al2(SO4)
Ca +PO-34== calcium hydroxyapatite(insoluble white solid)
+calcium carbonate
aluminum phosphate,AlPO4, and aluminum hydroxide,
Al(OH)

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49

Oxidation Ditch

Oxidation Ditch Ocho Rios Jamaica (Photo: Dr. Johan Verink)50

Advance/Tertiary
Treatment
groups of toxic compounds and
refractory organics
activated carbon adsorption,
air stripping,
activated sludge powder,
activated-carbon processes
chemical oxidation.
Conventional coagulationsedimentation

filtration and biological treatment(trickling

filter,RBC,and activated sludge)
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Advance/Tertiary
Treatment
A tertiary system can include a combination
of the above and results in all but a negligible
portion of the bacteria and organic matter
being removed. Disinfection can be through UV
light, chlorination or ozone treatment.
Tertiary treatment is extremely expensive and
is used where very good quality water is
required and recycling of water into the ground
water occurs. The BOD, suspended solids and
nitrates can be reduced to 10 mg/L or less.
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SLUDGE TREATMENT AND

2 types of sludges produced in conventional wastewater

DISPOSAL
treatment plants
raw primary sludge from the bottom of the primary clarifier
biological, or secondary sludge from solids that have grown

on the fixed-film reactor surfaces and sloughed off the

media or waste activated sludge

Sludge Stabilization- reduce sludge odor and

putrescence and the presence of pathogenic organisms

lime
aerobic digestion
anaerobic digestion

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Sludge Stabilization
Lime stabilization- addition of hydrated lime Ca(OH) or

quicklime CaO
Increases the pH to about 11 or above thus significantly
reduces the odor and helps in the destruction of
pathogens.
Disadvantage- temporary as pH will reduce over time
Aerobic digestion-sludge placed in dedicated aeration

tanks for a very long time

reduction in total and volatile solids
Disadvantage-more difficult to dewater than anaerobic
sludges

54

Anaerobic digestion
sensitive to

environmental
conditions, such as
temperature, pH, and
the presence of toxins
difficulty of mixing

55

Sludge Dewatering
Three techniques: sand beds, belt filters, and

centrifuges
Sand beds- most cost-effective when land is
available and labor costs are low
Seepage into the sand and through the tile drains,
As drainage into the sand ceases, evaporation
process is actually responsible for the conversion
of liquid sludge to solid
Raw primary sludge causes odur and dint drain
well

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Belt lter-mechanical method of dewatering

operates as both a pressure filter and a

gravity filter
sludge is squeezed between two belts, forcing
the ltrate out
dewatered solids, called the cake

57

Centrifuge-widely used mechanical method of

dewatering
centrifugal force that is about 500 to 1000
times gravity.
decanted liquid is known as centrate

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Ultimate Disposal
Ultimate disposal of sludge are limited:
Air
incineration expensive due to syrict air pollution

controls

Water
in deep water (such as oceans) disposal is

banned- frigle eco system

Land
dumping into a landfill or spreading the sludge

over land
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By Air
incineration is not a

method of disposal but

rather a sludge treatment
step in which the organics
are converted to H2O, CO,
and many other partially
oxidized compounds, and
the inorganics drop out as
a nonputrescent residue
Use multiple-hearth and
uid-bed incinerators
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By Land

Depends on the ability of land to absorb sludge and to

assimilate it into the soil matrix

soil type, vegetation, rainfall, slope, and the sludge
composition
deposited on land and worked into the soil or be
deposited in trenches and covered.
Transporting liquid sludge is often expensive,
however, and volume reduction by dewatering is
necessary
Sludge can be : toxicity to vegetation, toxicity to
animals who eat the vegetation (including people),
and contamination of groundwater.
Usually Domestic sludges low in toxins, such as heavy
metals
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Process Selection
Select the most suitable unit operation and

processes
Factors
EACH IMPORTANT
Some required experience and skill
Performance data, published info, pilot plant

Basis

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Basis of selection
Reaction Kinetics
Nature of kinetic reactions
Kenetic rate coefficients
Reactor types
Mass Transfer
Drying, aereation, stripping

Mass Loading
Bench test and Pilot scale

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