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TECHNICAL QUESTION BANK

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1. What is BOD of domestic sewage? 200 mg/l 2. What is the composition of domestic wastewater? Domestic wastewater is the ideal mixture of biodegradable nutrients and microorganisms. 3. What is BOD: N: P ratio of domestic wastewater? Domestic wastewater contains 100:20:5 4. What are different wastewater flows? Domestic (sanitary), Industrial, Infiltration/inflow, Storm water 5. What are the factors affecting wastewater flow rates? Type of development, Season, Time of Day, Climate (rain or dry) 6. What is sewer? Sewer is an artificial conduit or system of conduits used to remove sewage and to provide drainage. 7. What is Sewage? Sewage is the mainly liquid waste containing some solids produced by humans which typically consists of Washing water, faeces, urine, laundry waste other material from household and industry

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8. What are different sewer systems? STORM SEWER SYSTEM, SANITARY SEWER SYSTEM 9. What is neutralization? Neutralization is a process in which either acid regent are added to an alkaline waste or alkaline regents are added to an acidic waste in order to adjust the waste pH to a more acceptable value The desired pH depends upon the subsequent treatment units used for discharge into a municipal sewer; pH range is 5.0-9.0 10. What is the objective of sedimentation? Used to remove suspended solids 11. What is flotation? Reverse of sedimentation, often attach air bubbles to particles and allow them to rise to the surface, where they are skimmed off common use is in the separation of free oil from waters 12. What is coagulation? Addition and rapid mixing of a coagulant with the wastewater to neutralize surface charges collapse the surface layer around the particles, allow the

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particles to come together and agglomerate, allow formation of floc that can readily settle 13. What do you mean by precipitation? Chemical process whereby soluble phase species are removed from solution by adding a chemical which converts the contaminant to an insoluble form that can be removed by processes such as sedimentation, flotation and coagulation

14. What is adsorption? Adsorption consists of transferring the contaminant from the aqueous waste phase to the surfaces of an adsorbent material The surface of some materials, such as activated carbon, tends to attract atoms or molecules on the surface of particles of colloidal size, and causes them to become attached to the surface. 15. What are the advantages of using activated carbon for adsorption? Activated carbon has high surface area Ability to sorb a wide variety of compounds Low cost Reversible process Rate of adsorption depends upon the rate of diffusion of the solute molecules within the capillary pores of the carbon particles. 16. What is ion exchange? Process used to remove unwanted ionic species from wastewater Exchanges undesirable cations or anions in solution with less harmful ones from an ion exchange resin Reversible

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Ions are not destroyed, but concentrated on the resin where they can be more easily handled 17. What is filtration? What are various devices for filtration? Used to remove suspended solids Screens Granular media filters Vacuum filters Membrane filters 18)What are the characteristics of membrane filtration? Very effective Slow rate of transfer across the membrane High pressure drops Large membrane areas needed Can be used to separate colloidal and dissolved solids that are much smaller than those removed by other filtration processes 19.What is the limit on TDS for drinking water? Total solids< 500 ppm 20.What are various physical treatment processes for wastewater treatment? Sedimentation (Clarification): To the settle the heavier solids by removing the "clarified" effluent Screening: process of removing the large matters from sewage - through screens Flotation and Skimming: process of removal of floating matters such as oils, grease, etc Filtration: Suspended solids - porous medium that is made up of paper or granular material - removal of water from sledges or slurries 21.What do you mean by equalization? gravity -

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Industrial wastewater treatment processes - undesirable wastes are sometimes produced over short periods of time - "slugs" - such wastes would damage a biological treatment process - wastes are sometimes held, mixed with other wastewaters, and gradually released, thus eliminating "shocks" to the treatment plant. 22.What do you know about air stripping process? Process of transfer of dissolved contaminants from liquid phase into vapour steam Concentration gradient between liquid and gas phases is important. Volatile contaminants with low water solubility are removed under normal atmospheric conditions Hot or live steam is used instead of air to remove the semi-volatile contaminants in steam stripping procedures

23.What are various chemical treatments? Chlorination Ozonation : Neutralization: Coagulation and flocculation: 24.What are different chemicals for coagulation? Lime, iron containing compounds (such as ferric chloride or ferric sulfate) and alum (aluminium sulphate [Al2(SO4)3.18H2O]). 25. What is the application of granular activated carbon? The GAC reduces pesticides, chemicals,

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chlorine, tastes and odours, while leaving the naturally occurring minerals found in the water unaffected. 26.What is reverse osmosis? Pressure is applied to the region of higher concentration to force water molecules to diffuse into the region of lesser concentration across semi permeable membrane 27.What are the materials for RO membrane? Cellulose acetate and ployamides 28.What do you mean by electrodialysis? Uses ion-selective membranes and an electrical potential difference to separate anions and cations in solution. When the electro dialysis is running, the direct current field affects the flow of dissociated salt components in water solution. 29.What is the fundamental of biological wastewater treatment processes? Method use microorganisms, mostly bacteria, in the biochemical decomposition of wastewaters to stable end products - carbon dioxide, water and other end products. Biological treatment - aerobic and anaerobic methods - based on availability of dissolved oxygen. 30.What are various methods to remove suspended solids from wastewater? Screening and comminution Sedimentation Flotation Filtration Coagulation / sedimentation

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Land treatment 31.What are various methods to remove biodegradable organics? Activated sludge Trickling filters Rotating biological contactors Aerated lagoons Oxidation ponds Intermittent sand filtration Land treatment Physical / Chemical 32.How you will remove pathogens from wastewater? Chlorination Ozonation Land treatment 33.What are various methods for removing nitrogen from wastewater? Suspended-growth nitrification and denitrification Fixed-film nitrification and denitrification Ammonia stripping Ion exchange Land treatment

34.How will you remove phosphorus from wastewater? Metal salt coagulation / Sedimentation Lime coagulation / sedimentation Biological / chemical phosphorus removal Land treatment

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35.What are various methods for removing refractory organics from wastewater? Carbon adsorption Tertiary ozonation Land treatment systems 36.How heavy metals can be removed? Chemical precipitation Ion exchange Land treatment 37.What are different methods to remove dissolved solids? Ion exchange Reverse osmosis Electrodialysis 38.What is the efficiency of primary treatment for removal of suspended solids and BOD from wastewater? Primary treatment is aimed to remove 60% of suspended solids and 40% of BOD. 39.What are various treatment options in secondary treatment? Trickling filter, activated sludge process and oxidation ponds called lagoons are the important procedures involved in the secondary treatment. 40.Discuss activated sludge process. ASP involves a biological and aerobic treatment for wastewater9After primary settling, the waste water is carried to an aeration tank. The aeration of wastes is done either by diffused compressed air or by mechanical stirring.

41.What is trickling filter? How it works?

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Consists of an aerobic revolving sprinkler that is suspended over a bed of porous material. When the sewage water passes through the porous bed, various types of microbes such as bacteria, fungi and protozoan are absorbed in the aerobic filter medium. Treated sewage is aerated by the circulation of air through the porous bed. The sewage is recirculated repeatedly till the sufficient BOD reduction is achieved.

42.What BOD reduction you can achieve in activated sludge process? This process reduces the BOD by 85% to 90%. 43.What do you know about oxidation ponds? The shallow artificial pond for the biological treatment of wastewater is called oxidation pond. Oxidation ponds provide aerobic medium at the surface and anaerobic medium at the bottom layer. Aerobic bacteria degrade the organic matter in the sewage by utilising atmosphere O2. The algae utilise the CO2 released by the aerobic bacteria for the photosynthetic purposes. The sewage waste is being detained in the oxidation ponds for about 10-30 days.

44.What is the objective of tertiary or advanced wastewater treatment? Primary objective: (i) reduction of Nitrogen (N2) and Phosphorus (P) contents in the effluent wastewater. (ii) reducing the eutrophication and BOD in the wastewater

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ENVIRONMNTAL ENGINEERING
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46.What is sludge digestion? What is its significance? The sewage sludge is large in bulk and contains putrescible substances and living organisms. Sludge is an excellent soil conditioner and it can be used as a fertilizer on farmland. However, it needs additional treatment to make it suitable. This treatment is called Sludge digestion and takes place in large, enclosed tanks. The main objective of sludge digestion is to break the organic matter of the sludge into liquid and simple compounds which are stable and unfoul in nature. Digestion significantly reduces the sludge quantity. This process removes abut 99.8% coli forms. A by-product of the sludge digestion process is methane gas. This can be burned to produce electricity.

47.What are the characteristics of suspended growth systems? Organisms are suspended in the treatment fluid. This fluid is commonly called the mixed liquor. Example: Activated sludge Suspended growth: Biomass well-mixed, in suspension High energy aeration systems Shocked more easily Biomass recycled Reliable N & P removal

48.What are the characteristics of attached growth biological systems? Organisms attached to some inert media like rocks or plastic. Example: Trickling
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filter. 49.What do you mean by activated sludge? The process involves the production of an activated mass of microorganisms capable of aerobic stabilization of organic material in wastewater. Biomass layered, attached More diverse (snails!), stratified microbiology Process control is empirically based on organic and hydraulic loading Resilient to shock loads Biomass not typically recycled unreliable N & P removal

50.What is MLSS concentration in case of activated sludge process? 2000-5000lt.

51.Determine the 5-day BOD for a 15 ml sample that is diluted with dilution water to a total volume of 300 ml when the initial DO concentration is 8 mg/l and after 5 days, has been reduced to 2 mg/l. D0 = 8 D5 = 2 P = 15 ml/300ml = 0.05 BOD (mg/l) = = 120 mg/l (8-2)/0.05

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