General Design Considerations

 Probability plots of historical flow and waste characteristics (BOD, COD, etc.); 50%,
90%, 99%, etc.
 Evaluation of company expansion plans or decommissioning.
 Source control and waste minimization efforts.
 Reductions via improved waste management practices, good housekeeping, improved
monitoring, etc.
 Sewer segregation efforts: process from stormwater, stormwater from process.
 Sewer rehabilitation efforts, such as internal lining or replacement.
 Redundancy/risk: one 100% train; two 50% trains; etc.
 Equalization/spill tank requirements: on-line organic equalization; off-line spill
containment; combination of both.
 Requirement for covering units: Benzene, etc.
 Effluent standards: Biomonitoring key issue today.
 Stormwater treatment: first flush, etc.

Waste Water Characteristics

Wastewater received by treatment plants contains a wide variety of substrates and operate
with a heterogeneous mass. Wastewater is mostly comprised of water (99.9%) together with
relatively small concentrations of suspended and dissolved organic and inorganic solids. The
amount and waste produced through each treatment process are unpredictable.

An understanding of the nature of wastewater is necessary in the design and operation of

collection, treatment, and disposal facilities Techniques for treatment are affected by specific
waste characteristics. Some characteristics are given below as an example.

Waste Characteristics (Physical, Biological and Chemical)

(Perry’s Chemical Eng’g Handbook 8th edition)

Property Characteristics Example Concentration

 Soluble Sugar
100gm/L
Solubility Insoluble PCB
1mg/L
Degradable Sugar
Stability, biological Refractory DDT, metals
Dissolved NaCl
10-9 m
Solids Colloidal Carbon
10-6 - 10-9 m
Suspended Bacterium
10-6 m
Carbon Alcohol
Organic Inoragnic Cu2+
Inorganic Acidic HNO3
pH Neutral Salt
1-12
Basic NaOH
High-Low Cooling
>5°
Temperature Heat Exchange
>30°
Biological Effects Heavy Metals
Varies
Toxicity Priority Compounds
Nutrients N NH3
Varies
P PO43-

PRETREATMENT

Separators

Each hopper should be pumped individually, cycling between hoppers. The

hoppers should have backflush water capability as well as water injection into the sides of
the hoppers to stir the solids just prior to the pumping cycle. Refineries that have cokers
and associated coke fines accumulating in the hoppers especially need this capability.
Additionally, one should consider a rotary drum oil skimmer on the discharge end of the
separator, in addition to the slotted pipe skimmer.

Equalization
One of the most significant devices is the equalization. It may be important to
equalize wastewater flows, wastewater concentrations, or both. Flow equalization is used
to provide storage volume for holding the quantity of waste discharge which exceeds the
 allowable amount being discharged to a sewer system. Storage requirements depend on
the designed waste discharge schedule. The equalization/spill tank should be sized on the
history of storm flow, and spills and dumps, having occurred at the facility (Vacker,
2007). The key to keeping this item up and running is proper design of the sample feed
pump and, especially, a good filtration system.

Primary Clarifier

Solids in most wastewaters are heterogeneous in nature. According to Camp (1946) and
Rich (1963) if all solids in wastewater are discrete particles of uniform size, shape and density
and settle independently, then the efficiency of sedimentation is only a function of terminal
settling velocity.
Hazen (1904) investigated the settling of particles using the ideal basin concept. He
assumed that (a) the direction of flow is horizontal uniform velocity throughout the settling zone,
(b) the concentration of suspended particles is uniform over depth at the inlet of the settling zone,
and (c) particles reaching the bottom remain discrete.
The empirical steady state model proposed by Smith predicts removal efficiency as an
exponential function of overflow rate, function of a settler.

M r  M i f (Qi AM i )

Where

M = total concentration of settleable materials

Mr = total concentration of settleable solids in the outflow of the settler

Mi = total conc’n in the flow

Qi = inflow rate

A = Area of the settler

In order to deal with variation of flow rate and concentration, dynamic model has been
developed by Takamatsu et al.

Secondary Clarifier
 Good design of secondary clarifier gives an excellent removal of organic matter by
activated sludge process. It has three distinct purposes (a) thickening of biological solids for
recycle (b) clarification of effluent and (c) storage of biological mass in the settler (Bhunai
1990).

The first to develop a dynamic model for thickening process was Bryan (1972).
C G C
 (U  s ), .
t C z
Where
U = underflow velocity
Gs = batch flux
C = suspended solid concentration
Vs = settling velocity
z = vertical distance
t = time

By concentrating the sludge in the thickener, the volume of the sludge is reduced. It is an
inexpensive and effective device. Although coagulant sludge thickens poorly, it can be gravity-
thickened to a solids content of 2 to 10% (Westerhoff and Cline, 1980). The use of slow-stir
rotating picket is another way of thickening sludge.

Wastewater Reuse