BIRLA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE

K K BIRLA GOA CAMPUS

Comprehensive Examination 2017
Course No: BIOF 216
Course Title: WATER,SANITATION & SOLID WASTE MGMT

Duration : 3 hour Marks: 80 Date : 12/05/2018 Closed

Book

1. Calculate Disability adjusted Life years (DALYs) for a person with following condition ? Life
expectancy of a person is 80 years. He contracts HIV at the age of 36 and
without medication his rate of quality of life is 0.5. After 4 years, he starts his
medication and his rate of quality of life becomes 0.167. However he dies
prematurely at the age of 70. Calculate the DALY for the person? (5)

2. What is Log reduction value (LRV) with reference to a contaminant? When is the value
of LRV=0? (5)

3. What is Dracunculiasis? Explain the life cycle using a widespread example? (5)

4. How can we detect faecal contamination in water? What are the ideal characteristics of a
faecal indicator organism. Give examples? (5)

5. Boiling is the most widely used household water purification method. What are its
disadvantages? (2)

6. What is SODIS? What is its advantages and disadvantages? (3)

7. What are coagulants? Explain the mechanism of coagulation. Name some plant based
coagulants and how do they work. Give some disadvantages of plant based coagulants?
(5)

8. What chemical and biological aspects are removed/treated in a biosand filter? (5)

9. What is an “F” diagram? What are the important aspects covered in an F diagram? (5)

10. What do you understand by “stabilization” of fecal sludge? What is stable and unstable
sludge? How can stabilization and nutrient management of the sludge be achieved? (5)

11. What is the difference between Excreta, faecal sludge and waste water? What are the
important parameters considered before using faecal sludge as an energy providing fuel?
(5)
12. Explain how Johkasou law is effective in Faecal Sludge Management? (5)

13. Explain Resource recovery from Faecal sludge? What are the different treatment products that
could be generated? (5)

14. Explain the effluent characteristics using a tabular column with reference to suspended solids,
COD, Ammoniacal Nitrogen in the following cases i.e Unplanted drying beds, Planted drying beds
and domestic wastewater? (5)

15. How is faecal sludge management done with reference to a city? Explain with shit flow diagram
mentioning the percentage of faecal sludge that could be treated with reference to the city?
(5)

16. Explain Biological mechanisms in faecal sludge management? (5)

17. Explain Financial flow pattern in Faecal Sludge management? (5)

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1. Calculate Disability adjusted Life years (DALYs) for a person with following condition ?
Life expectancy of a person is 80 years. He contracts HIV at
the age of 36 and without medication his rate of quality of life is
0.5. After 4 years, he starts his medication and his rate of quality
of life becomes 0.167. However he dies prematurely at the age of
70. Calculate the DALY for the person? (5)

Disability adjusted life years

2. What is Log reduction value (LRV) with reference to a contaminant? When is

the value of LRV=0? (5)

The main indicator of a performance target is a log reduction value, or LRV. This is
the number of log units by which a chemical or other contaminant is reduced through
treatment. we can easily calculate the LRV by taking the ratio of the contaminant
before and after treatment, and then taking the base ten logarithm. If the concentration
is unchanged by the treatment, that means there's no removal, then the LRV is zero.
3. What is Dracunculiasis? Explain the life cycle using a widespread example?

Dracunculiasis, also called Guinea-worm disease (GWD), is a parasitic infection by

the Guinea worm. It is a water-based disease. A person becomes infected when
they drink water that contains water fleas infected with guinea worm larvae. Its
larvae live in freshwater and are eaten by small aquatic insects called copepods. The
larvae are tiny, but the copepods are big - typically about one millimeter - and visible
to the naked eye. Once a person drinks water containing the copepods, hydrochloric
acid in the stomach kills the insect and releases the larvae, which mature and grow
into adult worms. These can reach a length of nearly a meter and be as wide as a
spaghetti noodle. The worms migrate through the body and emerge through the skin,
often near the feet. The worm has to be removed slowly, winding it up and pulling it
out of the body, bit by bit, over weeks. This is extremely painful. It creates sores and
blisters and people often soak their feet in water to relieve the pain. The worm then
discharges hundreds of thousands of larvae into the water, completing the
transmission cycle.

4. How can we detect faecal contamination in water? What are the ideal
characteristics of a faecal indicator organism. Give examples?
(5)

We look for indicator species that can show the presence of fecal contamination.

characteristics of an ideal fecal indicator are:

a. It should be something that's universally present in the feces of both human and
animals in large numbers. Those numbers should be higher than the actual
numbers of the pathogens of interest.

b. The indicator should not be harmful or pathogenic in itself.

c. It should be something that's readily detected using simple, inexpensive

methods, and it should also persist in the environment, or water, in a similar
manner to fecal pathogens.

d. And finally, if possible the indicator should respond to treatment in a similar

fashion to faecal pathogens.

One of the most common indicator species is a bacteria class called total coliforms.
 Total coliforms are bacteria that can ferment lactose and produce acid and gas at 35
degrees Celsius. There are many different families of coliforms.

Citrobacter, Klebsiella, Hafnia, and Enterobacter. And for this reason, total coliforms
is not really useful as a fecal indicator, because many of these bacteria have non-fecal
sources.

However total coliforms can be useful for operational monitoring to demonstrate for
example the effectiveness of treatment or overall cleanliness and integrity in a
distribution system.

Escherichia coli, or E. coli, is one specific species of Thermotolerant Coliforms that

is generally agreed to be the most suitable indicator of fecal contamination.

5. Boiling is the most widely used household water purification method. What are
its disadvantages? (2)

The most widely practiced household water treatment process is boiling.

Boiling is highly effective against all classes of pathogens and people all around the
world understand that boiling makes water safer to drink. And they tend to trust the
treatment.

However, boiling can cause health risks, especially where biomass fuel is used, and
more fire means more indoor air pollution.

More fire also needs more fuel, which costs more money.

Boiled water can also have a flat taste, and sometimes chalky precipitates, formed
during boiling, which doesn't look nice.

And finally, boiled water is very vulnerable to re-contamination. Treated water has
to be cooled before drinking, and if this is done in an open container, there are good
chances for re-contamination.

6. What is SODIS? What is its advantages and disadvantages? (3)

The solar disinfection system, or SODIS, involves filing clear plastic bottles with
water and placing them in the direct sunlight for several hours. Different pathogens
have very different abilities to tolerate ultraviolet radiation. Bacteria such as E. coli
are relatively quickly killed, but Cryptosporidium is somewhat more tolerant
and some viruses can withstand high ultraviolet doses.
 SODIS is technically easy to implement. It doesn't require any complicated
supplies or chemicals and it's very inexpensive.

Other advantages are, that SODIS doesn't change the taste of the water, and that
water is generally treated in the same container which is later used for storage and
even drinking. So the risk or recontamination is low.

However, SODIS treatment is time consuming. Most commonly, water is cooled

overnight before drinking, and it can only treat relatively small volumes of water.

7. What are coagulants? Explain the mechanism of coagulation. Name some plant
based coagulants and how do they work. Give some disadvantages of plant based
coagulants? (5)

Coagulants add positive charges to this mixture. So the positive charge of a coagulant can
neutralize the negative charge of a particle. Or in some cases a larger coagulant molecule can
bridge between two negatively charged particles, helping them to come together and settle out of
solution.

Coagulants can also remove some dissolved compounds and improve the color of the raw water.

It's possible to make coagulants from plants. One of the most commonly used plants for this
purpose is Moringa oleifera, which is grown widely in Africa and Asia. It's called the drumstick
tree in Asia, because of those long seed pods.

To use moringa, you collect and dry the seeds and grind them into a powder, and then add them
to water to be treated, often at a dose of about 200 milligrams per liter.

There are many other plants that are used as coagulants. The prickly pear cactus is commonly
used in Latin America, and Nirmali seeds in India, which aren't very effective as a primary
coagulant, but can help if another coagulant is present. And there are other plants available in
different settings, that are also used as coagulants.

The way that these plant based coagulants work, is that the plant material contains a
compound, a chemical, it's often a water soluble protein, that has a positive charge. In fact
it might have many positive charges and be polycationic. And that can interact with particles
that have a negative charge to make them stickier, and make them settle some solution. Plant-
based coagulants tend to be most effective at higher turbidity when there are more particles
around to bump into and stick to each other. So if the turbidity is at least 30 or 50 these
coagulants will work better. Some of the plant-based coagulants, such as moringa, may also
have some antibacterial properties as well. But in general, they're not considered a complete
treatment, but a precursor to be followed by a disinfection step.
One disadvantage of the plant-based coagulants, is that they add a lot of dissolved organic
carbon to the water, which can foster regrowth of bacteria and eventually could cause taste
and odor problems.

8. What chemical and biological aspects are removed/treated in a biosand filter? (5)

Well they work best for the larger pathogens, the helminthes and protozoa, because they're
easier to strain out physically or to absorb onto the sand layers.

So typically you'll see more than 2-log removal of helminthes and protozoa. Bacteria slip
through a little bit more. we typically see one to two LRV in a biosand filter. And viruses are
typically not terribly well removed, with maybe about 70% removal being typical, which is less
than one LRV.

Some physical and chemical components are also removed through biosand filters.
Turbidity is nicely removed with about 90% removal, 85 to 95%. Iron is well removed because it
oxidizes within the filter and precipitates out on the sand coatings. So we might see 90 to 95%
removal there. A typical biosand filter will not remove arsenic, but there is an adapted version
which includes an iron source.

Finally, the filters don't remove nitrate or nitrite. But they can actually increase nitrite by
converting ammonia into the oxidized form, nitrate.

9. What is an “F” diagram? What are the important aspects covered in an F diagram? (5)

It is called an “F” diagram because there are 6 important "F" words covered in the diagram. They
are feces, fingers, flies, fields, food and fluids.

The F diagram depicts fecal oral routes of contamination which is what we need to prevent to
ensure public health. Fluids, if excreta contaminates drinking water, fields, if excreta
contaminates food crops, flies, as flies are vector. They are attracted to both feces and food
resulting in cross contamination and fingers; not adequately washing your hands before touching
food or eating.

10. What do you understand by “stabilization” of fecal sludge? What is stable and unstable
sludge? How can stabilization and nutrient management of the sludge be achieved? (5)
The biodegradable organic matter in fecal sludge varies depending on the source. But usually
needs to be stabilized prior to final end use or disposal. Stabilization involves the degradation
of readily degradable material, leaving behind more stable less degradable organics. This is
important in order to reduce the oxygen demand, produce stable and predictable
characteristics, reduce odors, and allow for easy storage and manipulation.

Stabilized organic matter does not have an exact agreed upon scientific definition. But in general,
it refers to resistance to further biodegradation. Stabilized sludge consists of particles like
cellulose lignin, inorganic matter, and the cellular material of microorganisms that
consume the readily degradable organics. Whereas, unstabilized sludge contains easily
degradable compounds, such as carbohydrates, proteins, and sugars.

Stabilization can be achieved through multiple types of aerobic and anaerobic treatments.
For example, composting. Nutrient management can also be achieved thru biological
treatment. For example, through the mineralization of organic matter as it is degraded
releasing nutrients into the environment. Or, through the immobilization of nutrients as
they are taken up during growth into new cellular material.

11. What is the difference between Excreta, faecal sludge and waste water? What are the
important parameters considered before using faecal sludge as an energy providing fuel?
(5)

excreta, is urine and faeces. This is different than faecal sludge which contains excreta, but in
addition includes anything else that goes into the on-site containment technology. From
flush water, cleansing materials, menstrual hygiene products, bathing or kitchen water, garbage,
or municipal solid waste. So this then, is the faecal sludge management service chain.

Waste water on the other hand, also contains excreta, but it is transported via a flush toilet
to a sewer and then transported via sewer to a treatment plant.

Important parameters are:

The calorific value, a measure of the energy content of the fuel is important for the
characterization of treatment products as solid fuel.

The ash in fuels is an important indicator for the amount of inorganics contained in fecal sludge.
it is the proportion of the fuel that does not burn and therefore does not contribute to the calorific
value.
12. Explain how Johkasou law is effective in Faecal Sludge Management? (5)

13. Explain Resource recovery from Faecal sludge? What are the different treatment products that
could be generated? (5)
14. Explain the effluent characteristics using a tabular column with reference to suspended solids,
COD, Ammoniacal Nitrogen in the following cases i.e Unplanted drying beds, Planted drying beds and
domestic wastewater? (5)

15. How is faecal sludge management done with reference to a city? Explain with shit flow diagram
mentioning the percentage of faecal sludge that could be treated with reference to the city? (5)
16. Explain Biological mechanisms in faecal sludge management? (5)

Stabilized compost or biogas

17. Explain financial flow pattern in Faecal Sludge Management? (5)