Wastewater Treatment Plant

Preliminary & Primary Treatments

Wastewater Treatment Plant

Animated Video
 Why Treatment??
• The primary purpose of the treatment of
sewage is to prevent the pollution of the
receiving waters.
 Stages of treatment processes
• In general, these processes are divided into
three stages:
• Preliminary (physical),
• Primary (physical) treatment
• Secondary (biological) treatment.
• Minimally, wastewater should receive primary
(physical removal/settling) and secondary
(biological) treatment, which can be followed
by disinfection before discharge.
Flow Diagram of Preliminary & Primary
Treatment of WW
Preliminary, Primary & Secondary
Treatment
Preliminary, Primary & Secondary
Treatment
Parts of Preliminary Treatment
 Wastewater Treatment Plant
• Wastewater contains large solids and grit that can
interfere with treatment processes or cause undue
mechanical wear and increased maintenance on
wastewater treatment equipment.
• To minimize potential problems, these materials
require separate handling.
• Preliminary treatment removes these constituents
from the influent wastewater.
• Preliminary treatment consists of screening, grit
removal, septage handling, odor control, and flow
equalization.
 Screening
• Screening is the first unit operation used at
wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs).
• Screening removes objects such as rags, paper,
plastics, and metals to prevent damage and
clogging of downstream equipment, piping, and
appurtenances.
• Some modern wastewater treatment plants use
both coarse screens and fine screens.
• Figure 1 depicts a typical bar screen (a type of
coarse screen).
Coarse Screen
Bar Screen
 Bar screens
• A grating of steel bars spaced about 2–4 cm on
centers is placed at an angle to the flow of
sewage through an open channel.
• The raw influent first goes through a self-
cleaning screen and then into one end of a
shallow and rather fast moving basin so that
sand and gravel can settle out.
• The screen removes coarse and floating solids
from the sewage. The screen must be cleaned
regularly and the removed solids must be
burned, ground and digested, or buried.
Screen - view
 Comminutor
• Many systems have a grinder known as a
comminutor used either with or instead of a
bar screen for grinding large particles which
might clog the pumps.
 Grit chamber
• A chamber in which the velocity of waste flow
is reduced to a point where the denser sand
and other grit will settle out, but the organic
solids will remain in suspension.
• The settled material is buried or used for fill.
Grit chamber
 Primary settling tanks (or basins)
• These are usually large tanks in which solids
settle out of water by gravity where the settle-
able solids are pumped away (as sludge), while
oils float to the top and are skimmed off.
• It operates by means of the velocity of flow is
reduced to about 0.005 m so that the suspended
material (organic settle-able solids) will settle
out.
• The usual detention time is 11/2–21/2 hours.
Primary settling tanks (or basins)
 Primary settling tanks (or basins)
• Longer periods usually result in depletion of
dissolved oxygen and subsequent anaerobic
conditions.
• Removal of suspended solids ranges from 50–
65 per cent.
• 30–40 per cent reduction of the five-day
biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) can be
expected.
 Sludge digesters
• The sludge which settles in the sedimentation
basin is pumped to the sludge digesters where a
temperature of 30–35ºC is maintained.
• This is the optimum temperature for the
anaerobic bacteria (bacteria that live in an
environment that does not contain oxygen).
• The usual length of digestion is 20–30 days but
can be much longer during winter months.
• Continual adding of raw sludge is necessary and
only well-digested sludge should be withdrawn
Sludge digesters
Dry Sludge
Thanks
Secondary Treatment

Biological Treatment
Secondary Treatment of Wastewater
 Secondary Treatment of Wastewater

• After primary treatment, if wastewater is further treated

for the removal of colloidal and soluble organic matter
present in wastewater, then it is called secondary
treatment of wastewater.
• Normally, biological processes are employed to remove
the remaining colloidal and soluble organic content
• The treatment system provided usually consists of
Activated Sludge Process, ASP (an aeration basin with
return sludge facility
• or Trickling Filter (a basin with fixed-filter media filter)
and Secondary Settling Tank (SST), also known as the
secondary clarifier in a conventional treatment plant
Biological Secondary Treatment System
 Other Biological Treatment Units

• Other biological treatment units usually

provided for secondary treatment of
wastewater, include:
• Waste Stabilization Ponds (also known as
Oxidation Ponds)
• Oxidation Lagoons (Aerated Lagoons)
• Oxidation Ditches (Extended Aeration System)
• Rotating Biological Contactor (RBC)
• Up-flow Anaerobic Filter (UAF)
• Up-flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB)
THANKS