red _ 5.2 SECONDARY (BIOLOGICAL) TREATMENT | __ Primary treatment processes remove only those pollutants that will either float or settle out by gravity. “But about half of the raw pollutant load still remains in the primary effluent, The purpose of secondary “ieatment is to remove the suspended solids that did not settle out in the primary tanks and the dissolved ‘BOD that is unaffected by physical treatment. Secondary treatment is generally considered to mean 85% "BOD and TSS removal efficiency and represents the minimum degree of treatment required in most tases, Secondary treatment processes are almost always biological systems. Biological treatment of sewage involves the use of microorganisms. The microbes, including bacteria and protozoa, consume the organic pollutants as food. They metabolize the biodegradable organics, "converting them into carbon dioxide, water and energy for their growth and reproduction. This natural | aerobic process requires oxygen, | _A iological sewage treatment system must provide the microorganisms with a comfortable home. In ® effect, the treatment plants allow the bacteria to stabilize the organic pollutants in a controlled, artificial fnvironment of stecl and concrete, rather than in a stream or lake, This helps to protect the dissolved | oxygen balance of the natural aquatic environment, To keep the microbes happy and productive in their task of wastewater treatment, they must be Provided with enough oxygen, adequate contact with the organic material in the sewage, suitable ) temperatures’ and other favorable conditions, The design and operation of a secondary treatment plant is ™ accomplished with these factors in mind, Two Most Common Biological Treatment System: 1, Trickling Filter — is a typé of fixed-growth system, ihe microbes remain fixed or attached to a surface while the wastewater flows over that surface to provide.contact with the organics, 2. Activated Sludge Process ~ is a suspended-growth system, because the microbes are thoroughly mixed and stispended in the wastewater, rather than attached to a particular surface. Trickling Filters A wickling filter consists basically of a layer or bed of erushed rock about 2m deep. It is usually ‘ iroular in sliape and may be built as large as 60 m in diameter, Trickling filters are always preceded by “Primary treatment to remove coarse and settleable solids. The primary effluent (wastewater that flows out from a treatment plant or individual treatment process) is sprayed over the surface of the crushed stone bed and trickles downward through the bed to an underdrain system. A rotary distributor arm with nozzles located along its length is usually used to spray the sewage, although sometimes fixed nozzles are used. The rotary distributor arm is mounted on a center column in the trickling filter. It is driven around by the reaction force or jet action of the wastewater that through the nozzles. t flows ‘The underdrain system serves to collect and carry away the wastewater from the bottom of the bed and to permit air circulation upward through the stones. As long as topography permits, the sewage flows from the primary tank to the trickling filter by the force of gravity, rather than by pumping. A cutaway view of a typical trickling filter unit is shown below in figure 10.5. Distipvtor arms ter meaium FIGURE 10.5 Gutanway view of a trickling fter. Trickting filters are sometimes en- closed or covered for odor control, te er ee ere eee SSS 34sea As the primary effluent trickles downward through the bed of stones, a biological slime of microbes develops on the surface of the rocks, The continuing flow of the wastewater over these fixed biological growths provides the necded contact between the microbes and the organics. The microbes in the thin slime layer absorb the dissolved organics, thus ‘removing oxygen-demanding substances from the | wastewater. Air circulating through the void spaces in the bed of stones provides the needed oxygen for stabilization of the organics by the microbes. It should be noted that the trickling filter is not really a filter at all, in the true sense of the word. ‘The stones are usually about 75 mm (3 in) in size, much too large to strain or filter out suspended solids. And, by definition, filters have no effect on dissolved solids. The’ stones in a trickling filter only serve to provide a large amount of surface area for the biological growths, and the large voids allow ample air circulation. Sometimes materials other than rock, such as medules of corrugated plastic or redwood slats, _ are used to provide the needed surface area and void spaces. iBut the basie purpose remains the same, ~ As the microorganisms grow and multiply, the slime layer gets thicker. Eventually, it gets so thick that the flowing wastewater washes it off the surfaccs of the stones. This is called sloughing (pronounced “sluffing”). Since sloughing does occur periodically, there is a need to provide settling time for the trickling filter effluent, in order to remove the sloughed biological solids. These solids consi billions of microorganisms that have absorbed the dissolved organics into their bodies, ‘The trickling filter effluent is collected in the underdrain system and then conveyed to a sedimentation tank called a secondary clarifier. The secondary clarifier or final clarifier is similar in most respects to the primary ‘clarifier, although there are differences in detention time, overflow rate, weir loading and other details To mainthin a relatively uniform flow rate through the trickling filter'and to keep the distributor arm Totating even during periods of low sewage flow, some of the wastewater may be recirculated. In other ‘words, a portion of the effluent is pumped back to the trickling filter inlet so that it will pass through the bed of stones more than once, Recirculation can also serve to improve the pollutant removal efficiency. It allows the microbes to | Temove organics that flowed by them during the Previous pass through the bed. There are many | Fecirculation pattems and configurations of trickling filter plants. One common pattern, called direct Fecirculation, is shown in a flow diagram in figure 10.6 basically of Recirculation oI ner al | FIGURE 10.6 ; | Schematic diagram showing recirculation of flow —* | rough a tricking fer: The vate af sewage flow op ! plied to:the filter is the sum of the influent flow rate | ‘and the recirculated flow rate. 35,9ed Lesson 5: Wastewater Treatment and Disposal 5.2 SECONDARY (BIOLOGICAL) TREATMENT ‘i Recirculation ‘The amount of recirculation can vary. It is characterized by a recirculation rat recycled flow to the raw wastewater flow. In formula form, it is which is the ratio of 0-2) where R recirculation ratio Qe = recirculated flow rate Q= raw sewage flow rate “The recirculation ratio, R, is generally in the range of 0.0 t0 3.0. Hydraulic Load ‘The rate at which the wastewater flow is applied to the trickling filter surface is called the hydraulic load. The hydraulic load includes the recirculated flow Qn; the total flow through the tri equal to Q+'Qe. In formula form. It is Jing filter is hydraulic load Q+Q, (10-3) i As whete Q = raw sewage flow rate (Qu= recirculated flow rate ‘As = trickling filter surface area (plan view) Hydraulic load may be expressed in terms of cubic meters per day per square meter of surface area, oF m'/m? + d. It may also be expressed in terms of million gallons per acre of surface area per day, or mil ‘gal/acld. A typical value for a conventional trickling filter is 20-m'/m? - d (19 mil gal/ac/d) Organic (BOD) Load ‘The rate at which organic material is applied to the trickling filter is called the organic or BOD toad It does not include the BOD added by recirculation. Organic load is expressed in terms of kilograms of BOD per cubic meter of bed volume per day, or kg/m’ - d. It is also expressed in terms of pounds of BOD per thousand cubic feet of bed volume per day, or Ib/1000 f'/d. A typical value for organic load on a trickling filter is 0.5 kg/m? - d, or 30 1b/1000 f*/d, In formula form the organic load may be expressed as organic load = Ox BOD (10-4a) v (metric units) or organic load = 8340x Qx BOD (10-4b) v . (US. customary units) where Q = raw wastewater flow, ML/d (mgd) BOD = BOD, in the primary effluent, mg/L (ppm) . ‘V = volume of trickling filter bed, m’ (ft") Efficiency ROD removal efficiency of a trickling filter unit depends primarily on the organic load, the recirculation ratio, and the temperature of the wastewater. Generally, the efficiency increases with decreasing organic load, increasing recirculation, and increasing temperature. For example, with no recirculation (R= 0) and a temperature of 20°C, a typical trickling filter will have an efficiency of about 60% when the organic load is about 2 kg/m’ « d. But if the organic load is 0.5 kg/m’ -d, at the same conditions of recirculation and temperature, the efficiency will be 75%. Furthermore, at the 0.5-kg/m® - day loading, a recirculation of R = 1 instead of R~ 0 could raise the efficiency to about 80%. And if the temperature increased to 22°C, the efficieney would be raised to about 85%, Activated Sludge Treatment “The basic components of an activated sludge sewage treatment system include an acration tank and a secondary settling basin or clarifier. Primary effluent is mixed with settled solids that are recycled from the cocondary clarifier and then introduced into the aeration tank. Compressed air is injected continuously into the mixture through porous diffusers located at the bottom of the tank, shown in figure 10.7, 36Zea turn sludge oy FIGURE 10.7 (@) Typical activated sludge sewage treatment plant, The rectangular tanks in the foreground are the aeration tanks; the air diffusers have been raised out af the tank on the right (FMC Corporation); (1) a flow Giaararn.for a conventional activated studge plant. mn the acration tank, microorganisms consume the dissolWed organic pollutants as food. The microbes absorb and aerobically decompose the organics, using oxyfien provided in the compressed air, water, carbon dioxide, and other stable compounds are formed. In addition to providing oxygen, the compressed air thoroughly mixes the microbes and wastewater together !as it rapidly bubbles up to the surface from the diffusers. Sometimes mechanical propellerlike mixers, Ibcated at the liquid surface, are used instead of compressed air and diffusers. The chuming action of the propeller blades mixes air with the wastewater and keeps the contents of the tank in uniform suspension ihe aerobic microorganisms inthe tank grow and multiply, forming an active suspension of biological solids called activated sludge. The combination of the activated shidge and wastewater in the acravion tank is called the mixed liquor. In the basic ot conventional activated sludge treatment system, a tanke detention time of about 6 hours is required for thorough stabilization of most ofthe organics in the mixed liquor. After about 6 hours of acration, the mixed liquor flows to the secondary or final clarifier, in which the activated sludge solids settle out by gravity. The clarified water near the surface, called the supernatant, is discharged over an effluent weir; the settled sludge is pumped out from a sludge hopper at the bottom: of the tank. Recycling a portion of the sludge back to the inlet of the aeration tank i characteristic of this treatment process. The settled sludge is in an active state. In of! Iicrobes are well acclimated to the wastewater and, given the opportunity decompose more organics by their metabolism, By pumping about 30% of the wastewater flow from the bottom of the clarifier back to the head of the acration tank, the activated sludge process can be maintained continuously. When mixed with the primary cffluent, the hungry microbes quickly begin to absorb and metabolize the fresh food in the form of BOD. causing organics. Since the microbes multiply and inerease greatly in numbers, it is recycle or retum all the sludge to the aeration tank. The excess sludge, called waste act ‘must eventually be treated and disposed of. He is an essential her words, the will readily absorb and 1ot possible to tivated sludge, 37sed Lesson 5: Wastewater Treatment and Disposal 5.2 SECONDARY (BIOLOGICAL) TREATMENT F/M Ratio An important factor used in the design and operation of activated studge systems is known as the food- to-microorganisms (F/M) ratio. The food is measured in terms of kilograms (or pounds) of BOD added to the tank per day. And since the suspended solids in the mixed liquor consist mostly of living microorganisms, the suspended solids concentration is used+as a measure of the amount of ‘microorganisms in the tank, This concentration is called the mixed liquor suspended solids (or MLSS). ‘The F/M ratio is an indicator of the organic load on the system, with respect to the amount of biological solids in the tank, For conventional aeration tanks, the ratio is in the range of 0.2 to 0.5. It can bbe computed from the following formula: F/M = OxBOD_ MLSS x V_ (10-5), where: F/M = food-to-microorginisms Zatio, in units of kilograms of BOD per kilograms of MLSS per day ‘ Q =raw sewage flow rate, ML/d (mgd) BOD = applied 5-day BOD, mg/L (ppm) MLSS = mixed liquor suspended solids, mg/L. 'V = volume of aeration tank, ML (million jal) Studge Settling : In the activated sludge process, the organic pollutants are:absorbed by the billions of microtganisms in an acration tank, These microorganisms essentially are the activated sludge. But without proper clarification or separation of the sludge from the liquid portion of the mixed liquor, the treatment process will not be effective at all. For this reason, gravity settling in the secondary clarifier is a most important part of the activated siudge treatment system, If the sludge does not settle fast enough, some of it will be carried over the effluent weirs of the clarifier and cause pollution of the receiving body of water. Under certain conditions in an activated sludge sewage treatment plant, filamentous or stringy bacteria, usually of the species Sphaerortlus natans, grow prolifically in the aeration tank, making the sludge very fluffy and light. Sludge with excessive growths of these filamentous organisms settles very slowly, and a clear supematant is not formed in the secondary clarifier. Much of the sludge flows out with the effluent. This condition is called sludge bulking. Bulking of activated sludge may be controlled ot limited by appropriate adjustments in MLSS concentration and F/M ratio. A number called the sludge volume index (SVI) is used to evaluate the settleability of the activated sludge, It is equal to the volume occupied by 1 gram of settled sludge and is expressed in units of milliliters per gram (m/z), The determination of SVI involves taking a sample of mixed liquor from the aeration tank and allowing it to settle for 30 min in a 1-L graduated glass eylinder. This is illustrated in figure 10.8. The vqlume of settled sludge is read from the markings on the cylinder. The MLSS concentration in the mixed ior is also measured. wet Fen rion FIGURE 10.9 Schematic illustration of the lab test for sluckge volume index (SVD, ‘which és used to evaluate sludge setiling characteristics. x es : aod ‘The following formula is used to compute SVI: SVI = Vx 1000 MLSS. (ao. where SVI= sludge volume index, mL ‘V=volume of settled sludge, mL/L MLSS = mixed liquor suspended solids, mg/L A normal sludge with good settling characteristics generally has an SVI of less than 100. As the SVI increases above 100, sludge settleability decreases and sore solids get carried over the effluent weir of the clarifier. Severely bulking sludges have SVI values of over 200, A very high SVI is an indication to a treatment plant operator that the sludge return rate should be increased, the aeration rate should be Accreased, or some other process adjustment should be made, Sometimes chlorine is added to the aeration tank to destroy the filamentous organisms, but this is a last resort to control the problem, In general, a well-operated activated sludge treatment system can remove about 90% of the raw sewage BOD and TSS; sometimes removal efficiency may be as high as 95%. In contrast to the simpler trickling filter sewage treatment system, however, an activated sludge plant requires careful operational control. Energy requirements in an activated sludge plant are also high because of the power consumed for aeration. Secondary Effluent Disinfection ‘The last step in the secondary sewage treatment process is disinfection. The purpose of sewage disinfection is to destroy any pathogens in the effluent that may have survived the treatment process, thereby protecting public health. (Removal of BOD and TSS serves primarily to protect the aquatic environment.) Sewage disinfection is particularly important when the secondary effluent is discharged imo a body of water used for swimming or water supply by a downstream community. Like drinking water, sewage is usually disinfected by chlorination, The chlorine demand of wastewater is relatively high when compared to that of drinking water. A chlorine dosage of about 10 mg/L is required to leave a combined chlorine residual of 0.5 mg/L in the secondary effiuent. A residual of 0.5 mg/L is the minimum required by most environmental regulatory agencies for wastewater effluents. A separate chlorine contact tank, with a series of bafilés to eliminate short-circuiting of the flow, is used to ensure at least 15 min of contact time between the sewage and the chlorine. Although the presence of a chlorine residual is a good indication of effective disinfection, more than just residual testing is required; specifically, bacteriological testing may be necessary. National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits typically specify a maximum allowable concentration of 200 feeal coliforms per 100 mL. in the plant effluent. Excessive chlorination of sewage can have an adverse environmental impact. High chlorine concentrations in the vicinity of sewage treatment plant outfall pipes can kill fish and other aquatic life. ‘The treatment plant operator must carefully control the chlorine dosage to prevent wasting chlorine as well as to prevent fish-kills In some cases, it is necessary to dechlorinate the effluent (wastewater that flows out from a treatment plant) to protect aquatic life. This problem can be avoided if ultraviolet (UV) light is used for disinfect of effluent, rather than chlorine To test the effectiveness of a particular treatment method on a specific source of water or wastewater, pilot plant studies are often performed, ‘This involves building and operating a small-scale treatment facility before making a major investment in the full-scale plant. Prior to construction of a pilot plant, bench scale testing’is done in the laboratory.ord Lesson 5: Wastewater Treatment and Disposal 5.3 TERTIARY (ADVANCED TREATMENT) Secondary treatment can remove between 85 and 95% of the BOD and TSS in raw sanitary sewage. Generally, this leaves 30 mg/L or less of BOD and TSS in the secondary effluent, But sometimes this level of sewage treatment is not sufficient to protect the aquatic environment. For example, periodic low flow rates in a trout (freshwater fish) stream may not provide the amount of dilution of the effluent that is ‘needed to maintain the dissolved oxygen (DO) levels for trout survival, Another limitation of secondary treatment is that it does not significantly reduce the effluent concentration of nitrogen and phosphorous in the sewage. Nitrogen and phosphorous are important plant nutrients. If they are discharged into a lake, algal blooms (visible overgrowth of algae) and accelerated lake aging or cultural eutrophication (natural aging of a lake, characterized by high nutrient levels, excessive plant growth and accumulation of bottom sediments), may be the result. Aso, the nitrogen in the sewage cffluent may be present mostly in the form of ammonia compounds. ‘These compounds are toxic to fish if the concentrations are high cnough, Yet another problem with the ammonia is that it exerts a nitrogenous oxygen demand in the receiving water, as it is converted to nitrates, This process is called nitrification, which is the conversion of ammonia into nitrates by bacterial action, causing a decrease in dissolved oxygen levels in water or sewage. ‘When poltutant removal greater than that provided by secondary treatment is required, either to further reduce the BOD or TSS concentrations in the effluent or to remove plant nutrients, additional or advanced treatment steps are required. This is also called tertiary treatment, because many of the additional processes follow the primary and secondary processes in sequence. Tertiary treatment of sewage can remove more than 99% of the pollutants from raw sewage and can Produce an effluent (wastewater that flows out from a treatment plant) of almost drinking water quality But the cost of tertiary treatment, for operation and maintenance as well as for construction, is very high, sometimes doubling the cost of secondary treatment, The benefit-to-cost ratio is not always big enough to justify the additional expense. Nevertheless, application of some form of tertiary treatment is not Common Tertiary Processes 1. Effluent Polishing 2. Phosphorous Removal 3. Nitrogen Removal 1. Effluent Potishing ~ is the removal of additional BOD and TSS from secondary effluents. It is most often accomplished using a granular-media filter, much like the filters used to purify drinking water. Since the suspended solids consist mostly of organic compounds, filtration removes BOD as well as TSS. Generally,-mixed-media filters are used to achieve in-depth filtration of the effluent. Because of the organic and biodegradable nature of the suspended solids in the secondary effluent, tertiary filters must be bback-washed frequently. Otherwise, decomposition would cause septic or anaerobic conditions to develop im the filter bed. In addition to the conventional backwash eyele, an auxiliary surface air-wash is used to thoroughly scour and clean the filter bed. Filtration may be done by gravity in an open tank or by pressure in closed pressure vessels, A schematic diagram of an automatic-backwash tertiary: filter is shown in figure 10.18. The filtered water may be stored in an adjacent tank and used for backwash water when the head loss through the filter reaches a predetermined level, Another process called micrastraining also finds application as a tertiary step in wastewater treatment for suspended solids reduction, The microstrainers, also called microscreens, are composed of specially woven steel wire cloth mounted around the perimeter of a large revolving drum. The steel wire cloth acts as a fine screen, with openings as small as 20 micrometers (tim) or millionths of a meter. ‘The rotating drum is partially submerged in the secondary effluent, which must flow into the drum and then outward through the microscreen, As the drum rotates, captured solids are carried to the top where a high-velocity water spray flushes them into a hopper mounted on the hollow axle of the dram. A typical microscreen installation is illustrated in figure 10.19, 401rd Fate ‘let Filtering Fit Backwashing CL] tewtercorine f FIGURE 10.18 Auto baolawash rapid filters may be used to polish the effluent ina ter- tiary or advanced sewage treatment plant. Diagram (a) shows the fltra- i tion mode, and diagram. (b) shows the backwash mode of operation. . \ ‘Three individual filter cells may be constructed in a single prefabricated i it, a8 shown én diagram (c). (EIMCO Process Equipment Company) | Screenings *4ppert ‘eum FIGURE 10.19 : : Perspective view showing the basic components of a microstrainer ‘unit, whic may be used for tertiary sewage treatment, (Permutit: ©o., Inc.) ;tra Phosphorous Removal Phosphorous is one of the plant nutrients that contributes to the eutrophication of lakes. Raw sewage contains about 10 mg/L of phosphorous, ftom houschold detergents as well as from sanitary wastes. ‘The Phosphorous in wastewater is primarily in the form of organic phosphorous and as phosphate compounds. Only about 30% of this phosphorous is removed by the bacteria in a conventional secondary sewage ‘treatment plant, leaving about 7 mg/L of phosphorous in the effluent. ‘When stream or effluent standards require lower phosphorous concentrations, a tertiary treatment Process must be added to the treatment plant. This usually involves chemical precipitation of the phosphate ions and coagulation. The organic phosphorous compounds are entrapped in the coagulant flocs that are formed and settle out in a clarifier. One chemical frequently used in this process is aluminum sulfate, AL,SO,, This is called alum, the same coagulant chemical used to purify drinking water. The aluminum ions in ths alum react with the Phosphate ions in the sewage to form the insoluble precipitate called aluminum phosphate. Adding the coagulant downstream of the secondary processes provides the greatest overall reliability for phosphorous reduction, It not only removes about 90% of the phosphorous, but it removes additional ‘TSS and serves to polish the effluent as well. Nitrogen Removal Nitrogen can exist in wastewater in the form of organic stitrogen, ammonia or nitrate compounds. Nitrogen in the form of ammonia can be toxic to fish, and it exerts an oxygen demand in receiving waters as it is converted to nitrate, Nitrate nitrogen is one of the major nutrients that cause algal blooms and cutrophication. For these reasons, it is sometimes necessary to remove the nitrogen from the sewage effluent before discharge. This is particularly important if itis discharged directly into a lake One of the methods used to remove nitrogen is called biological nitrifieation-denitrification. It consists of two basic steps. 1, First, the secondary effluent is introduced into another aeration tank or trickling filter. Since most of the carbonaceous BOD has already been removed, the microorganisms that will now thrive in this tertiary Step are the nitrifying bacteria, Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter. In this first step, called nitrification, the ammonia nitrogen is converted to nitrate nitrogen, producing a nitrified effluent. At this point, the nitrogen has not actually been removed, but only converted to a form that is not toxic to fish and does not cause an additional oxygen demand. 2. A second biological treatment step is necessary to actually remove the nitrogen from the wastewater. This is called denitrification, an aerobic process in which the organic chemical methanol is added to the nitvified effluent to serve as a source of carbon. The denitrifying bacteria Pseudomonas and other groups use the carbon from the methanol and the oxygen from the nitrates in their metabolic processes. One Product of this biochemical reaction is molecular nitrogen, No, which escapes into the atmosphere as a sas. Another method for nitrogen removal is called ammonia stripping. It is a physical-chemical rather than a biological process consisting of two basic steps. First, the pH of the wastewater is raised in order to “convert the ammonium ions, NH, to ammonia gas, NHs. Second the wastewater is cascaded down through a large tower; this eauses turbulence and contact with air, allowing the ammonia to escape as a gas. Large volumes of air are circulated through the tower to carry the gas out of the system. The combination of ammonia stripping with phosphorous removal using lime as a coagulant is advantageous, since the lime can also serve to raise the pH of the wastewater: Ammonia stripping is less expensive than biological nitrification-denitrification, but it does not work very efficiently under cold-weather conditions 42