DISPOSAL OF SEWAGE EFFLUENTS

Dr. Animesh Debnath

Asst. Prof. Civil Engineering Department
NIT Agartala
 Introduction
 Degree of treatment of any kind of effluent is mainly focused
on avoiding depletion of natural sources but secondarily it
depends on methods and sources of disposal of sewage.
 Disposal point or source should be capable of handling the
pollution disposed on it without itself getting potentially
polluted.
 Generally used methods
 Dilution (disposal in water)
 River
 Lake
 sea

 Sewage farming or effluent irrigation or broad irrigation

(disposal on land)
 Dilution by river stream
Condition favouring disposal by dilution
 Fresh effluent ( 4 to 5 hrs old) and free from floating
and settlable solids.
 Source of disposal has a high D.O content
 Source of disposal is reasonably away from the
navigation or water supply on the downstream.
 Where the flow currents of diluting water are strong
enough to avoid deposition, nuisance or destruction
of aquatic life.
 When the outlet (sewer of the city or treatment plant)
is near natural water resource having large volumes.
Fig 1: Zones of pollution
 Zones of pollution
 Zone of degradation:
• Found for a certain length just below the point of disposal of sewage.
• Characterized by dark colour and excess turbidity with formation of sludge.
• D.O reduced to 40% and there is an increase in CO2. Re-oxygenation occurs
but slower than De-oxygenation.
• Unfavourable to growth of aquatic life like algae, but fish may exist by
feeding on organic waste. Certain type of worms (Limondrilus) and sewage
fungi (Sphaerotilusnatans) may also exist.
 Zone of active decomposition:
• Marked by heavy pollution.
• Characterized by greyish and darker than the previous zone.
• D.O falls to Zero and Anaerobic condition is formed leading to bubbling at
surface and formation of scum. Due to organic matter get stabilized the D.O
again increases to 40%.
• Bacteria will flourish; protozoa and fungi will disappear and re-appear; fish
and algae are absent; larvae (maggots and sewage fly) present in most septic
areas.
 Zone of recovery:
• River tries to recover by mineralizing organic contents giving
away nutrients and carbonates.
• the water becomes clear so algae appears and fungi disappears.
• B.O.D decreases; D.O increases above 40% above saturation.
• Protozoa, rotifers and few plants reappear including snails etc.
 Zone of cleaner water:
• River attains its actual conditions with D.O reaching
saturation.
• Water is quite clear and usual aquatic life prevails.
• Pathogens are still present hence proper treatment is necessary
before usage.
 Natural forces of purification
 Physical forces:
• Dilution and Dispersion Cs − sewage concentration
CsQs + CrQr = C(Qs + Qr) Qs − sewage flow rate
Cr − river concentration
• Sedimentation Qr − river flow rate
• Sunlight C − concentration of mixture
 Bio-Chemical forces:
• Oxidation
Deficiency created by sewage stabilization will be filled by
atmospheric oxygen and most important for self putrification of
rivers.
• Reduction
Hydrolysis of settlable organic matter either chemically or biologically.
Major factors controlling the processes are temperature, turbulence,
hydrography, D.O content, amount of organic waste and rate of
reaction.
 Indices of self-purification
The stages of self purification can be identified by
 Physical analysis
• Colour
• Turbidity

 Chemical analysis
• D.O
• B.O.D
• Suspended solids

 Biological analysis
• Biological of micro and macro organisms
 Oxygen deficit of a polluted river stream
The oxygen deficit is the difference between actual D.O and
saturation D.O at that time and any point of time. Oxygen deficit must
be NIL and it can be found by oxygen sag curve of that particular river
stream.

Fig 2: oxygen deficit curve

 Oxygen deficit of a polluted river stream
 De-oxygenation curve: curve l
• The rate depends on remaining organic matter at given time and
temperature of reaction
• It is similar to first stage B.O.D curve and hence can be
expressed mathematically same (i.e first stage B.O.D).
 Re-oxygenation curve: Curve ll
• To maintain the equilibrium the atmosphere supplies oxygen.
• Rate of the reaction depends upon depth, condition, saturation
deficit and temperature of the river.
 Oxygen deficit curve: Curve lll
• Above mentioned phenomenon go hand in hand. Deficit can be
found out by algebraic addition of curve l and ll.
• If curve l exceeds curve ll then there is an increase in deficit;
when both becomes equal then reaches critical point; when curve
ll increases then deficit decreases till zero
 Streeter-Phelps Equation
• Streeter –Phelps equation.

  ∗ . . .
= 10 − 10 + ∗ 10
−
− the D. O deficit (ppm) after t days

( ) −De-oxygenation coefficient, determined from B.O.D

( ) = ( ) 1.047
−initial oxygen deficit (ppm) ( ) = ( ) 1.016
− ultimate first stage B. O. D(ppm) 3.9
( ) = .
− Re oxygenation coeffecient
 Streeter-Phelps Equation
1  D0  
tc  *log 1   f  1  f 
K D  f  1  L 
KR tc is critical time and f= self-purification
f
KD constant

= 1− −1
∗
Above is the important first stage equation where,
L=B.O.D of mix
Dc=Maximum saturation DO deficit
 Dilution in lakes
• Disposing effluents in lakes is more harmful than in rivers. Phosphorous is the
prime lake pollutant followed by oxygen demanding wastes and toxic ones.
 Stratification in lakes
 Biological zones in lakes

Fig : Stratification in lakes

Fig : Biological zones in lakes
 Dilution in lakes
 Productivity of lakes:
 Eutrophication of lakes:
• A natural process under which lakes get infected
with algae and eventually become shallower and
enter the cycling of nutrients.
• Natural eutrophication gets carbon and nitrogen
from atmosphere and phosphorous from
sedimentary rocks. But the nutrient addition from
sewage, effluents, agriculture will intensify the
process .
• Hence quality management of lakes aims at
reducing eutrophication.
• Possible strategies are banning polyphosphates in
detergents and cosmetics , avoid seeping of septic
tank water, ban fertilizers containing high Fig 5: Productivity of
lakes
nutrient contents and making compatible
advanced treatment processes.
 Dilution in sea
• D.O content is lesser than river stream and it’s re-aeration is also slow.
• Due to its large volume the deficiencies are removed provided the sewage
is disposed deep and away from coast.
• Temperature difference should be a major consideration due to SLEEK
formation.

 Things to be kept in mind

• Discharge only in deep sea.
• Sewage should be released from a depth of 3 to 5 m to ensure mixing.
• At least 1.5 km from the shore line to avoid nuisance.
• Position of outfall, sea currents, wind direction and intensity, current
velocity etc.
• Sewer placed on rocky foundation to save it from currents and other
calamities.
 Disposal on land
 Optimal conditions for choosing land as a
disposal media:
• Natural rivers or water resource are not
available in the vicinity.
• Scarcity of irrigation water.
• Where water table is quite low and rate
of percolation is high
• Large areas of open land is available.
• Where rainfall is low.
• Land should be porous, increasing the
aeration
and avoid clogging.
 Methods of applying sewage to farms:
• Surface irrigation
• Sub-surface irrigation
• Sprinkler / spray irrigation
 Disposal on land
 Effluent irrigation and sewage farming are not the same.
• Former insists disposal of sewage and later for growing crops.
 Sewage sickness:
• Due to prolonged use of sewage may lead to clogging of voids
and affects aeration leading to anaerobic decomposition. In this
process organic matter is degraded but foul smell arises due to the
formation of gasses like hydrogen sulphide, methane etc. this is
known as sewage sickness.
• Preventive measures are,
o Primary treatment of sewage
o Choice of land
o Under-drainage of soil
o Giving rest to the land
o Rotation of crops
o Applying shallow depths
 Dilution Vs land disposal
 Large volume of fresh water - large land preferably sand soils.
 Best suited in urban and cities – in villages where large land is
available.
 Requires less management- good management is a pre-
requisite
 Full/ partial treatment of sewage – either pre treatment /no
treatment.
 Not preferable in hot climatic areas – preferred.
End of the chapter