Wastewater Treatment Processes

(Sep 27th and 28th, 2016)

by Dr. Arun Kumar (arunku@civil.iitd.ac.in)

Objective: To learn about processes used in tertiary

treatment
Courtesy: Dr. Irene Xagoraraki, MSU, USA

September 29, 2016 Arun Kumar 1

(arunku@civil.iitd.ac.in)
 Sludge Disposal
(Q0-Qw); Ceff
• Method depends on RCRA regulations
Q0,C0
– Land Spreading
• lawns, gardens
• agricultural land
• forest land
• golf courses and other public recreational areas
Qw,Xw
– rate
Q0,=flow Municipal Solid Waste Landfill
C0,=initial concentration
– Utilization
X=biomass in other materials
concentration
Qw=sludge withdrawal rate
Xw= biomass concentration in
secondary settling tank
 Biological Treatment

Microorganism

Gravity
Soluble and colloidal organics

+ = For further treatment

September 29, 2016 arunku@civil.iitd.ac.in

Arun Kumar 3
(arunku@civil.iitd.ac.in)
 Municipal Wastewater
Treatment Systems
• Preliminary treatment (removes
materials that can cause operational
problems, equalization basins are
optional)
• Primary treatment (remove ~60% of
solids and ~35% of BOD)
• Secondary treatment (remove ~85% of
BOD and solids)
• Advanced treatment (varies: 95+ % of
BOD and solids, N, P)
• Final Treatment (disinfection)
• Solids Processing (sludge management)
 Secondary Wastewater Treatment
• High treatment • Low treatment
efficiency efficiency
– BOD to ~ 20 - 50 mg/L – Nitrogen
– SS to ~ 20 mg/L – Phosphorus
– Heavy Metals
– Poorly-biodegradable
Some pollutants are not
removed by the
organic chemicals
conventional secondary – Small particles
wastewater treatment – Resistant organisms
 1. Particles

Problem: Particles
• Presence of small particles that are too small to
be removed by settling.
• Attached to these particles can be organic
chemicals and metals.
• Particles may eventually settle in river or stream
(longer detention time).
• Particles can also be bacteria, protozoans, etc.
 Methods for removing particles

• Methods: (1)Sedimentation with and without addition of

coagulants (example: secondary sedimentation tank
(SST)with addition of ferric chloride or alum), (2)sand
filtration after SST to remove remaining particles from
supernatant
• Solids are called secondary solids
• Solids are settled at the bottom of tank and thickened.
• Mixed liquor suspended solids =10000mg/L
• Qw=solid wastage rate per day

September 29, 2016 7

 2. Organics

Problem: Trace Organics

• Organic
compounds,
pesticides,
endocrine
disruptors,
homores,
pharmaceuticals
 Methods for removing organics

• Ozonation: organic compounds are oxidized

• Chlorination: organic compounds are oxidized
• Adsorption: organic compounds are adsorbed on
materials (i.e., adsorbent surface)

September 29, 2016 9

 2. Organics

Carbon Adsorption
• Carbon is heated to about 1500 oC to “activate”
surfaces
• High surface area of particles with vast pore
spaces
– Capable of absorbing high quantity of organics
– Surface area > 1,000 m2/g
• Wastewater effluent is passed through filter under
pressure
• Carbon becomes exhausted
– replace carbon in system
– regenerate carbon (on-site or off-site)
 3. Phosphorus

Problem: Phosphorus

• increase in nutrients and

organic substances,
sediments
• overstimulation in growth of
algae and aquatic plants
• create conditions that
interfere with recreational
uses of lakes, and the
health and diversity of
indigenous life
• eutrophication
 3. Phosphorus

Phosphorus Removal

• Most phosphate in the form of (HPO42-)

• Usually removal accomplished with
chemical precipitation (salts)
– Ferric chloride: FeCl3
– Alum: Al2(SO4)3•14H2O
– Lime: CaO or Ca(OH)2
 3. Phosphorus

Phosphorus Removal: Chemical

method
FeCl3 + HPO42- = FePO4 (s) + HCl
Al2(SO4)3·14H2O + 2 HPO42- = 2AlPO4 (s) + 2H+ + 3SO42-

• Effective range for alum or ferric chloride is

pH 5.5 to 7.0
• If insufficient alkalinity - must add lime to
neutralize H+

There is another option: Biological Phosphorus Removal

 4. Nitrogen

Nitrogen

• Excess nutrients: nitrogeneous BOD

exerts oxygen demand
• Anaerobic conditions in stream
 4. Nitrogen

Solution: Nitrogen Removal (chemical)

• Ammonia stripping
– Raise pH to convert ammonium ions to ammonia
NH4+ + OH- = NH3 + H2O
– Ammonia purged from water in process similar to
aeration

Tray-type Air Stripper Packed Column Air Stripper

(From: http://www.mittelhauser.com/airstrip.html) (From: http://www.carbonair.com/OS.htm)
 4. Nitrogen

Solution: Nitrogen Removal (biological)

• Forms: NH3, NH4+, NO2-, NO3-
• Nitrification/ De-nitrification
– Occurs
• in activated sludge process - by increasing the
detention time in activated sludge basin
• in separate reactor
– Nitrification:
NH4+ + 2O2 = NO3- + H2O + 2H+ (2 steps)
– De-nitrification:
2NO3- + organic matter = N2+ CO2 + H2O
 Wastewater Treatment
• Preliminary Treatment (screening)
• Primary Treatment (primary settling)
• Secondary Treatment (e.g. activated sludge)
• Advanced Treatment (e.g. P removal)
• Final Treatment (disinfection)
• Solids Processing (sludge treatment)
 Final Treatment (disinfecting)
1. Final treatment focuses on removal of disease-
causing organisms from wastewater. Treated
wastewater can be disinfected by adding
chlorine or by using ultraviolet light.
2. High levels of chlorine may be harmful to
aquatic life in receiving streams. Treatment
systems often add a chlorine-neutralizing
chemical to the treated wastewater before
stream discharge.
 Disinfection
Disinfectants:
NaOCl
Ca(OCl)2
Cl2 gas
Chloramines
Ozone
UV irradiation
 Disinfection
• Water is often disinfected before it enters the
distribution system to ensure that potentially
dangerous microbes are killed.
• Chlorine, chloramines, or chlorine dioxide are most
often used because they are very effective
disinfectants, not only at the treatment plant but
also in the pipes that distribute water to our homes
and businesses.
• Ozone and ultraviolet radiation are effective
disinfectants for relatively clean source waters, but
neither of these are effective in controlling
biological contaminants in the distribution pipes.
 Courtesy: Dr. Irene Xagoraraki (MSU, USA)

Disinfection (chlorination)

Full-scale

September 29, 2016 (C) Arun Kumar, IIT Delhi Bench-scale 21

UV Disinfection
 Wastewater Treatment
• Preliminary Treatment (screening)
• Primary Treatment (primary settling)
• Secondary Treatment (e.g. activated sludge)
• Advanced Treatment (e.g. P removal)
• Final Treatment (disinfection)
• Solids Processing (sludge treatment)
 Sludge Types
• Primary sludge
– 3 to 8% solids
– About 70% organic material
• Secondary sludge
– Consists of wasted microorganisms and inert materials
– About 90% organic material
– WAS: 0.5 to 2% solids
– Trickling filter sludge: 2-5% solids
• Tertiary sludge
– If secondary clarifier is used to remove phosphate, this
sludge will also contain chemical precipitates (more
difficult to treat)
– Denitrification sludges - similar to WAS sludge
 Sludge Treatment
Treatment processes include:
– Thickening – separates water from solids by gravity or
flotation
– Stabilization – converts organic solids to more refractory
forms through digestion
– Conditioning – treats sludge with chemicals or heat so
that the water can be readily separated
– Dewatering – separates water by vacuum, pressure or
drying
– Reduction – decreases the volume of sludge by
incineration
 Big Picture

September 29, 2016 26

BP_Ex 1_Exposures of nanoparticles from contaminated edible Plants
C0
Singh and Kumar (2013)

BCF=bioconcentration
Factor
Csoil = concentration in soil

Chuman
• See how contaminants from different products
finally end up in compartments where human
exposure is possible.
• See how much material is lost in different
compartments and how much is transferred to
next compartment
• For every compartment, write down names of
parameters required for calculating fate of
contaminants
• Determine relationship between C0; Cwater; Csoil;
Cplant; Chuman

September 29, 2016 28

BP_Ex2_Fate of Nanoparticles in Environment

Raw Animal Solid

C0 Wastewater Manure
Biosolids
Waste C1

Raw
Wastewater Land Drinking Water
Landfills
Treatment Application

Drinking Water
Removal and/or Runoff, Runoff,
Treatment
transformation Infiltration, Infiltration,
Sorption, Sorption,
Microbial Microbial
activity, other activity, other Removal and/or
transformations transformations transformation

C2
Natural waters

C4 Potential human exposure

ECs present in human via drinking water
urine and feces C3

September 29, 2016 arunku@civil.iitd.ac.in 29

• See how contaminants from different products
finally end up in compartments where human
exposure is possible.
• See how much material is lost in different
compartments and how much is transferred to
next compartment
• For every compartment, write down names of
parameters required for calculating fate of
contaminants
• Determine relationship between C0 and C4

September 29, 2016 30

 BP_Ex4_Environmental Fate

Water solubility –
32-40 mg/L

Weakly volatile

Low sorption to soil
Physical
Occurrence
Properties
INCINERATION &
&
DUST Exposure
Environmental
Assessment
Fate

Detection Treatment
Methods Risk Methods
Assessment
LOW
ADSORPTION
HENCE MOVES
FROM SOIL TO
WATER
LOW WATER
Regulation
SOLUBILITY
MOVES SLOWLY IN
September
WATER 29, 2016 Arun Kumar 31
(arunku@civil.iitd.ac.in) Source: Layton D. et al., 1987
• Write down different processes shown in this
figure
• Describe fate of organic compounds in soil,
plant, air and water
• Which processes are involved in soil; in water; in
air
• What is the role of Sun in these processes

September 29, 2016 32

September 29, 2016 33