Effect of Operational Changes

in Wastewater Treatment Plants

on Biochemical Oxygen Demand and Total
Suspended Solid Removal

Mustafa Bob

Abstract The research presented in this paper investigates the effect of a signif-
icant operational change occurred in a wastewater treatment plant in Madinah city,
Saudi Arabia on the effluent water quality. The operational change involved the
cancellation of the primary settling tanks of the plant, and as a result, the raw
wastewater received at the plant directly entered the aeration tanks. The effect of
this change on treated wastewater quality as determined by Biological Oxygen
Demand (BOD) and total suspended solids (TSS) concentration was evaluated.
These parameters were measured for one month before and one month after the
cancelation of the primary settling tanks and the average values were calculated.
Results showed that the average removal percentage of BOD and TSS in the last
month before the operational change was implemented was 89 and 88%, respec-
tively. The average removal percentage for the same parameters in the first month
immediately after implementing the operational changes was 91 and 92%
respectively, which shows that there is no significant difference in the removal
efficiency for these parameters after the operational change. These results indicate
that the treated wastewater quality was not affected by the operational change
implemented at the plant. Results of this research provide useful information for
the authorities responsible for wastewater treatment as well as for the scientific
community.

Keywords Madinah city
Wastewater treatment
Primary settling tank
BOD

TSS

M. Bob (&)
Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering,
Taibah University, Madinah City, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: mustafambob@gmail.com

© Springer International Publishing AG 2017 407

O. Abdalla et al. (eds.), Water Resources in Arid Areas: The Way Forward,
Springer Water, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-51856-5_23
408 M. Bob

1 Introduction

Proper treatment of wastewater in urban areas is of a critical importance and is

considered an important element in the development of countries since the disposal
of untreated wastewater can have serious impacts on human health and the envi-
ronment. In addition, treated wastewater that meets reuse standards can contribute
to minimizing water scarcity problems. Ways of wastewater treatment range from
very simple, cheap and less efficient processes to advanced, costly and efficient
processes (Ab Halim et al. 2015). There are many factors that govern the selection
of a suitable process among these wastewater treatment processes. These factors
include the circumstances at local area such as the climate, economy, social attri-
butes, availability of standards and monitoring actions, land availability, effluent
discharge options and effluent reuse applications (Ahmad et al. 2008). Examples of
widely-used wastewater treatment technologies include activated sludge processes,
sequencing batch reactors and constructed wetlands (Kalbar et al. 2012).
In biological treatment of wastewater, the degradation of organic compounds by
bacteria is a key step (Chiban et al. 2013), but it usually results in a big amount of
sludge that needs handling and disposal. For the removal of heavy metals and other
undesirable cations and anions from wastewater, membrane techniques (e.g.
nanofiltration), oxidation, coagulation/flocculation, ion-exchange and adsorption
are all employed (Igwe and Abia 2003; Ozturk and Bektas 2004; Babel and
Kurniawan 2003; Zhao and Sengupta 1998). Although these processes are effective,
they have some disadvantages which include, for example, incomplete removal of
metals, high energy requirements, and generation of waste products that require
careful handling and disposal (Soudani et al. 2011a). In recent years, environ-
mentally friendly materials have been employed in wastewater treatment. In par-
ticular, the use of some plant materials in the adsorption process has been
investigated in laboratory experiments (Soudani et al. 2011a, b; Chiban et al. 2011)
and good results were obtained. For example, Soudani et al. (2011a) investigated
the use of a Mediterranean plant in removing some pollutants from raw domestic
and industrial wastewater. Specifically, they conducted laboratory batch adsorption
experiments using dried Carpobrotus edulis as a new cheap adsorbent. Their results
showed that the removal percentage of phosphate and nitrate ions from municipal
wastewaters by dried C. edulis was found to be −96 and −97%, respectively.
Removal rate for the heavy metals tested ranged from 94% (cadmium) to 99%
(lead). These results indicate efficient performance but in the case of industrial
wastewater treatment, proper disposal of the dried plants is required as suggested by
the authors.
Many countries around the world suffer from fresh water shortage and are trying
to find economical and efficient ways to improve treated wastewater quality to close
the gap in water supply. Saudi Arabia is one of these countries. The country is
characterized by an arid environment and is known as the largest country in the
world without rivers and lakes (Bob et al. 2014; Al-Harbi et al. 2009). The country
occupies about 70% of the Arabian Peninsula and had a water withdrawal of about
Effect of Operational Changes in Wastewater Treatment Plants … 409

20 billion m3 in 2010 (Kajenthira et al. 2012). About 90% of the water demand in
the country is met from groundwater (Abderrahman and Al-Harazin 2008). Since
wastewater is usually the only non-conventional resource that will increase as
population increases, and as groundwater resources in Saudi Arabia are increasingly
depleted, it is clear that an effective wastewater treatment and reuse is urgently
needed.
The wastewater treatment system in Saudi Arabia is still at early stages as the main
treatment method is the conventional activated sludge system. Nevertheless, con-
ventional activated sludge is still in use in many other countries. These systems,
generally require large surface areas for treatment and biomass separation.
Minimizing the cost of operation while producing high quality treated water is the
ultimate goal of all water treatment plants, not only in Saudi Arabia but all over the
world. In tertiary wastewater treatment plants, the main processes are usually
the primary settling, the aeration in the activated sludge tanks and the filtration and
disinfection process. In an attempt to minimize the cost of wastewater treatment, the
authorities at Madinah city Wastewater Treatment Plant implemented a significant
operational change by cancelling the primary settling tanks at the plant, and redi-
recting the raw wastewater to aeration tanks. This paper investigates the effect of this
step on treated wastewater quality. Effluent water quality as determined by Biological
Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS) concentration was
monitored for a month after the implementation of the change and compared to the
effluent quality before the change, and the results are presented here. Results of this
research provide useful information to the authorities responsible for wastewater
treatment as well as for the scientific community.

2 Description of the Wastewater Treatment Plant

Madinah city Wastewater Treatment Plant is located in the northern side of the city
and it is the only wastewater treatment plant in the city. The city is located in the
western part of the Saudi Arabia at about 600 m above mean sea level (Matsah and
Hossain 1993) and is characterized by an arid climate. The plant currently treats
about 200,000 m3 of raw wastewater per day and there are plans to extend the plant
to treat 400,000 m3/day in the near future. The plant employs a tertiary treatment
system that includes primary treatment in primary clarifiers, secondary treatment
(activated sludge) as well as filtration and disinfection using chlorine. A total of
about 70 tons of sludge is produced per day at the plant. Figure 1 shows a simple
schematic of the treatment processes employed at the plant.
410 M. Bob

Screens Grit Removal Primary Clarifier

Influent

Final Aeration
Clarifier Tank
Effluent Primary

Sludge
Return Activated Sludge

Cl2 Disinfection
Waste
Sludge

Dumping
Anearobic Digester
Belt Press

Fig. 1 Schematic representation of the treatment steps employed at the Madinah city wastewater
treatment plant

3 Materials and Methods

BOD and TSS concentration are measured on a daily basis in raw and treated
wastewater composite samples that are collected daily by laboratory technician
using an automatic composite sampler. In addition, samples are collected from the
aeration tanks and analyzed for mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) and mixed
liquor volatile suspended solids concentration (MLVSS). The sampling device is
designed to automatically collect samples every one hour throughout the whole day
resulting in a 5–6 L sample every day. This sampling technique ensures that the
samples collected represent and account for all the variations in the influent and
effluent wastewater characteristics throughout the day. BOD and TSS concentration
are measured using the standard method for the examination of water and
wastewater.

4 Results and Discussion

Table 1 shows the BOD and TSS concentration in the raw and treated wastewater
samples collected for a period of approximately one month before the implemen-
tation of the operational change in the treatment plant. The statistical parameters
for the concentration data are also presented in Table 1. As can be seen in Table 1,
Effect of Operational Changes in Wastewater Treatment Plants … 411

Table 1 BOD and TSS concentration in raw and treated wastewater before cancellation of the
primary clarifiers, along with the statistical parameters for the concentration data. All concentration
are in mg/L
Sample BODinfluent BODeffluent TSSinfluent TSSeffluent
Day 1 139 – 132 15.00
Day 2 103 12.00 126 13.00
Day 3 115 11.00 124 11.00
Day 4 95 9.00 132 14.00
Day 5 109 12.00 118 16.00
Day 6 113 11.00 124 15.00
Day 7 107 12.00 126 16.00
Day 8 115 11.00 118 12.00
Day 9 97 11.00 132 14.00
Day 10 119 12.00 124 12.00
Day 11 107 11.00 136 18.00
Day 12 127 12.00 134 16.00
Day 13 97 11.00 122 15.00
Day 14 113 12.00 124 16.00
Day 15 119 12.00 122 14.00
Day 16 101 12.00 158 13.00
Day 17 94 11.00 144 13.00
Day 18 113 12.00 138 15.00
Day 19 121 13.00 136 15.00
Day 20 117 12.00 132 16.00
Day 21 157 NA 136 12.00
Day 22 121 12.00 144 16.00
Day 23 117 12.00 132 16.00
Day 24 103 NA 128 14.00
Day 25 101 NA 138 NA
Day 26 104 12.00 132 15.00
Day 27 NA NA 136 15.00
Day 28 NA NA 142 NA
Day 29 NA NA 144 32.00
Day 30 NA 15.00 134 30.00
Day 31 NA 15.00 NA 21.00
Average 112 11.88 132 15.86
Standard deviation 13.99 1.23 8.88 4.64
COV (%) 12 10.3 6.7 29.3
NA Not available

the average BOD concentration of the raw water before implementing the opera-
tional change was 112 mg/L and that of the treated water was 11.88 mg/L. The
average TSS concentration of the raw water in the 30 days period was 132 mg/L,
412 M. Bob

while the average effluent concentration for the same parameter was 15.86 mg/L.
Effluent BOD concentration (11.88 mg/L) and effluent TSS concentration
(15.86 mg/L) indicate that treated water quality is generally acceptable based on
these two parameters. Based on the influent and effluent concentration, the plant
achieved 89% BOD removal and 88% TSS removal before the removal of the
primary clarifiers.
It is well understood that primary clarifiers are employed in wastewater treatment
plants as one of the initial steps, mainly to get rid of all settling substances by means
of gravity (Tchobanoglous and Burton 1991). A significant amount of sludge
usually accumulate at the bottom of these clarifiers, and this sludge is usually
pumped and sent for treatment as can be seen in Fig. 1. At the Madinah city
Wastewater Treatment Plant, primary clarifiers were removed from the treatment
steps as mentioned above to save some of the high cost associated with primary
sludge handling and treatment.
The absence of primary clarifiers is common in many wastewater treatment
plants around the world. However, it is critical to evaluate the effect of this change
(i.e. removal of primary clarifiers) to make sure that treated water quality is not
affected at this particular plant since the absence of primary clarifiers was not
included in the original design.
Table 2 shows data for BOD and TSS concentration in the raw and treated
wastewater after the removal of the primary clarifiers. As can be seen in Table 2,
the average BOD concentration in the raw and treated wastewater in the 30 days
period of samples collection was 134.43 and 13 mg/L, respectively. As for the TSS,
the average concentration for the raw and treated wastewater was 203.37 and
16.3 mg/L, respectively. These data indicate that the plant achieved 91% BOD
removal and 92% TSS removal after the cancellation of the primary clarifiers.
Comparing the plant performance before and after the operational change shows
that there is no significant difference in the plant performance before and after the
change based on BOD and TSS removal percentages. This is conceivable since the
main purpose of the primary clarifiers, as mentioned earlier, is to get rid of settable
substances, and since the wastewater passes, immediately after the aeration process,
to the final clarifier (see Fig. 1) where settable substances can still be removed
efficiently. The MLSS and The MLVSS concentration in the aeration tank before
and after the operational change is shown in Fig. 2. As can be seen in Fig. 2, there
was no significant difference in these parameters before and after the change. These
parameters are used to calculate another important parameter, namely the food to
microorganism ratio (F/M) which is used as indicative for the activated sludge
process performance. Using the values in Fig. 2, together with the daily flow rate of
raw wastewater the F/M before and after the operational change was calculated as
0.12 and 0.21, respectively. Slightly higher F/M was achieved at the plant after the
operational change which indicates that more food was available to the microor-
ganism, in which case the bacteria remains active and dispersed. This may have
contributed to the foaming problem that is noticed in the aeration tank following the
operational change. Foaming is, however, a widespread problem in biological
wastewater treatment plants all over the world. It usually results from the activity of
Effect of Operational Changes in Wastewater Treatment Plants … 413

Table 2 BOD and TSS concentration in raw and treated wastewater after cancellation of primary
clarifiers, along with the statisical parameters for the concentration data. All concentration are in
mg/L
Sample BODinfluent BODeffluent TSSinfluent TSSeffluent
Day 1 188 14.00 264 21.00
Day 2 156 11.00 252 13.00
Day 3 94 12.00 228 18.00
Day 4 109 10.00 248 16.00
Day 5 127 13.00 268 16.00
Day 6 151 12.00 248 14.00
Day 7 143 10.00 256 16.00
Day 8 119 11.00 284 14.00
Day 9 128 12.00 267 18.00
Day 10 185 9.00 232 14.00
Day 11 166 11.00 216 13.00
Day 12 143 12.00 232 12.00
Day 13 137 10.00 244 11.00
Day 14 149 13.00 232 12.00
Day 15 151 11.00 272 16.00
Day 16 163 14.00 264 18.00
Day 17 139 12.00 256 18.00
Day 18 115 13.00 124 15.00
Day 19 156 18.00 127 21.00
Day 20 132 17.00 107 27.00
Day 21 127 18.00 128 21.00
Day 22 105 15.00 136 16.00
Day 23 110 18.00 164 17.00
Day 24 128 13.00 148 15.00
Day 25 110 14.00 132 16.00
Day 26 108 16.00 128 16.00
Day 27 131 10.00 148 14.00
Day 28 108 16.00 152 16.00
Day 29 128 16.00 188 17.00
Day 30 127 15.00 156 18.00
Average 134.43 13.2 203.36 16.3
Standard deviation 22.92 2.58 57.37 3.20
COV (%) 0.17 0.19 0.28 0.19

certain bacteria along with the gas bubbling in the system and the presence of some
hydrophobic surfaces (Hug 2006). Panel (a) of Fig. 3 clearly shows the formation
of foam on the top of some of the aeration tanks in the plant. In addition, a photo for
one of the primary tanks, which appears empty as a result of removing primary
414 M. Bob

4000

Concentration (mg/L) 3500

3000
2500
2000 Before Change

1500 After Change

1000
500
0
MLSS MLVSS

Fig. 2 MLSS and MLVSS concentration in the aeration tank before and after the implementation
of the operation change

settling from the treatment steps, and a photo for one of the final sedimentation
tanks are shown in panel (b) and (c) of Fig. 3, respectively. Prevention of the foam
and hence eliminating the problems associated with it can be done through the
addition of some polyelectrolytes to promote sedimentation in the system or by
implementation of measures that increase the plant tolerance to foaming [e.g.
reducing the activity of the bacterial by adding small amounts of chlorine as
demonstrated by Hug (2006)].
Nevertheless, this operational change resulted in saving in primary sludge
handling and also, following this operational change a significant improvement in
the air quality (i.e. decrease in the bad odor) was noticed at the plant. It is
understood that primary clarifiers can contribute significantly to odor problems in
wastewater treatment plant since they hold the raw wastewater for while, and as
such by removing these clarifiers an improvement in the air quality at the plant is
expected, as was the case for this particular treatment plant.
Green technologies and processes are desirable in wastewater treatment, as well
as other systems. The use of environmentally friendly products in wastewater
treatment as discussed in the introduction section which has shown good results as
demonstrated by Soudani et al. (2011a) is a step towards green technology. In
general, any action or a process that results in reducing waste and pollution by
changing patterns of production and consumption (commonly referred to as source
reduction) is considered a green technology (Green Technology 2010). The
removing of the primary settling tanks as discussed above achieved a reduction in
the energy and waste at the plant while achieving the same treatment goals and as
such it can be considered as one step towards a green treatment plant. While it is
true that other wastewater treatment processes can achieve similar or even better
performance than this treatment plant as reported in literature, the performance of
this treatment plant should mainly be compared to its performance before
Effect of Operational Changes in Wastewater Treatment Plants … 415

Fig. 3 Panel a A photo of some of the aeration tanks at the plant. Foam formation is clearly
visible in the tanks. Panel b A photo of one of the empty primary settling tanks after removal from
operation. Panel c A photo of one of the final sedimentation tanks

implementing this significant operational change as the focus of this study is to

evaluate the effect of this change.

5 Conclusion

The effect of removing the primary clarifies from the treatment steps in Madinah
city Wastewater Treatment Plant is evaluated based on BOD and TSS concentration
in raw and treated wastewater. The removal percentage of BOD at this treatment
plant before and after implementing the operational change is found to be 89 and
91%, respectively, indicating no significant difference. As for the TSS, the removal
percentage is found to be 92% after the implementation of the operational change as
compared to 88% before the change. A significant saving is the cost of handling the
primary sludge is expected at this plant as a result of this change. In addition, this
operational change also resulted in a significant improvement in the air quality in
the plant as reflected in the absence of the strong odor that prevailed before
implementing this change. Formation of foams is observed on the top of the
416 M. Bob

aeration tanks following the implementation of this change. Future research is

needed to conduct air quality measurements at the plant to quantitatively assess the
improvement in the air quality in and around the plant and to investigate the
foaming problem in details.

Acknowledgements The authors thank the authorities at the Madinah Wastewater Treatment
Plant for providing important data and information and for useful discussion. This research was
partially funded by the National Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation (MAARIFAH)—
King Abdel Aziz City for Science and Technology—the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, award number
(10WAT104705).

References

Abderrahman W, Al-Harazin I (2008) Assessment of climate changes on water resources in the

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In: Proceedings of the GCC environment and sustainable
development symposium, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 28–30 Jan
Ab Halim M, Nor Anuar A, Azmi S, Jamal Abdul, Abdul Wahab N, Ujang Z, Shraim A, Bob M
(2015) Aerobic sludge granulation at high temperatures for domestic wastewater treatment.
Bioresour Technol 185:445–449
Ahmad M, Bajahlan A, Hammad W (2008) Industrial effluent quality, pollution monitoring and
environmental management. J Environ Monit Assess 147:297–306
Al-Harbi O, Hussain G, Lafouza O (2009) Irrigation water quality evaluation of Al-Mendasah
groundwater and drainage water, Al Medainah Al Monwarah Region, Saudi Arabia. Int J Soil
Sci 4:123–141
Babel S, Kurniawan T (2003) Low-cost adsorbents for heavy metals uptake from contaminated
water, a review. J Hazard Mater 97:219–243
Bob M, Abd Rahman N, Taher S, Elamin A (2014) Multi-objective assessment of groundwater
quality in Madinah City, Saudi Arabia. J Water Qual Expo Health. doi:10.1007/s12403-014-
0112-z
Chiban M, Soudani A, Sinan F, Persin M (2011) Wastewater treatment by batch adsorption
method onto micro-particles of dried Withania frutescens plant as a new adsorbent. J Environ
Manage 95:S61–S65
Chiban M, Soudani A, Zerbet M, Sinan F (2013) Wastewater treatment processes. In: Valdez CJ,
Maradona EM (eds) Handbook of wastewater treatment: biological methods, technology and
environmental impact. Nova science publishers, Inc., New York. ISBN: 978-1-62257-591-6
Green Technology Organization (2010). http://www.green-technology.org/what.htm
Hug T (2006) Characterization and controlling of foam and scum in activated sludge systems. Ph.
D. Dissertation. Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.3929/ethz-a-005180592
Igwe J, Abia A (2003) Maize cob and husk as adsorbents for the removal of heavy metals from
waste water. J Phys Sci 2:83–92
Kajenthira A, Siddiqi A, Anadon L (2012) A new case for promoting wastewater reuse in Saudi
Arabia: bringing energy into the water equation. J Environ Manage 102:184–192
Kalbar P, Karmakar S, Asolekar S (2012) Assessment of wastewater treatment technologies: life
cycle approach. Water Environ J:1747–6585
Matsah M, Hossain D (1993) Ground conditions in Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah. J King Abdel
Aziz Univ Earth Sci 6:47–77
Ozturk N, Bektas T (2004) Nitrate removal from aqueous solution by adsorption onto various
materials. J Hazard Mater 112:155
Soudani A, Chiban M, Zerbet M, Sinan F (2011a) Use of Mediterranean plant as a natural
adsorbent for municipal wastewater treatment. J Environ Chem Ecotoxicol 3:199–205
Effect of Operational Changes in Wastewater Treatment Plants … 417

Soudani A, Chiban M, Zerbet M, Sinan F (2011b) Bensergao wastewater treatment by adsorption

on dried Launea arborescens plant as an environmentally friendly material. Phys Chem News
58:17–19
Tchobanoglous G, Burton F (1991) Wastewater engineering: treatment, disposal and reuse.
McGraw Hill, New York
Zhao D, Sengupta A (1998) Ultimate removal of phosphate from wastewater using a new class of
polymeric ion exchangers. J Water Res 32:1613–1625