Borja, Yasmin Kaye C.

Midterm Quiz

Choose at least two (2) methods each for physical treatment, biological
treatment, and chemical treatment and explain why you find it interesting. Discuss
its importance to wastewater treatment, process operations, and other important
matters.

For the physical treatment, the two methods

that I found most interesting are the grit removal and
pre-aeration. The technique of removing sand, silt, and
grit from water is known as grit removal. Grit is an issue
for wastewater treatment facilities, resulting in damage,
inefficiency, and increased maintenance costs across
the system and treatment process. As a result, a grit removal stage is nearly usually
included in the head works of a contemporary sewage treatment plant. This is why I
consider this stage as one of the most important stages of physical treatment. As for the
pre-aeration, it is performed by

injecting air into the wastewater for 20

to 30 minutes. Pre-aeration of
wastewater is occasionally used for the
following reasons: to improve
suspended particle removal in sedimentation tanks, to aid in the elimination of grease
and oil contained in the wastewater, to freshen up septic wastewater prior to treatment,
and to reduce BOD. This method is vital in preparing the waste water for further treatment
that’s why it piqued my interest.
 For the chemical treatment, disinfection and Ion exchange are the two methods
that I found most interesting. Disinfection is a process by which a significant proportion
of pathogenic organisms is destroyed or controlled. Disinfecting drinking water and
wastewater provides some protection against contact with pathogenic organisms,
including those that cause cholera, polio, typhoid fever, hepatitis, and a range of other
bacterial, viral and parasitic diseases. Disinfection of drinking water and wastewater is
basic to the security of general wellbeing. All water and wastewater frameworks should
utilize some type of sanitization cycle to eliminate or inactivate microorganisms
(microbes) that can cause sickness in people and creatures. The primary methods used
for the disinfection of water are ozone, ultraviolet irradiation (UV) and chlorine. I am
interested in this because I’m also fascinated by the study of microorganisms and
microbiology.

In the Ion exchange, it is a water treatment strategy where at least one

bothersome ionic impurities are eliminated from water by trade with another non-
objectionable or less objectionable ionic substance. Both the material and therefore the
changed substance should be dissolved and have constant variety of electrical charge
(positive or negative). A typical example of activity could be a process referred to as “water
softening” planning to scale back Ca and Mg content. Nevertheless, ion exchange is
additionally economical in removing hepatotoxic metals from water. Ion Exchange water
treatment works by eliminating material from the water using various water processes, for
example, water softening, and water deionization. These frameworks work by trading
explicit particles for different particles. With regards to water softeners, sodium ions
replace calcium and magnesium ions. With respect to water deionization systems, the
cations are traded for hydrogen ions, while the anions are traded for hydroxyl ions.

And for the biological treatment, I pick the activated sludge process and the
Aerated lagoons. In a wastewater treatment facility, the activated sludge process is a
biological process that can be utilized for one or multiple of the specified objectives:
oxidizing carbonaceous biological matter, oxidizing nitrogenous biological matter (mostly
ammonium and nitrogen), eliminating nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus). The activated
sludge technique is a wastewater treatment technology that uses aeration and an organic
floc made up of microorganisms and protozoa to treat sewage or commercial
wastewaters. It employs highly concentrated microorganisms to breakdown organics and
remove nutrients from wastewater, resulting in high-quality effluent. The objective is to
keep the activated sludge afloat while maintaining aerobic conditions. A constant and
well-timed supply of oxygen is necessary to do this. In an aerated tank, bacteria flocs are
suspended and mixed with wastewater, and the bacteria uses the organic pollutants to
grow and convert them into energy, water, CO2, and new cell material. The flocs can be
eliminated by gravity settling in the secondary clarifier, and part of the sludge is recycled
back to the reactor. After that, the effluent can be released for final cleaning.

For the aerated lagoon (or aerated pond), it is a basic wastewater treatment system
that consists of a pond with artificial aeration to enhance biological wastewater oxidation.
Activated sludge, trickling filters, rotating biological contactors, and biofilters are only a
few of the aerobic biological processes for wastewater treatment. The utilization of
oxygen (or air) and microbiological activity to decrease contaminants in wastewaters is
similar to all of them.
 Aerated Lagoons are one of the most common wastewater treatment systems in
the world, as well as one of the simplest and most affordable. Lagoon systems enable
low-cost wastewater treatment for many residences and rural areas by utilizing natural
and energy-efficient processes. Aerated lagoons are deep waste stabilization ponds
where sewage is aerated with mechanical aerators to stabilize the organic content in the
sewage rather than depending solely on photosynthetic oxygen supplied by algae. As a
result, aerated lagoons are a sewage treatment technology that falls in between oxidation
ponds and activated sludge systems. Aerators are used to mix the contents of the pond
and give oxygen to the wastewater in these systems. Aerators operate by releasing air
into the lagoon or churning the water so that air from the surface is mixed in, replacing
algae as the major source of oxygen in aerated lagoons. Depending on the degree of
aeration, they are referred to as partial-mix or complete-mix lagoons. Anaerobic lagoons
that have been modified and improved to take additional wastewater are commonly
known as partial-mix aerated lagoons.