11/17/2021

Environmental Pollution Control

CHE F411

Krishna Etika
BITS Pilani Department of Chemical Engineering
B.I.T.S-Pilani, Pilani Campus
Pilani Campus

Water Pollution

Sources and Classification of water

pollutants

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Re- Cap

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Outline
– Water resources
– Origin of wastewater
– Classification of water pollutants
• Oxygen demanding waste
• Disease causing agents
• Synthetic organic compounds
• Plant nutrients
• Inorganic chemicals and minerals
• Sediments
• Radioactive substances
• Thermal discharges
• Oil
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Water Resources

 Water is vital natural resource which is essential for a

multiplicity of purposes.
 Water is used for
 Drinking
 Domestic uses
 Industrial cooling
 Power generation
 Agriculture (irrigation)
 Transportation
 Waste disposal

 Main source of water in India is rain

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Origin of Wastewater
Waste water (by the origin)
• Point sources: collected by a network of pipes or channels
and conveyed to a single point of discharge into the
receiving water
• Domestic sewage
• Industrial wastes
• Non-point sources: characterized by multiple discharge
points
• Agricultural runoff
• Urban runoff
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Classification of water
pollutants
1. Oxygen demanding wastes
2. Disease–causing agents
3. Synthetic organic compounds
4. Plant nutrients
5. Inorganic chemicals and minerals
6. Sediments
7. Radioactive substances
8. Thermal discharges
9. Oil
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Lecture 23

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Oxygen Demanding Wastes

(DO & BOD)
 Dissolved oxygen (DO) is essential for sustaining the plant and
animal life in any aquatic system.
 For example, warm water fish requires a minimum DO level of at
least 5 mg/l.
 If the DO level drops below the level necessary to sustain normal
life, then the aquatic system is classified as polluted.
Process by which the DO content is affected
(a)Reaeration: Process by which oxygen transfer takes place from the
atmosphere to water.
(b)Photosynthesis
(c)Respiration
(d)Oxidation of wastes
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Oxygen Demanding Wastes

(b) Photosynthesis: Requires solar radiation
During Photosynthesis
 Green plants (algae) utilize CO2 and produce O2
 Organic materials are synthesized and produce O2
Since, photosynthesis occurs only in presence of sunlight, so the DO
level in the water increases during the day.
(c) Respiration:
 The bacterial and algal respiration is responsible for the production
of CO2 and subsequent depletion of DO.
(d) Oxidation of wastes:
 The organic substances are called oxygen demanding wastes.
When these substances enter a waterway, DO is consumed in their
breakdown by micro-organisms.

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Dissolved Oxygen
When the DO level falls below the saturation value, oxygen
diffuses from the atmosphere at a rate which is proportional to
the deficit.
Interface

Air
water

Cs

CL

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Diurnal DO Variation

Saturation
DO

12 6 12 6 12
Midnight A.M. Noon PM Midnight

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Diurnal DO Variation

Saturation

DO

12 6 12 6 12
Midnight A.M. Noon PM Midnight

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Oxygen Transfer Rate

Oxygen (air) is sparingly (not highly) soluble in water. So,

the main resistance to mass transfer is from the liquid
side or liquid film controlling (kl = KL)

 mass of O 2 transfer 
N  Mass Flux   ,
 unit area of surface  time 
N = KL (CS – CL)
KL = Liquid Phase Mass Transfer Coefficient
CS = Conc. of DO at saturation (interface)
CL = Actual conc. of DO in the water

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Oxygen Transfer Rate

The rate of oxygen transfer (mass/time) into unit volume of

water (v) is given by:

dC L NA A
  K L C S  C L   r C S  C L 
dt V V
Where,
KL A
r = Reaeration rate constant /reoxygenation rate constant
V
dCL
 Oxygen transfer rate
dt
D= (CS-CL)= Oxygen deficit
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BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Typical values of KL
Types of Water KL (m/day)

Stagnant water 0.10-0.15

Water flowing at 0.6 m/min 0.25
Sluggish polluted river 0.5
Sluggish clean water about 5 cm 1.0
deep
Water flowing at 10m/min 2.0
Open sea water 3.0
Water flowing at 15m/min 7.0
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Biochemical Oxygen Demand

Pollution results when the oxygen demand exceeds the
available oxygen.
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)
 Is a measure of the O2 utilized by microorganisms during
the oxidation of organic materials.
 On an average, the demand for oxygen is directly
proportional to the amount of organic waste which has to
broken down.
 Hence, BOD is a direct measure of oxygen requirements
and an indirect measure of biodegradable organic
matter.

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Biochemical Oxygen Demand

When a water sample containing degradable organic matter is placed in a closed
container in the presence of bacteria, the O2 consumption follows the pattern shown
below

L = The amount of BOD remaining in time t or the conc. of the remaining

oxidizable material (mg/l)
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Biochemical Oxygen Demand

If a given amount of organic matter is introduced into a water sample
and its decomposition is monitored, one would observe that the rate
of oxidation of organic matter (rate of decline of BOD) can be
approximated as a first-order chemical reaction whose kinetics may
be expressed as:
dL
  K1 L
dt
L = The amount of BOD remaining in time t or the conc. of the
remaining oxidizable material (mg/l)
K1 = The reaction rate constant or deoxygenation constant, day-1
Let at t = 0, L = Lu = Ultimate BOD (the original concentration of the organic
material before any biological action has occurred), we can integrate to get
L '
k1
 exp(  k 1t )  10  k1t Where k 1 
Lu 2 . 303
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Biochemical Oxygen Demand


 L  L u 10  k1 t 
If y represents the amount of BOD utilized at any time t, then
Lu = L + y

or 
y  Lu  L  Lu 1  10  k1 t 
A standard way to measure BOD is to determine the amount of
O2 required by the bacteria during the first five days of
decomposition at 200C. The result is known as the 5-day BOD
at 200C, commonly abbreviated as BOD5 that is equals

y5  Lu  L5  Lu 1  10 5 k1  20
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Biochemical Oxygen Demand

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Question?

If we know Lu and k1ʹ, we can predict the BOD

at any time t.

How can we get Lu and k1ʹ ???

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Thomas method
Determination of k’1 and Lu is done using Thomas method

The method is based on the similarity of two functions

1  10 
3
 k1t   2 .3   
And 2 . 3 k 1 t  1    k1 t 
  6  

1  10  2.3 k  t 1  12 2.3 k  t   16 2.3k t 

 k1 t
1 1 1
2

1
24
2.3 k1t 3  ....
 
3
  2.3    1
2.3 k1t 1  
1
 k1 t   2.3 k1t 1  2.3 k1t   2.3 k1 t  
2 1
2.3k1t 3  ....
  6    2 6 21.6 

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Thomas method
As can be seen, the first three terms within the brackets in the
two series are identical, and the difference between the fourth
term is small. Hence, the equation (6) can be written as:

3
  2.3  
y  Lu 2.3K1t  1    k1t 
  6  

Taking the inverse and the cube root, and rearranging, we get

1
t 3 1  K   2 3 
 2.3 K 1 Lu 

  3  1
t
 3.43 Lu  3 
1
 y
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Thomas method
A plot of (t/y)1/3 vs time, t, will give a straight line whose slope,
b and intercept, a can be used to calculate K’1 and Lu.
1   K  2 3 
a  2.3 K1 Lu 

3 b 1
1 
 3.43 Lu  3 
Further simplification will yield,

b 1
k1  2.61 Lu 
a 2.3k1 a 3
If we know k1ʹ and Lu, it is possible to predict the BOD utilization
with time.


y  Lu  L  Lu 1  10  k1 t  25
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Example 1
BOD results for a sample at 200C. Determine k1’ and Lu.
t (days) 0 1 2 3 4 5
Y (BOD in mg/l) 0 65 109 138 158 172

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Typical values of K’1 and Lu

Type of Waste water K11 (day-1) Lu(mg/l)

Weak wastewater 0.152 150
Strong wastewater 0.168 250
Primary sewage effluent 0.152 75-150
Secondary sewage effluent 0.052-0.100 15-75

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