WATER TREATMENT

Prof. Yessica Castro, Ph.D

Objectives
At the end of this unit, the student will be able to:

i. Differentiate between the treatment processes for drinking water

and wastewater

ii. Distinguish the available types of wastewater treatments

iii. Identify the different methods for treatment and removal of sludge
Drinking Water Treatment
Natural Water

Natural water are surface

and ground water, such as:
• Rivers
• Lakes
• Aquifers
• Springs
Which most of the time are
not safe to drink.
Need for treatment of natural water
Natural water includes surface freshwater and
ground water

Dec. No. 42-05 que establece el Reglamento de Aguas para Consumo Humano
 Uncontaminated Surface Water

Sedimentation is the process to separate

Coagulation is the formation of large
large flocs from water by gravity effect.
flocs through flocculation of fine
suspended solids and colloids by dosing The coagulation and sedimentation could also be replaced by

coagulant (e.g. alum) into the raw water. clarification, which is a combination of these two processes in one
unit.
Uncontaminated Surface Water

Filtration is the rejection of residual particles Disinfection is the last unit. The
after sedimentation by granular filter media to pathogenic microorganisms are killed by
further reduce the turbidity. adding a disinfectant.
Uncontaminated Surface Water

Turbidity < 10 NTU

(Dominican Republic)
Uncontaminated Groundwater
Uncontaminated Groundwater

Disinfection (e.g. chlorination) is enough to make uncontaminated groundwater

drinkable or potable.

Q: What is the natural water purification process that makes this possible?
Uncontaminated Groundwater

Disinfection (e.g. chlorination) is enough to make uncontaminated groundwater

drinkable or potable.

Q: What is the natural water purification process that makes this possible?

Bank filtration
Drinking water treatment process
• With the development of the industry and city, the water bodies are polluted by
discharge of sewage, industrial wastewater and urban runoff, etc..

• As a result, organic matter, ammonia nitrogen and other pollutants are presented
in the contaminated water source besides the indigenous grit, colloids, and
pathogenic microorganisms present in natural waters.

• The conventional treatment process is not able to reach the quality standards
anymore. Improvement of the treatment process is required.
Micro-polluted Water

First, pretreatment is added to the conventional process, such as biological

pretreatment, pre-oxidation or powdered activated carbon (PAC) dosage.
Micro-polluted Water

Second, the conventional process is strengthened by adding high-efficient coagulant,

or by strengthening the filtration.
 Micro-polluted Water

Third, advanced treatments are applied to

improve the effluent quality, like activated-
carbon adsorption, and ozone oxidation.
Micro-polluted Water
Specific Drinking Water Treatments
Wastewater Treatment
Sources of Wastewater
Wastewater or sewage is the polluted water discharged from our daily life,
industrial and agricultural production.

• Domestic sewage carries used water from houses and apartments; it is also called
sanitary sewage.

• Industrial sewage is used water from manufacturing or chemical processes.

• Storm sewage, or storm water, is runoff from precipitation that is collected in a

system of pipes or open channels.
Need for treatment of wastewater
Water Quality Parameters

The discharge of the wastewater into

water bodies (i.e. rivers, lakes, sea,
etc) should be acceptable to
standards as well as its reuse and
recycling. So it's necessary to treat
Before After
the wastewater properly.

Dominican Standard: “ Norma Ambiental de Calidad de Aguas Superficiales y Zonas Costeras”

by MARENA
Need for treatment of wastewater
Water Quality Parameters
• Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)
• Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)
• Suspended Solids (SS)
• Total Nitrogen (TN)
• Total Phosphorus (TP)
Both COD and BOD give an indication of the
organic content in water. COD is the
amount of oxygen required to chemically
breakdown these pollutants whereas BOD is
the amount of oxygen required to do this
biologically through micro-organisms.

Dominican Standard: “ Norma Ambiental de Calidad de Aguas Superficiales y Zonas Costeras”

by MARENA
Need for treatment of wastewater
Water Quality Parameters

• Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)

• Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)
• Suspended Solids (SS)
• Total Nitrogen (TN)
• Total Phosphorus (TP)

Dominican Standard: “ Norma Ambiental de Calidad de Aguas Superficiales y Zonas Costeras”

by MARENA
Levels of wastewater treatment
Municipal Wastewater Treatment

Primary Treatment Secondary Treatment

Municipal Wastewater Treatment
Suspended Solids (SS) or Colloids or dissolved organic
inorganic material removal matter
Primary Treatment Secondary Treatment
Municipal Wastewater Treatment
Municipal Wastewater Treatment
Inorganic Particles Suspended Solid Organics, N and P
Industrial Wastewater Treatment
Industrial Wastewater - Petrochemical
 Industrial Wastewater Treatment - Textile

A variety of organic compounds are classified as refractory when they're poorly biodegraded, e.g.
compounds such as t-butyl alcohol found in perfumes and cosmetics, and 5,5-dimethyl hydantoin, used
in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, and mono-Dichlorobenzenes used for dyes.
Conclusions (drinking water treatment)
• The treatment of uncontaminated natural water for drinking consists in
sedimentation, coagulation, filtration, and disinfection.

• Disinfection is the only treatment that uncontaminated groundwater needs

before consumption.

• For micro-polluted natural waters, additional pretreatment, enhancement

of the conventional treatment and advance treatment is required before
drinking.
Conclusions (wastewater treatment)

• The treatment of municipal wastewater prior to discharge into the natural

water bodies requires primary and secondary treatment.

• Primary treatment removes most of the inorganics and suspended solids,

whereas secondary treatment removes most of the organic matter.

• Tertiary treatment is sometimes needed for industrial wastewaters before

discharge into natural waters.