Wastewater Treatment

Water pollution: Sources and classification of water pollutants:

Water resources:
Rain:
Rain fall Season:
1. South-west monsoon ( June-September)
2. Post- monsoon (Oct-Dec)
3. Winter or north-east monsoon (Jan-Feb)
4. Pre-monsoon ( March-may)
Utilization of water: Industry Units of product Water
requirement(liters)
✓ Irrigation
Bread Ton 2100-4200
✓ Domestic water supply
Beer Kilogram 15000
✓ Power generation Milk products Ton 20000
✓ Industrial water use
Wood pulp Ton of pulp and paper 236000
Cotton bleaching Ton 300000

Chemicals-acetic Ton 417000-1000000

acid
Sulphuric acid Ton of 100% H2SO4 10400

Gasoline Kiloliter 7000-10000

steel ton 260000
Origin of waste water:
❖ Domestic wastewater
❖ Industrial wastewater
Wastewater composition (strong, medium, weak)
Physical, Chemical and Biological
Typical constituents in domestic wastewater :
❖ Total solids, Dissolved solids, Suspended solids, settelable solids,
❖ BOD, TOC,COD,
❖ Nitrogen ( Organic, free ammonia, nitrites, nitrates),
❖ Phosphorous( Organic, inorganic),
❖ Chlorides, Alkalinity, Grease
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rjDhyWtKgQ
(1) Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)
(2) Total Suspended Solid (TSS)
(3) Volatile Suspended Solids (VSS)
(4) Volatile Dissolved Solids (VDS)
(5) Total Volatile Solids (TVS)
(6) Fixed Dissolved Solids FDS)
(7) Fixed Suspended Solids (FSS)
(8) Total Fixed Solids (TFS)
 Total solids is a measure of the suspended and dissolved solids in
water. Suspended solids are those that can be retained on a water
filter and are capable of settling out of the water column onto the
stream bottom when stream
 Total Suspended Solids (TSS) are solids in water that can be
trapped by a filter. TSS can include a wide variety of material, such
as silt, decaying plant and animal matter, industrial wastes, and
sewage. High concentrations of suspended solids can cause many
problems for stream health and aquatic life. velocities are low.
 Dissolved solids" refer to any minerals, salts, metals, cations or
anions dissolved in water.
 Total dissolved solids (TDS) comprise inorganic salts (principally
calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, bicarbonates, chlorides,
and sulfates) and some small amounts of organic matter that
are dissolved in water.
TS = TSS + TDS
 Volatile suspended solids (VSS) is a water quality measure obtained
from the loss on ignition of the mass of measured TSS. This ignition
generally takes place in an oven at a temperature of 550 °C to
600 °C. It represents the amount of volatile matter present in the
solid fraction of the measured solution.
Major pollutants in various industries
Pollutants Industry type
Organic
1. Proteins Dairy, food processing, textiles ,tanning and Agricultural
2. Carbohydrates Dairy, food processing, textiles , paper making, Chemical and Agricultural
3. Fats and oils Dairy, food processing, textiles, tanning, petrochemical, metallurgy, laundry &
4. Dyestuffs agriculture
5. Organic acids textiles, tanning, paper making, chemical
6. Phenols Chemical and petrochemical
7. Detergents Textile, chemical,
8. Organo Dairy, textile and laundry and agricultural
pesticides Food processing and agricultural
Inorganic
1. Acids Textile, chemical and engineering
2. Alkalis Textile, chemical, petrochemical, coke ovens, engineering, metallurgy, agricultural
3. Metals Textiles, paper making, engineering, metallurgical
4. Metallic salts Tanning, paper metallurgical and agricultural
Types of water pollutants and their effects:
Ref: CSRao text
(1)Oxygen demanding waste- book-267 page
✓ essential for sustaining the plant and animal life in aquatic system. For ex: warm water fish requires
DO (Dissolved Oxygen) 5 mg/l
✓ Four processes which affect DO content in water: re-aeration, photosynthesis, respiration and
oxidation of wastes
❖ BOD (Biochemical Oxygen demand): it is the measure of oxygen utilized by micro-
organisms during the oxidation of organic materials.
❖ BOD is directly measure of oxygen requirement and an indirect measure of
biodegradable organic matter.
❖ Reaeration is the exchange of gases between the atmosphere and water.
❖ The so-called 5-day BOD measures the amount of oxygen consumed by biochemical
oxidation of waste contaminants in a 5-day period. The total amount of oxygen
consumed when the biochemical reaction is allowed to proceed to completion is called
the Ultimate BOD.
Four processes which affect
DO content in water
❖ Disease causing agents-Microorganisms (E-Coli) coliform group—harmful to human
❖ Synthetic organic compounds-pesticides( DDT), detergents
❖ Plant nutrients- N,P
❖ Inorganic chemicals and minerals- Inorganic salts, mineral acids, finely divided metals and metal
compounds, Cd, Cr, Pb, Hg
❖ Sediments- soil, sand, minerals
❖ Radioactive substances- Uranium, Thorium, Radium-226
❖ Thermal discharges- Power plants and industry use large water for cooling
❖ Oil- Industrial effluent, oil refineries, storage tanks, automobile water oil and Petrochemical Plants
 Constituent Raw water Tolerance limits for
 Water pollution laws supplied for public effluents discharged
and standards use
BOD5 3 30
pH 6-9 5.5-9
Suspended solids - 100
Temp oC - 10
Oil and grease - 40
Phenolic substances 0.001 1.0
Cyanides 0.01 0.2
Sulphides - 2
Fluorides 1.5 2
Arsenic 0.2 0.2
Cadmium - 2
Zinc - 5
Chlorides - 600
Ammonical Nitrogen - 50
BASIC PROCESSES OF WATER TREATMENT
BASIC PROCESSES OF WATER TREATMENT
Primary Treatment: Pre-treatment step and Sedimentation step

 Pre-treatment step: It consists of screening and grit removal

 Screens of various sizes and shapes depending on nature of solids to be removed and cleaning
 Ex: Fixed bar screens- used in domestic wastewater treatment facilities
 Some plants using Comminutor instead of screens
 After screening the wastewater enters a grit chamber for removal of inorganic grit, consists of sand
, gravel, cinders and pebbles
❖ Sedimentation: In this step, the settleable solids are removed by
gravitational settling.
Flotation: used in place of sedimentation, primarily for treating
industrial wastewaters containing finely divided suspended solids and
oily matter.
Ex: Paper Industry, tannery , metal finishing, cold rolling,
pharmaceutical industry
Particles of density very close to that of water are very difficult to
settle in normal sedimentation tanks and take a long time for
separation.
Dissolved air flotation system with and without recycle
BASIC PROCESSES OF WATER TREATMENT
Ref: CSRao text
book
✓ To remove the contaminants from water to meet the acceptable quality

✓ Wastewater treatment processes broadly classified as physical, chemical or biological with

series of unit operations

✓ Physical: screening, sedimentation, flotation and filtration

✓ Chemical: adding reagents: precipitation, Coagulation (eg of coagulants ferric chloride)and

disinfection

✓ Biological: Biological filtration and Activated Sludge Process

❖ To understand the effluent quality standards required for both domestic and industry waters
❖ To be able to determine the composition and concentrations of the influent to a treatment
❖ To be able to design a primary treatment (sedimentation) facility and quantify its performance
❖ To understand the secondary biological treatment process and to be able to design secondary treatment and
final clarifier facility
❖ To understand what processes are required in tertiary and advanced treatment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8IVjQg7yno
 Waste-water treatment unit operations and processes
Ref: CSRao text
book

Physical unit operations

Chemical unit operations/process
❖ Screening
❖ Comminution ❖ Adsorption
❖ Flow equalization (to neutralize)
❖ Disinfection
❖ Sedimentation
❖ Flotation ❖ Dechlorination (chlorine %<4ppm as
❖ Granular-medium filtration(multi layer separation)
per standards)
❖ Chemical precipitation
Biological unit operations Ref: CSRao text
book

 Activated sludge process

 Aerated lagoon – Pond with artificial aeration to promote the biological
oxidation of wastewater.
 Trickling filters
 Rotating biological contactors
 Pond stabilization
 Anaerobic digestion
 Biological nutrient removal
Secondary (Biological) Treatment Ref: CSRao text
 Role of microorganisms book

 Decomposition of Organic waste: 1. Aerobic 2. Anaerobic

❖ Aerobic:
✓ organic matter could be oxidized
✓ Stable and end product
✓ End product include CO2 , H2O and new cell tissue
✓ suitable for large quantities of dilute wastewater whose BOD5 < 500 mg/l
✓ For high strength waste water BOD5>1000 mg/l Aerobic decomposition is not recommended
2. Anaerobic: basically two step process
❖ In first step: complex organic compounds are broken down and converted to low molecular
weight fatty acids: which are acetic and propionic acids
❖ Second step: conversion of organic acids into CH4 gas and CO2
Bacterial population dynamics:
Ref: CSRao text
❖ The lag phase (No increase in number of living book
bacterial cells)
❖ log-growth phase (exponential phase)(rapid
cell division occurs)
❖ The stationary phase(nutrient depletion or
toxic product – growth slows till the number of
new cells produced = the number of cells that
die)
❖ The death phase (Decline in number of viable
bacteria)
ACTIVATED SLUDGE PROCESS

Ref: CSRao text

book
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciPFC3Y2rkg
✓ The essential features of the process are : an aeration stage, solids-liquid separation following aeration and a
sludge recycle system
✓ Wastewater after primary treatment enters an aeration tank where the organic matter is brought into intimate
contact with the sludge from the secondary clarifier

✓ This sludge is heavily laden with microorganisms which are in an active state of growth.
✓ Air is introduced into the tank, either in the form of bubbles through diffusers or by surface aerators
✓ The micro organisms utilize the oxygen in the air and convert the organic matter into stabilized, low energy
compounds such as NO3, SO4,CO2 &synthesize new bacterial cells.
✓ The effluent from the aeration tank containing the flocculent microbial mass known as sludge is separated in a
settling tank, sometimes called a secondary settler or a clarifier.
✓ In settling tank the separated sludge exists without contact with the organic matter & comes activated.
✓ A portion of the activated sludge recycled, then the bacterial mass would keep increasing to the stage where the
system gets clogged with solids
Ref: CSRao text
book
TRICKLING FILTERS

Ref: CSRao text

book
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-0wRzGbSqw
✓ Trickling filter has good adaptability to handle peak shock loads & satisfactory after a short
period of time
✓ Biological units TF affected by temperature; therefor cold weather slows down biological
activity in the filter
✓ Milk processing, paper mill and pharmaceutical waste are among those treated by TFs’
✓ Conventional TF normally consists of a rock bed 1-3 m in depth with enough openings
between rocks to allow air to circulate easily.
✓ The effluent is sprinkled over the bed packing which is coated with a biological slime
✓ As the liquid trickles over the packing, oxygen and the dissolved organic matter diffuse into
the film to be metabolized by the microorganisms in the slime layer.
✓ As microorganisms utilizes the organic matter the thickness of slime layer increases( range
100µm- 2mm) Ref: CSRao text
book
 Trickling Filter Activated Sludge Process
Bacterial growth is fixed on the media Bacterial growth is suspended as a dispersed
floc
All solids from the settler are wasted Solids from the settler are partially recycled

Less sensitive to shock loading; more stable More sensitive to shock loadings, require
closer process control
Produce insects and odors Produce spray clouds

Less effective in removing disease causing More effective in removing pathogens than
organisms trickling filters
Low operating costs High operating costs

Ref: CSRao text

book
 Problem 4: A grit particle of diameter 0.2 mm and density 1500
kg/m3 is to be captured in a horizontal grit chamber of length 18 m
and width 1m. The wastewater approach velocity carrying the grit
particle is 0.3 m/s and flow rate is 0.15 m3/s. we would like to know
whether the particle will be settled in the grit chamber or not, the density
of wastewater is 1000 kg/m3 and its viscosity 0.001 kg/m-sec.
Solution:
Illustration
Step 1: Terminal settling velocity
Step 2: Reynold’s number

(or terminal settling velocity)

(terminal settling velocity)

Step 3: The cross-sectional area of flow
Step 4: Depth of flow

Cross sectional area to width ratio

Step 5: Retention time t0 (during particle settling)

Depth of flow to settling velocity ratio

Step 6: Retention time tl (in the chamber with respect to length)

Length of chamber to horizontal velocity ratio

Step 7: Compare the Retention time (t0 and tl)
 Formulation of BOD Equation

 To derive the BOD equation, Oxygen Equivalent of Organic Matter Present is plotted against
Time. 'Oxygen Equivalent of Organic Matter Present' is nothing but the BOD remaining
The rate of change of BOD directly varies with BOD remaining at that point in time (Lt)

So, dLt/dt ∝ Lt

Integrating both the sides from interval Lo to Lt in time interval 0 to t,

Lt = Lo x e^(-kt)

BOD Consumed, Yt=Lo-Lt

At any time, Yt = Lo - Lo x e^(-kt)

If we intend to find out the solution in base 10 instead of base e, then

Lt = Lo x 10^(-k't), Where k' = k/2.303

Problem 5: Determine the ultimate BOD (BODu) and 5-day BOD (BOD5) given that
the BOD4 of a waste is 130 mg/L and K is 0.075 d-1 . Use yt=Lo(1-e-kt) and
k=2.303(K).