WASTEWATER

TREATMENT
Dr. Rania Farouk Ahmed
 WASTEWATER TREATMENT
❖ Purpose:
To manage water discharged from homes,
businesses, and industries to reduce the
risk of water pollution.

1) Preliminary treatment
2) Primary treatment
3) Secondary treatment
4) Sludge (biosolids) disposal
❖1- Preliminary Treatment:
Screening devices remove materials which would damage
equipment or interfere with a process or piece of
equipment.

➢ removes large objects and non- degradable

materials.

➢ protects pumps and equipment from damage.

➢bar screen and grit chamber.

 ❖ Preliminary Treatment

❖ Bar Screen ❖ Grit Chamber

- catches large objects - removes rocks, gravel, broken
glass, etc.
that have gotten into
❖ Mesh Screen
sewer system such as - removes diapers, combs, towels,
bricks, bottles, pieces plastic bags, syringes, etc.
of wood, etc.
2- PRIMARY TREATMENT
❑ a physical process.
❑ wastewater flow is slowed down and
organic suspended solids settle to the bottom
by gravity.
❑ the material that settles is called sludge or
biosolids.
❖ Primarytreatment reduces the suspended solids and
the B.O.D. of the wastewater.

❖ Fromthe primary treatment tanks water is pumped to

secondary treatment
The Wastewater Treatment Process
 ❖Secondary Treatment
➢ Biological process.
Uses bacteria to removed organic material and
lower BOD.
Types:-
1-Trickling Filter (FGP)
2- Activated Sludge (SGP)
Secondary Treatment With Activated
Sludge:-

Effluent leaves sedimentation tank and is

pumped to an aeration tank.

Effluent is mixed with air and sludge

loaded with bacteria (“activated sludge”)

Sludge contacts with raw sewage, and

bacteria in the sludge then decompose the
raw sewage, lowering organic mater and
BOD.
❖ Measurement and sampling at the inlet
structure:
- water samples are taken for determination
of suspended solids and B.O.D.

❖ Suspended Solids – the quantity of solid

materials floating in the water column

❖ B.O.D.= Biochemical Oxygen Demand

- a measure of the amount of oxygen required to
aerobically decompose organic matter in the
water
❖Measurements of Suspended Solids
and B.O.D. indicate the effectiveness of
treatment processes

❖Both Suspended Solids and B.O.D.

decrease as water moves through the
wastewater treatment processes
The Wastewater Treatment Process
BIOGAS
WHAT IS BIOGAS?

 Biogas means a gas formed by breaking down of organic

materials such as manure, sewage sludge, biodegradable wastes
or feedstock under anaerobic conditions through different
metabolic processes into methane and carbon dioxide and
this is made possible by anaerobic microorganisms ..

 Biogas: considered to be the low carbon fuel sources.

 Most biodegradable organic matter are converted to gases

while only a small amount (about 10%) is converted to new
cell mass through microbial growth.
THE USE OF BIOGAS OFFERS MULTIPLE BENEFITS, SUCH AS:

1) The enhancement of farming in rural communities, which

directly enhances the economy of a community through job
creation;

2) Waste reduction through the use of organic agricultural waste

and municipal solid waste (MSW) for energy production;

3) The improvement of the environment quality through CO2

emission reduction and

4) The combination of the disposal of organic waste with the

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formation of valuable energy “methane” by biogas
 Typical composition of biogas
 50-75 % Methane, CH4

 25-50 % Carbon dioxide, CO2

 0-10* % Nitrogen, N2

 0-1 % Hydrogen, H2

 0-3 % Hydrogen sulphide, H2S

 0-2* % Oxygen, O2

 *often 5 % of air is introduced for microbiological desulphurisation

 FOUR BASIC STAGES INVOLVED IN ANAEROBIC
DEGRADATION
 These four stages are the hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis,
and methanogenesis.
1- Hydrolysis bacteria:-
❖ is the first step in the process

❖ degradation of biopolymer particulate organic compounds and

colloidal wastes into soluble organic compounds (hydrolysis
enzymes).
❖ such as carbohydrates, proteins and lipids into water-soluble
compounds such as sugars, amino acids, and long chain fatty
acids.
❖ At the end of the hydrolysis stage: a simple organic compound
degradation by different facultative and obligate anaerobic
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bacteria in the acidogenic step.
2. ACIDOGENESIS
 The acidogenesis stage: the production of high concentration of
hydrogen by acid-producing bacteria called acidogenic
microorganisms.
 Acidogenesis: described by the accumulation of lactate, ethanol,
propionate, butyrate, and higher VFAs.
 the products of the hydrolysis stage: broken down by obligate
and facultative fermentative microorganisms to produce weak
acids (mostly organic acids) such as acetic acid, propionic acid,
butyric acid (VFAs), lactic acid, alcohols, hydrogen and carbon
dioxide (CO2).

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 3. ACETOGENESIS
 acetogenesis stage: alcohols (ethanol), VFAs with more than two
carbon atoms, are converted to acetate, hydrogen and carbon
dioxide by acetate-forming bacteria
 vital process : because hydrogen and carbon dioxide are
constantly reduced to acetate by homoacetogenic microorganisms
4. METHANOGENESIS
 Is an anaerobic system
 approximately 70% of methane generated from this stage though
two methods
1- methanogens bacteria convert hydrogen and carbon dioxide to
methane.
CO2 + 4 H2 → CH4 + 2H2O
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2- acetoclastic methanogens utilize acetate to produce methane
CH3COOH → CH4 + CO2
BIOCHEMICAL STAGES OF ANAEROBIC DIGESTION/BIOGAS
PRODUCT

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 MAIN FACTORS AFFECTING THE BIOGAS
PRODUCTION
 1- Nutrients: availability of nutrient for anaerobic degradation,
presence or absence of inhibitors (degradable).
 2- pH: the optimal range of pH is 6.5–7.5, Methanogenic bacteria
are sensitive to an acidic condition. equilibrium buffers such as
calcium carbonate or lime has to be added
 3- Temperature: with one optimum at 35°C (mesophilic) and the
other optimum at 55°C (thermophilic)
thermophilic digestion may provide some advantages:-
such as improved reaction rate and pathogen reduction,
❖ Temperature indicates the rate of biological reactions so
temperature should be suitable to the type of microorganisms
used for waste treatment. 21
FACTORS EFFECTING ON THE PROCESS

Temperature
temperature should be suitable to the type of microorganisms
used for waste treatment
 Psychrophilic 15 - 5 °C

→ long duration, low gas yield, sensitive fermentation process

 Mesophilic 30 - 45 °C
→ short duration, good gas yield, stable fermentation process
 Thermophilic 45 - 60 °C

→ short duration, good gas yield

unstable fermentation process
.
FACTORS EFFECTING ON THE PROCESS
 4- Oxygen: is toxic to most anaerobic microorganisms. Its presence
in an anaerobic reactor will result in a significant decrease in the
digestion rate. However, it is possible that facultative anaerobes
metabolize the dissolved oxygen before toxic effects are
noticeable.

 5- Volatile fatty acid (VFA):

when there is organic overloading of the digester, high concentrations
of VFA are formed. VFA know by their toxicity and inhibitory
effects. Although it is generally understood that VFA inhibition is due
to their accumulation and subsequent pH reduction, some VFA are
themselves toxic to anaerobic microbes
 REQUIREMENTS
a fermenter, (digesters) digester containers must be absolutely
gas- and waterproof and airtight and need to be heated. Usually
they are built from steel or ferroconcrete. which is supplied
with an innoculum of bacteria (methanogens and decomposers)
 anaerobic conditions
 an optimum temperature of 35°C.

 an optimum pH of 6.5 to 8.

 organic waste (biomass) e.g. sewage, wood pulp.

-The organic material should be free from wood (lignin) because
the bacteria in the plant are unable to process this substance and
biodegradable. The preferred substrate for biogas production that
total solids ranged 20-40%
Floating drum plant
Fixed dome plant
 BASED ON THE FEED METHOD, THREE DIFFERENT
FORMS CAN BE DISTINGUISHED. THESE ARE

 1. Batch plants
 2. Continuous plants

 3. Semi-continuous plants

1- Batch Plants : Batch plants are filled with slurry/waste once and
used to take the biogas till the material is digested. Then the material
is removed from the plant completely from the digester. The major
problems of batch plants are :
a- Waste is not completely digested.
b- Biogas is not formed uniformly leading to uninterrupted supply of
gas.
c- The most boring work is to emptying the digester for fresh
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material.
d- It is highly labor intensive work.
2- Continuous Plants : These are fed continuously and digested
material automatically comes out through the overflow whenever
new material is filled in. The waste material is first converted to
fluid form generally by adding the appropriate amount of water.
Biogas production is better and uniform in continuous fed plants
than the batch plants.
Today, nearly all continuous model industrial/commercial biogas
plants are operating on .
3- Semi-continuous Plants : These are fed once or twice a day and
digested material comes out due to gas pressure and fresh feeding.
Most of the domestic plants working in India are semi-continues
type of plants. The solid waste is mixed with water in appropriate
quantities and then fed into the plants at one time or two times in a
day
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 Liquid fermentation:

 Current fermentation method is the liquid fermentation

because the input substrates consist of less than 40 % dry
matter, are fluid and not stackable. For pumping in the
digester the substrates should be moist till 12 % dry matter.

 Dry mater pretratment, chopped, mixed or thinned down.

 Slaughterhouse waste or animal by-products have to be

sterilized in order to eliminate all germs.
 Dry fermentation:

 The dry fermentation is not a current method since most

input substrates have a low dry substance. When
using the dry fermentation method, the input substrate
should have a dry matter above 45 %.

 This kind of fermentation uses free flowing substrates

which are not fluid or suitable for pumping. This kind of
process is mainly for biogas plants which do not use
liquid manure as the main substrate and safes a lot of
water.
GAS CLEANSING:
 biogas can not be used directly after the extraction from the
plant because of the ingredients like water vapour, hydrogen
sulphide, carbon dioxide and dirt particles,

 However, after removing water vapour and carbon dioxide

the biogas can be used like any clear natural gas.

 But all biogas used normally needs to cleansed by

removing hydrogen sulphide and ammonia.
 Desulphurization

1- Cleaning with filters: With using ferrous-filters after the gas

production. The filter must be changed after saturation of the
filling substrate.

2- The cleaning directly in the gas storage with adding oxygen.

The hydrogen sulphide will be turned into sulphur.
Drying
 The biogas output from the digester is warm and humid.
In order to prevent erosions, it should be dehumidified
and cooled. One method is to fill the gas into a cool sub-
ground storage or dry it with compression cooling.

Removing CO2
 It is executed through gas washing, pressure-washing
or adsorption washing. Further methods include
separation with membranes
WHAT OUTPUTS DOES A BIOGAS PLANT HAVE?

 Biofertilizers,
- odourless- doesn’t attract pests – free of pathogens.
- The digester residues are very high quality fertilizers. During
the digester process carbon is degraded and the C/N ratio of
the manure get closer.

 Biogas

 Source of electricity
 environmental benefits are:

 Reducing the emission of methane which is also a green

house gas
 Establishing a decentralized energy supply

 Providing high quality fertilizers

 Reducing unfavorable local odours

 Strengthening regional economies and creating

 Fostering energy independence

 Waste reduction through the use of organic agricultural

waste
 is a way to solve environmental problems:

 Greenhouse effect

 Destruction of the ozone layer

 Limited duration of use of traditional fossil fuels

TO BE CONTINUED

Thank you