Secondary Treatment of Municipal

Wastewater
Diagram
 Common Organisms of Biological Process: Bacteria

 Bacteria are the most common microorganisms in biological reactors; they

are unicellular prokaryotic organisms, and distinguishable according to
their shape (coccoid, spherical, rod-like, spiral, and filamentous).
 Bacteria are capable of stabilizing colloidal and solid organic matter
outside the cell by means of extra cellular enzymes, thereby contributing
to organics removal (from wastewater).
 Each type of bacteria lives and multiplies (through binary fission) under
specific environmental conditions, such as: light, air, water, food,
temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen (DO).
Classification Energy source Carbon source

Autotrophic
Photo-autotrophic Light CO2
Chemo-autotrophic Inorganic oxidation and CO2
reduction

Heterotrophic
Photo-heterotrophic Light Organic Carbon
Chemo- heterotrophic Organic oxidation and Organic Carbon
reduction

Temperature
°
Type C
Range Optimum
Psychrophilic -2-30 12-18
Mesophilic 20-45 25-40
Thermophilic 45-75 55-65
 Common Organisms of Biological Process: Fungi

 Fungi are multicellular, non-photosynthetic plants. They are strict aerobes,

and have the ability to grow under low moisture conditions.
 The optimum pH for fungi is 5.6; the survival range is 2-9.
 Fungi compete with bacteria for food, where bacteria are mostly favored.
Fungi also have lower nitrogen requirement.
 The ability of fungi to survive under low pH and nitrogen limiting condition
makes them very important, in terms of providing biological treatment to
some industrial wastewaters. However, because of large filamentous
shape, fungi tend to settle poorly, thereby limiting sedimentation.
Common Organisms of Biological Process: Algae

 Algae are photosynthetic microorganisms. They produce bad taste and odors, so
they are undesirable in water supplies.
 In oxidation ponds, algae are valuable because they have the ability to produce O2
by photosynthesis.
 At night, when light is no longer available for photosynthesis, they use up O2 for
respiration.
 Common Organisms of Biological Process: Protozoa

 Protozoa are single-celled animals. They may grow under aerobic,

anaerobic or facultative environment.
 They are larger than bacteria and often consume bacteria. As a result,
they perform as polishers of the biological treatment effluents.
 Common Organisms of Biological Process: Rotifiers

 Rotifers are simple multi cellular animals. They feed on bacteria, small
protozoa, thus stabilizing the waste.
 Since rotifiers require higher dissolved oxygen content, their presence is a
good indicator of the treated wastewater stability.
Cell Growth of Bacteria
Kinetic Transformations in Biological Reactors:
Biological Growth
Kinetic Transformations in Biological Reactors:
Decay
Organic Matter Measurement

yt  L0 ( 1  e  kt )
 Determination of BOD in wastewater

The BOD5 of a wastewater is 200 mg/L at 20°C. k at 20°C is 0.20 per day.
Determine the BOD7 of the sample at 10°C.
 Chemical oxygen demand (COD)

• Chemical oxygen demand (COD) is defined as the O2 equivalent of the organic

matter, that can be oxidized with a strong chemical oxidizing agent (a mixture of
dichromate and sulphuric acid with silver sulphate as catalyst), at an elevated
temperature (150°C) for two hours.
• COD of wastewater is always greater than BOD, as more compounds can be
chemically oxidized by biological oxidation.
• COD values of wastewater are always greater than BOD values, as more
compounds can be oxidized by the strong chemical agent. Typical ratio of
BOD/COD for untreated domestic wastewater is in the range of 0.3-0.8. BOD/COD
ratio of 0.5 or greater indicates that the wastewater is easily degradable, while the
ratio below 0.3 indicates that the wastewater is difficult to degrade by
microorganisms.
Influent COD characterization
Classification of Biological Reactors
• Suspended growth: Microorganisms responsible for the conservation of organic
matter to gas and cell tissue are remained in suspension within the liquid.

• Attached growth: Organisms responsible for conversion of organic matter are

attached to a medium.
 Suspended Growth System: Activated Sludge
Process
• The activated sludge process consists of an aeration tank, followed by a secondary clarifier.
The aeration tank is fed with a mixture of influent and sludge, referred as mixed liquor
suspended solid (MLSS) or mixed liquor volatile suspended solid (MLVSS).
• The MLVSS is the volatile portion (eg. microorganisms) of the MLSS, ranging between 0.75-
0.85 of MLSS. The aerators in the tank provide necessary turbulence for keeping the sludge
flocs in suspension; in addition, the aerators of such tank also provide necessary oxygen for
the oxidation of organic matter.
 Suspended Growth System: Activated Sludge
Process
• The oxidized MLSS is then transferred to the following secondary clarifier, where solids are separated from
liquid phase. The separated liquid (i.e. supernatant) is discharged, referred as effluent whereas a portion
of the settled sludge (known as returned sludge) containing microorganisms, is again transferred to the
aeration tank.
• The return of this sludge portion is critically important for maintaining the pollutant removal
performances of the aeration tanks, as it increases biomass availability, and accelerate associated kinetic
reactions.
• The microorganisms in the activated sludge process comprise of filamentous and unicellular bacteria;
predominant bacteria include Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Flavobacterium and Alcaligenes. The
microorganisms in MLSS are composed of 70-90% organic and 10-30% inorganic matter.
 Mass balance of organics removal across an activated sludge system
 The mass balance of organics removal across an activated sludge system can be calculated
assuming steady state conditions; the assumption defines no accumulation of influent
organic material inside the system.
 As such, the daily mass of applied influent organic load (into the system) is the sum of the
following fluxes : (a) influent organic matter, not removed in the process escapes as effluent
organic material (MSte); (b) transformation of a portion of organic material to organic sludge,
and being discharged as excess sludge (MSxv); and (c) oxidation of a portion of the organic
matter (MS0).
 The routes that transform organic matter are: (a) transformation of organic sludge by
anabolism, decay, flocculation and adsorption; and (b) oxidation into inorganic products.
 Complete mix with recycle

In a complete mix reactor or continuous flow stirred tank reactor (CSTR), the flow is
continuously stirred to enhance complete mixing in the reactor. The substrate
concentration in a CSTR reactor is same as the effluent substrate concentration. The
hydraulic retention time in a CSTR reactor is defined according to:

where  =hydraulic retention time, d

V=tank volume, m3
Q=influent wastewater flow, m3/d
 Sludge age
The sludge age is a crucial factor for designing activated sludge process, which can be defined
as the ratio of the organisms mass in the aeration tank, and the mass removed from the system
per day. Such definition of sludge age can be expressed through:

Where,  c =mean cell residence time, d

X= concentration of MLVSS maintained in the tank, mg/L
Qwa, Qe= waste sludge flow removed from aeration tank and flow of treated effluent,
m3/d
Xe= microorganism concentration in effluent (VSS), mg/L
Qwr= waste sludge flow from return sludge line, m3/d
Xr=microorganism concentration in return sludge line, mg/L

Figure. Schematic diagram of a completely mixed reactor with: (a) wasting of

sludge from aeration tank; and (b) wasting from return sludge line.
Biomass and substrate mass balance
 Plug- Flow Pattern: Activated Sludge Process

 In plug flow (PF) regime, it is assumed that complete mixing occurs in the transverse plane,
but minimal mixing takes place towards the flow direction. Typically, long and narrow
aeration tanks are employed to provide such mixing regime.
 In a PF system, the oxygen demand is higher at the influent end (of the basin), due to
intensive degradation of readily degradable substrates. At the effluent end of the basin
oxygen demand is lower, which can be attributed to lower rate of endogenous metabolism
coupled with absence of readily degradable substrates.
 Common Variations of Activated Sludge Process: Step Aeration

The step aeration process distributes waste flow to a number of points along the basin, thus
avoiding locally high O2 demand; the return activated sludge (RAS) is introduced at the aeration
tank head. The flow distribution lessens the effect of peak hydraulic and organic loads, and may
provide sufficient dilution to protect bacteria against toxic materials. Step aeration follows plug
flow regime.
 Common Variations of Activated Sludge Process: Tapered
Aeration

 This process attempts to match O2 supply to demand (through plug flow regime) by
introducing more air at the head end. In this process, the diffusers are spaced close together
(at the influent section) to achieve a high oxygenation rate. The intensive air supply at the
head end promotes higher organic degradation.
 As the mixed liquor traverses the aeration tank, synthesis of new cells occurs, increasing the
number of microorganisms and decreasing available food concentration. Such inverse
correlation is associated with lower food to microorganism ratio and lower of oxygen
demand at the outlet section.
 The spacing of diffusers is therefore increased toward the tank outlet, to match the lower
oxygen demand. A disadvantage of the process can be attributed to its vulnerability towards
shock loading, or toxic materials.
 Common Variations of Activated Sludge Process: Contact
Stabilization

According to this process, returned sludge (containing adsorbed organics) from the
secondary clarifier is being transferred to a stabilization tank, where it is aerated for 3-
6h, and is mixed again with influent wastewater for 20-40 min. Such stabilized sludge
promotes the adsorption of suspended and colloidal solids (from influent wastewater),
but cannot adsorb dissolved organic matter. After the contact period, the activated
sludge is separated from mixed liquor in the secondary clarifier. Contact stabilization is
a plug flow process with shorter retention time, which enhances the vulnerability of
the system to organic and hydraulic loading variations.
Common Variations of Activated Sludge Process: Pure oxygen activated sludge
system

• In this process, the aeration basin is divided into several compartments by baffle walls; each
compartment includes an agitator. The incoming wastewater is mixed with high purity oxygen
in the first compartment. Wastewater flows from one compartment to other through baffle
walls, following plug flow regime. Exhausted gas, mixture of nitrogen, carbon dioxide and
10% of supplied oxygen emits from the last compartment.
• The mixed liquor is then transferred to the following secondary clarifier. The settled activated
sludge (in secondary clarifier) is again recirculated to the aeration tank, and a portion of the
settled sludge is wasted. The mixed liquor of this system has dissolved oxygen concentration
varying between 4-10 mg/L.
• The advantages of this system include higher transfer of oxygen, small reaction chambers,
peak loading tolerance, higher efficiency in terms of treating soluble wastewater, reduction
of sludge bulking, and effective odor control.
 Common Variations of Activated Sludge Process: Extended
aeration

 The extended aeration process is operated under longer

hydraulic retention time and sludge age. The system is also
subjected to longer aeration time, resulting higher MLSS
concentration, higher RAS pumping rate, and substantial
endogenous decay of sludge mass. Such prolonged
endogenous phase allows equal proportion of cell mass
production and decay, resulting in no net mass production,
thereby minimizing sludge production and wastage.
 The oxidation ditch is an example of extended aeration for
the treatment of wastewater. It comprises of a single or
closed loop elongated oval channel; the liquid depth in the
channel is maintained within 1.2-1.8 m, with 45 degree
sloping sidewalls.
 The wastewater usually receives preliminary treatment
prior to the entrance into oxidation ditch. The wastewater
in the channel is aerated with mechanical aerators (i.e.
Kessener brush), operating at 60-110 rev/min which allows
liquid motion within 0.24-0.37 m/s. Such velocity is
maintained to prevent solids deposition; it also allows the
wastewater to complete a tank circulation within 5-15 min.
The DO concentration profile of wastewater increases near
the aerators, and falls when it transverses the circuit.
 Common Variations of Activated Sludge Process: Sequential
batch reactors (SBR)

 These systems consist of a single reactor, for aeration

of wastewater and sludge settling. The wastewater is
applied in a batch mode, resulting four operational
phases such as: fill, react, settle and discharge phase.
 During the fill phase, wastewater is applied (in batch
mode) to the reactor, which have sludge mass. The
aerator may or may not be switched on in this phase.
In the react phase, the aerator is turned on to provide
treatment of organics and solids, present in
wastewater. The settling phase includes settling of
sludge in the reactor, while the aerator is turned off.
 The discharge phase allows withdrawal of the clarified
effluent from the reactor, along with excess sludge.
The main advantage of SBR can be attributed to
simultaneous achievement of equalization, primary
clarification, biological treatment and secondary
clarification. However, higher maintenance costs,
substantial sludge production are the major
disadvantages of SBR systems.
 Design Example

Estimate the volume of the aeration tank of high purity oxygen activated sludge
system for municipal wastewater treatment employing the following data set, and
check with design parameters. Also find out the expected effluent BOD5 concentration
of the system.

Parameter Value
Design avaerage flow, Q 4000 m3/d
Influent BOD 300 mg/L
Influent TSS 150 mg/L
F/M 0.6 lb BOD applied/lb MLVSS.d
MLSS 7000 mg/L
VSS/TSS 0.8
Maximum volumetric BOD load 4 kg/(m3.d)
Minimum aeration time 2h
Minimum cell residence time 4d
KS 60 mg/L of BOD
kd 0.06/d
Y 0.6VSS/mg BOD
k 6d-1
 Attached Growth Process
• Attached culture systems are characterized by the adhesion of
bacteria to a solid media. Wastewater passes through this
attached film (and porous spaces of media) in thin sheets,
allowing the attached microorganisms for adsorbing soluble
and colloidal organic matter (from wastewater). The required
oxygen for such biodegradation is being supplied by incoming
wastewater and atmospheric air. Waste products (from
metabolic process) are diffused outwards and carried away by
water, through the void of the medium.
• The removal of organic material (from wastewater) in trickling
filter is performed through adsorption by the attached slime
layer. In the outer portion of the layer, organic degradation is
performed by the aerobic bacteria, which in turn maintains the
growth of microorganisms, thereby allowing the increase of
slime layer thickness.
• As the thickness of the layer increases, oxygen cannot
penetrate in the lower part (near the media), promoting the
development of anaerobic environment. The increase of slime
layer thickness also enhances the consumption of organics
(from wastewater) by the upper aerobic bacterial biomass. As
such, the biomass populations of the lower part are deprived
of food, thereby creating endogenous phase, where these
interior cells die and washed away by the wastewater flow. This
phenomenon of losing the slime layer is known as sloughing,
and is dependent on organic and hydraulic loading of the filter.
The washed out slime layer is removed by the following
sedimentation tank.
 Attached Growth Process: Trickling Filters

 Trickling filters are non-submerged fixed film biological reactors. Trickling filters consist of: (a)
bed of coarse material, such as: stone slates or plastic media; (b) distributors; and (c)
underdrain system.
 Primary treated effluent is sprayed to the filter surface bed, by spray nozzles or rotary
distributors.
 The underdrain portion carries the wastewater (passing through biological filter), and drains
it to the following treatment units; in addition, the underdrain portion also develops aerobic
condition inside the filter media.
 Attached Growth Process: Trickling Filters
 As wastewater passes through the filter media, it
promotes the growth of biological slime layer on the
media surface. Such developed slime layer comprises of
microorganisms, which enhance biodegradation of
substrates (from wastewater). The biological community
includes aerobic, facultative bacteria, fungi, algae and
protozoa. Higher animals such as worms, larvae, and
snails can also be an integral part of the biological slime.

 The common bacteria species of trickling filters include

Achromobacter, Flavobacterium, Pseudomonas, and
Alcaligenes. Within the slime layer, the filamentous forms
such as: Sphaerotilusnatans and Beggiatoa dominate due
to adverse environmental conditions.

 Nitrifying bacteria are observed in the lower part of the

filter. Algae can be observed in the upper portion of the
filter, exposed to sunlight. During daytime, algae add
oxygen to the incoming wastewater.
Design of trickling filters: NRC formula
Attached Growth Process: Rotating Biological Contactor

• Rotating biological contactors (RBC), also defined as rotating biological filters,

are fixed-bed reactors comprising of closely spaced circular plastic media
mounted on a horizontal shaft. The disks are partially submerged and rotated
as wastewater flows through.
• The biofilms attached to the surface of the disks are alternately exposed to
wastewater and atmosphere, allowing assimilation, aeration and degradation
of organic pollutants, nutrients (from primary treated effluent).
Attached Growth Process: Rotating Biological Contactor

 The basic components of the RBC system include: media, shaft, bearings, drive and
cover. The plastic media are made of corrugated polyethylene or polystyrene
material; the diameters of the media can range between 1.22-3.66 m, while the
surface area of the disks is about 9300m2.
 The shaft, on which the plastic media is mounted, is supported by bearings, and
rotated by the driving gear. The length of the shaft varies between 6.62-8.23 m.
The rotational speed of the shaft is 1.5-1.7 rev/min for mechanical drive, and 1-1.3
rev/min for air drive. The required power of the motors can be 3.7/5.6 kW. The
typical volume of a RBC tank is 45m3; approximately 40% of the media is
submerged in wastewater.
 Process principle: Rotating Biological Contactor

 When employed for domestic wastewater treatment, the microorganisms present

in wastewater adhere to the disks within 1 week of the start up phase. During the
continuous rotation of the disks, the attached biofilms are exposed to air and
wastewater alternatively.
 When the disks are submerged to wastewater, the organics penetrate through the
biofilms. As the disks rotate to atmospheric conditions, the oxygen (from air) is
diffused in the biofilms, allowing aerobic organic degradation.
 The DO rich biofilm replenishes oxygen concentration of the wastewater, when the
disk is alternatively submerged. Attached biofilms are sloughed in wastewater, and
being removed in the following secondary clarifiers.
 Multi-Stage Rotating Biological Contactor
 The RBC system includes a number of units in series to prevent short circuiting of
incoming wastewater. The number of stages depends on treatment objectives; for
the removal of BOD 2-4 stages are required, whereas nitrification process can be
enhanced with six or more stages.
 The establishment of these stages can be accomplished by a single tank with
baffles, or by multiple tanks. During stage treatment, the influent organic
concentration in the subsequent stage is lower than the previous stage; the
hydraulic retention time in each stage is usually shorter (i.e. 20 min under normal
loading).
 Advantage of RBC

 Reduced loadings on the shaft and bearings.

 Ease of retrofit into existing aeration tanks.
 Lower power consumption.
 Good process stability.
 Better control of short circuiting.
 Disadvantage of RBC
 However, overloading of RBC systems is often associated with the development of anaerobic
conditions in the deeper portion of the attached biofilms. In such conditions, sulfate is
reduced to H2S and is diffused outwards in oxygen rich environment, followed by oxidation
(of H2S) via Beggiatoa bacteria. The continuous oxidation of H2S enhances the formation of
whitish Beggiatoa biofilms, that do not slough under normal RBC loading.

 Such problems can be mitigated by adding hydrogen per oxide. Increase of the rotational
speed of the disks also enhances the shear level of the attached biomass.

 The organic loading to the first stage of an RBC should also be restricted to 3.1kg total
BOD5/100 m2/d or 1.2 kg soluble BOD5/100 m2/d (WEF and ASCE, 1992) for smooth
operation.
Design of completely mixed activated sludge
process

A completely mixed activated sludge process is required for the treatment of municipal wastewater.

(a) Design the aeration tank employing the following data set:

 Average design flow=0.60m3/s

 Influent BOD5 concentration=400 mg/L
 Influent TSS concentration=350 mg/L
 Effluent BOD5 concentration=20 mg/L
 Effluent TSS concentration=25 mg/L
 Sludge age,  c = 10 d
 MLVSS=3000 mg/L
 VSS/TSS=0.8
 TSS concentration in RAS=10000 mg/L
 Y=0.5 mg VSS/mg BOD5, kd=0.06/d
 BOD5=0.65 BODu
 BOD5 removal in primary clarifiers=25%
 TSS removal in primary clarifiers=60%
 Specific gravity of primary sludge is 1.05, with solid content 4.4%
 Oxygen consumption is 1.42 mg per mg of cell oxidized
 Design of trickling filters

The domestic wastewater generated from a community is discharged to open water bodies, without
any treatment. Due to severe quality degradation of such water bodies, the local authority has
proposed a combination of primary and secondary treatment processes, for domestic wastewater
treatment. The authority has selected trickling filters, as secondary treatment process. Under such
circumstances:

(a) Design two stage trickling filters (for the community) using NRC formula from the following
dataset:

 Water temperature= 30°C

 Incoming wastewater= 2000 m3/d
 Influent BOD=150 mg/L
 Estimated effluent BOD=20 mg/L
 Depth of each filter=2 m
 Recirculation for filter 1 and 2 (r1=r2)=1.5
 Assume both filters will have equal BOD removal efficacy