CONVENTIONAL

WASTEWATER TREATMENT
THE REPORT
Prepared by : B.M.N.Nilangi Balasooriya
Registration number : GAM / FT / F/ 2019 / 0078
Subject : Food sanitation
INTRODUCTION

Human activities create wastewater that can be catastrophic to the environment and also cause loss of water
wastewater in places where water is scarce. When wastewater contaminates rivers and groundwater tables, it
renders the water resource unstable. Therefore, it is imperative that wastewater is treated before it is released
into the environment and, if possible, treated it to make it potable.

OBJECTIVES

The overall water management objectives of wastewater treatment are associated with the removal of
pollutants and the protection and preservation of our natural water resources.

Of specific concern is protection of human health by the destruction of pathogenic organisms present in
wastewater prior to treated effluent being discharged to receiving waters.

CONVENTIONAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT

This figure depicts an overview of the treatment stages and main processes of conventional wastewater
treatment and how they are linked to each other.

Pre – treatment Primary treatment Secondary treatment Tertiary treatment

Biological
Primary Chemical
Cause screening Filtration Sludge digestion
clarifier Physical
processing

Secondary Carbon Stabilized sludge

Grit chamber
clarifier adsorption for disposal

Phosphorous
Comminutor Disinfection
removal

Flow Nitrogen
Dichlorination
equalization removal

Raw sewage To environment To environment

Primary effluent

Secondary effluent Sludge Centrate / Filtrate

from digested
Tertiary effluent sludge
PRE – TREATMENT WASTE WATER

 Pre – treatment is intended to remove large debris and grift from the raw wastewater.
Comminutor shred the solids in preparation from for movement of the waste to primary
treatment.

The intent of the pre – treatment stage is to remove those materials that could either damage the facility.
Shredding of the solids into smaller sizes helps in the separation of solids and effluents and later in the
microbial digestion of this material.

The grit chambers remove smaller objects such as

broken pieces of glass, sand, silt and pebble that could
damage or plug the system. Another design that is
sometime used is an aerated grit chamber. In an aerated
grit chamber, air bubbles are injected into a wastewater
basin to force a spiral, or rolling, flow. The air bubbles
are supposed to strip organic material off the surfaces of
the inert grit as well as maintain the proper flow rate for Grit chamber
the grit to settle to the bottom of the tank, usually with a
clam bucket.

The flow volumes entering the wastewater treatment plant are typically uneven with mid – morning periods
having the greatest flows. The equalization chamber helps to balance the flows to ensure a constant and even
flow is delivered for treatment. In this way, the system processes are not disrupted.

Screening

Screening of the wastewater to remove all large objects

Grit removal
PRIMARY TREATMENT

 Primary treatment is intended to remove the settable solids and floatable materials from the
effluent.

The primary clarifier is the settling tank that receives the

pre – treated raw sewage. The primary clarifier can also
be called the “ settling tank “ or the “ sedimentation &
floatation unit “.

Often the effluent will flow through two primary clarifiers

to improve separation of solids, floatables and effluent.
The clarifiers can be circular to rectangular in shape but
both operate on the same principle of gravitational
separation of the different phases.

Clariflocculator

SECONDARY TREATMENT

 Secondary treatment biologically digests soluble organics and removes refractory as sludge to
be further treated in a separate sludge digestion process.

NOTE :
some WWTPs provide only secondary treatment and once the secondary treatment is achieved the effluent
is disinfected, dechlorinated and released to the environment ( typically to a nearby surface water body ).
For those WWTPs offering tertiary treatment the secondary effluent is transferred to subsequent tertiary
treatment processes.

SECONDARY TREATMENT : AERATION TANK

When wastewater enters the aeration tank, it is mixed with the activated sludge to form a mixture of sludge,
carrier water, and influent solids ( called mixed liquor ).

The activated sludge treatment process is explained at the end of this report.

These solids come mainly from the discharges from homes, factories, and businesses. The activated sludge
which is added contains many different types of helpful living organisms that were grown during previous
contact with wastewater.

Most primary effluents still have between 40% and 60% of the original pollutants present. Some of this may
be dissolved in the wastewater, forming a solution. Some may consist of solid particles which are too small
to settle out under gravity. These very small particles are known as colloids.
The purpose of secondary treatment is to remove these dissolved and colloidal pollutants. Secondary
treatment removes soluble materials that require O2 for decay since much of the removal is via microbial
digestion.
The most common form of secondary treatment is
biological ( microbial ) treatment. This means that the
wastewater is exposed to living organisms such as
bacteria which feed on the dissolved and colloidal matter.
In doing this, they either break it down to much simpler
and less harmful compounds, or use it as food to increase
their own cell mass. As the microorganisms grow, they
tend to clump together to form fairly large particles,
which can quite easily be settled out by gravity ( in a
process similar to clarification ) to leave a clear effluent.

When it is operating properly, secondary treatment can be very effective.

Eg :- Removal of 90% - 99% of the suspended solids and BOD in the raw wastewater is not
uncommon.

The microorganisms active in this process are aerobic.

They are present in all wastewaters. Extra O2 must be
supplied artificially because the concentration of pollutants
and microorganisms are so much higher in a treatment
plant. The rate of purification can be increased by
increasing the number ( concentration ) of microorganisms
in contact with the wastewater.

The organisms stabilize soluble of finely divided

suspended solids by partial oxidation forming CO2 , water,
and sulfate and nitrate compounds. The remaining solids
are changed to a form that can be settled and removed as sludge during sedimentation.

O2 , usually supplied from the air, is needed by the living organisms as they oxidize wastes to obtain energy
for growth. Insufficient O2 will slow down aerobic organisms, make facultative organisms work less
efficiently, and favor the production of foul – smelling intermediate products of decomposition and
incomplete reactions.

An increase in organisms in an aeration tank will require greater amount of O 2. More food in the influent
encourages more organism activity and more oxidation ; consequently, more O2 is required in the aeration
tank. An excess of O2 is required for complete waste stabilization. Therefore, the dissolved O 2 ( DO )
content in the aeration tank is an essential control test. Some minimum level of O 2 must be maintained to
favor the desired type of organism activity to achieve the necessary treatment efficiency. If is dissolved O 2 (
O2 ) in the aeration tank is too low, filamentous bacteria will thrive and the sludge floc will not settle in the
secondary clarifier. Also, if the dissolved O2 ( DO ) is too high, pinpoint floc will develop and not be
removed in the secondary clarifier. Therefore, the proper DO level must be maintained so solids will settle
properly and the plant effluent will be clear.

A joining picture of a settling tank which is used in primary treatment and an aeration tank which is
used in the secondary treatment together is shown here
SECONDARY TREATMENT : SECONDARY CLARIFIER

The sludge setting to the bottom of the clarifier is called the activated sludge, hence the reason why this
treatment process is called an activated sludge treatment process as opposed to a trickle filter process.

The activated sludge contains a mixture of living bacteria, fungi, yeast, protozoa, and worms, along with
dead bacteria and organic constituents that have clumped together and have fallen out of the water column
under gravitational forces. When the sludge is removed from the clarifier, a portion is diverted back into the
aeration tank and mixed with the primary effluent. ( e.g., returned activated sludge ). The living bacteria of
the returned activated sludge then multiply rapidly and the microbial digestion of the primary effluent in the
aeration tank begins again. The ratio of food ( organic constituents of effluent ) to organisms
( activated sludge ) is important in both the aeration tank and secondary clarifier to ensure proper and
efficient breakdown of organic compounds. This ratio needs to be maintained and adjusted when needed in
both of these tanks. Often the amount of return activated sludge removed from the secondary clarifier is not
enough to lower the ratio of organisms to food in the clarifier and as such some of the activated sludge
removed from the secondary clarifier is wasted, hence the name “ wasted activated sludge “. Often the
wasted sludge will be diverted to the flow equalization tank upstream of the primary clarifier, thus allowing
the wasted sludge to undergo further treatment.

The clarified secondary effluent can then undergo disinfection and dichlorination, as a final cleanup process
before being released to the environment. The design of secondary treatment facilities can vary in how the
secondary effluent is processed before being released to the environment. Often the effluent will be
disinfected with chlorine. However, concerns over the production of harmful disinfection by-products and
the potential release of chlorinated effluents into the environment have led some treatment facilities to use
other methods of disinfection such as UV radiation or ozonation. Many wastewater treatment plants will also
pass the disinfected effluent through sand filters as a final clean up step before its release. Once again, some
treatment facilities are moving away from sand filters, or are augmenting the sand filters with the use of
membrane filtration.
 Sand filtration tank

If chlorination was the disinfection method chosen, the

chlorinated effluent will often undergo a dichlorination
process to remove the added chlorine from entering the
ecosystem of the receiving body. Chlorine can be
removed by periods of holding, aeration or activated
carbon. However, because of speed and ease, chemical
means are often used. The most common chemical to
add is Sulphur dioxide ( SO2 ), but other sulfur
compounds can be used such as sodium sulfite, sodium
bisulfite, sodium metabisulfite and sodium thiosulfate.

Although secondary treatment can remove over 85% of

the BOD, suspended solids and nearly all pathogens,
sometimes additional treatment is required. If tertiary
treatment is desired, then the primary effluents undergo
additional treatments designed to meet specific treatment objectives for the facility. These tertiary treatment
options have historically included treatment to reduce phosphorous and nitrogen and enhance the removal of
organic waste constituents.

TERTIARY TREATMENT

 Tertiary treatment removes additional unwanted constituents in order to meet the regulatory
requirements of the jurisdiction. It is important to note that not all of the tertiary processed
listed in this diagram are necessarily operative at each facility. Tertiary treatment is often
customized to meet specific treatment objectives

Phosphorous ( P ) and nitrogen ( N ) are two compounds generally elevated in the secondary effluents of
municipal wastewaters. Both of these compounds are nutrients important for plant growth.
Phosphorous in particular can cause eutrophication issues in receiving waters and thereby degrade the
surrounding ecosystem.

Several jurisdictions closely regulate the amount of phosphorus that can be released from municipal
effluents.
The choice of which parameters to treat and which treatment processes to install are generally specific to the
individual treatment facility.

The most common treatment processes used by most conventional treatment plants involve the following :
❖ FILTRATION – Secondary treatment processes are highly effective in reducing the BOD in
wastewater. However, some suspended material can still remain in the effluent even after the solids
have been settled out. Some of the suspended materials are microorganisms that can exert a BOD from
normal respiration and decay. Sand filters are normally used to filter out this remaining material. The
sand filters are often similar in design to the sand filters used in many conventional drinking water
treatment plants. However, the filter material is often heavier than the drinking water filters since the
wastewater filters require frequent backwashing to remove the solids filtered out of the wastewater
effluent.

❖ CARBON ADSORPTION – Soluble organics often

remain in the secondary effluent, even after sand
filtration. Many of these compounds are “ refractory “
or resistant to degradation. Adsorption of these
compounds onto activated carbon is one of the
common methods for removal. Carbon is activated by
heating in the absence of O2. This is intended to create
multiple fractures and pores and thus increase the
surface area and hence adsorption sites on the carbon.
After the adsorption capacity of the carbon has been
exhausted, it can be restored by reheating it in the
absence of O2. This process drives off the adsorbed
organics, which can be consumed in an afterburner.

❖ PHOSPHOROUS REMOVAL – Phosphorous in wastewater is a pollutant because it encourages the

growth of algae. Phosphorous removal usually involves the addition of metal salts such as ferric
chloride or alum to the wastewater, mixing it in a reaction basin, and then sending the mixture to a
clarifier to allow the phosphorous – containing precipitate to settle out.

❖ NITROGEN REMOVAL – Nitrogen in any soluble form is a plant nutrient and may need to be
removed from the wastewater to control the growth of algae. In addition, nitrogen in the form of
ammonia exerts an oxygen demand and can be toxic to fish. Nitrogen can be removed from wastewater
by both biological and chemical means. The biological process is called ammonification /
nitrification / denitrification and the chemical process is called ammonia stripping.

 AMMONIFICATION / NITRIFICATION / DENITRIFICATION – The natural

nitrification process can be forced to occur in the activated sludge process by maintaining a cell
detention time of at least 15 days. Bacteria can convert organic nitrogen
 (proteins, peptides, ect.) to ammonia ( ammonification ) and ammonia to nitrates ( nitrification )
and nitrates into nitrogen dioxide (denitrification ). Small amounts of organic materials ( such as
methanol, or raw or settled sewage ) could be added to provide a food source for the bacteria for
this denitrification process if sufficient nutrients aren’t already available in the aeration basin.

 AMMONIA STRIPPING – nitrogen in the form of ammonia can also be removed chemically
by raising the pH ( often, by adding lime ) to convert the ammonium iron into ammonia, which
can be stripped from the water by blowing large quantities of air through the water.

Newer treatment processes are now starting to emerge to provide effective treatment for emerging
contaminants of concern. These contaminants are wide – ranging and include naturally occurring
microcystin toxins produced by Cyanobacteria, pharmaceuticals and personal care products, and other trace
organic contaminants. Some of these compounds are not effectively removed with conventional treatment
process because of their physical – chemical structural properties and resistance to degradation and low
affinity for absorption to particulates ( including those that are associated with tertiary treatment ). Some of
the newer treatment processes include the use of powerful oxidants such as O 3, peroxide, UV irradiation,
and membrane filtration.

SLUDGE DIGESTION

 Undigested solids ( sludge ) are further digested in a different process. This is typically
accomplished through anaerobic digestion with heat, but may also be done aerobically

The primary sludge generated from the primary clarifier on averages represents approximately 40% to 60%
of the suspended material in the wastewater. This equates to approximately 25% to 35% for the BOD in the
wastewater.

Anaerobic digestion produces considerably less biomass than what is produced under aerobic digestion.
Biomass is produced when the number of microbial organisms increases ( e.g., the organic constituents
inherent in the sludge are consumed by a growing bacterial population and are thus converted into an
increasing quantity to bacterial cell mass called biomass )

Microbial digestion under anaerobic conditions often will consume 50% to 60% of the sludge while
converting only about 10% of that consumed matter into biomass.

In general, facultative and anaerobic bacteria capable of living under low oxygenated conditions convert the
digestible organic content into volatile organic acids, which are then completely metabolized by a different
group of bacteria into methane ( CH4 ) and carbon dioxide ( CO2 ).

The stability of the anaerobic process is quite fragile. A balance must be maintained amongst several
microbial populations. The hydrolysis and fermentation phases of the digestion are accomplished by the
most tolerant group of microorganisms able to survive in the broadest range of environmental conditions.
Overfeeding of this group can quickly lead to an increase of volatile fatty acids within the digester which
can reduce the pH and harm the acetogens and methanogens and stall the digestion process.

The anaerobic sludge is held in the tank from 10 days to 90days, depending on the specific operation of the
unit.

The overall goal is to reduce the total volume of biosolids and to produce a stable biosolid material that can
then be disposed of via burial, landfill, incineration, or land
application.

Under proper operating conditions the concentration of methane

( CH4 ) in the biogas generated by the anaerobic digester may be
high enough to be used as a viable biogas fuel to supplement the
power requirements of the plant.

Foaming in wastewater treatment plant

Ozone treatment for sludge bulking at

wastewater treatment plants
ACTIVATED SLUDGE TREATMENT PROCESS

The two most common treatment processes for municipal wastewater are :
1) Activated sludge

2) Trickle filter

The activated sludge process is typically the preferred method. The activated sludge utilizes microbial
degradation for the digestion of soluble organic constituents within primarily treated effluent.

The trickle filter also utilizes microbial degradation for the same purposes. However, in this process the
primary treated effluent is sprayed onto a filter bed composed of course gravel or crushed stone. A bacterial
community develops on the substrate to form a biofilm. These filters require general maintenance for they
will plug as the biofilms thicken.

Activated sludge wastewater treatment plant providing secondary treatments

The figure provides more detail regarding the layout of a typical secondary wastewater treatment plant. Note
that it is typical to have two primary clarifiers and two secondary clarifiers. Also note that two heated
anaerobic digesters are used for the digestion of the sludge. This schematic also illustrates the transfer of
returned activated sludge ( from secondary clarifiers ) to the aeration tank ( in this diagram called the
biological or chemical treatment tank ) and wasted sludge ( from secondary clarifiers ) and the transfer of the
filtrate ( from the anaerobic digesters ) back to the flow equalization tank.

Typical activated sludge treatment process flow diagram

Trickle filters

This is an example of what a trickle filters looks like. Most wastewater treatment plants do not use this
process for biological treatment, but instead use the activated sludge process.
Here are some pictures taken from RADDOLUGAMA wastewater treatment plant in
Sri Lanka

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