Tertiary Treatment

Introduction

 Secondary treatment removes 85% to 95% of BOD and TSS and

minor portions of nitrogen, phosphorus, and heavy metals.

 Tertiary treatment is the next wastewater treatment process

after secondary treatment.

 The effluents from secondary sewage treatment plants contain

both nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P).

 N and P are ingredients in all fertilizers, when excess amounts of

N and P are discharged, will results in eutrophication in the water
body receiving such waste.
Further removal of suspended and dissolved
contaminants, not normally removed by conventional
treatment

I n f lu e n t T e r t ia r y E f f lu e n t
P r im a r y A e r a tio n S e c o n d a ry tre a tm e n t
c la r if ie r ta n k c l a r if i e r u n it
Purpose of tertiary treatment

 To provide a final treatment stage to raise the effluent

quality before it is discharged to the receiving
environment,

 To raise the treated water quality to such a level to make it

suitable for intended reuse,

 This step removes different types of pollutants such as

organic matter, SS, nutrients, pathogens, and heavy
metals that secondary treatment is not able to remove.
Need tertiary treatment

 To remove total suspended solids and organic matter those

are present in effluents after secondary treatment.

 To remove specific organic and inorganic constituents from

industrial effluent to make it suitable for reuse.

 To make treated wastewater suitable for land application

purpose or directly discharge it into the water bodies like
rivers, lakes, etc.

 To remove residual nutrients beyond what can be

accomplished by earlier treatment methods.

 To remove pathogens from the secondary treated

effluents.

 To reduce total dissolved solids (TDS) from the secondary

treated effluent to meet reuse quality standards.
Urban Water Systems 12 Sludge treatment
Biological process in Tertiary treatment

 Nitrogen Removal

Biological nitrification and denitrification

Biological process in Tertiary treatment

 Phosphorus Removal

• Acinetobacter organisms are helpful for removal of

phosphorus from effluent.

• Under anaerobic conditions, phosphorus accumulating

organisms (PAO) assimilate fermentation products (i.e.
volatile fatty acids) into storage products within the cells with
the concomitant release of phosphorus from stored
polyphosphates (Gray, 2005).
Tertiary treatment methods
Tertiary treatment methods

Slow
sand
filter
Types of shallow-bed filters (a) mono-medium downflow, (b) dual-
medium downflow
Types of deep-bed filters (a) mono-medium
downflow, (b) mono-medium upflow
• Sizing of a filter:
– Principal design criteria of a filter design is water
flow rate and head loss
– Usually we know
• flow rate of influent
• surface loading rate
Flow rate
Surface area of filtering unit = --------------------------
Surface loading rate

• Head loss can be calculated using reference (MetCalf &

Eddy, 1991)
Sludge Treatment
Composition of sludge

• Predominantly water

• Micro-organisms

• Viruses, pathogens, germs in general

• Organic particles, heavily bio-degradable

• Organic compounds, inert, adsorpted to sludge flocs

• Heavy metals

• Micro-pollutants, pharmaceuticals, endocrine disrupters

 All non-degraded compounds extracted from wastewater

are found in the sludge
Goals of sludge treatment
Volume reduction • Thickening
• Dewatering

Elimination of • If used in agriculture as fertiliser or

pathogenic germs compost

Stabilisation of organic • Gas production

substances • Reduction of dry content
• Improvement of dewatering
• Reduction of odour

Recycling of • Nutrients, fertiliser

substances • Humus
• Biogas
Sludge treatment

Thickening
Thickening by Gravity

Gravitative separation, similar to settling tank

Additional mechanic stirring to enhance flocculation and

extraction of water and gas

Supernatant is introduced to primary clarifier or – if floatables

and grease contents are high – to grid chamber

Thickened sludge is withdrawn from hopper and introduced to

sludge treatment

For an efficient thickening process the development of gas

bubbles must be prevented
 Gravity Thickener

Inflow
Scum scimmer

Sludge
liquor

Picket fence

Thickened sludge
Thickening by Flotation

Pre treatment: mostly chemical flocculation

Slude is placed in contact with air-saturated water

(full flow or recycle pressurization)

Air bubbles attach to solid particles

 lower specific gravity than water

Floating Sludge bubble composite is collected at the surface

Water is recovered under a scum baffle and removed

Flotation unit
Sludge treatment

Biological sludge stabilisation

Anaerobic mesophilic sludge stabilisation
Digester
Heated to 33 – 37°C  process rates are higher
Content of digester is mixed  Sludge and water obtain a
similar residence time

Storage unit
Not heated  little biological activity
Not mixed  separation of sludge and process water, which
is directed to WWTP
 Control of loading to WWTP, app. 10% of N-loading

Further thickening
Processes in digester
Anaerobic degradation
2 C5H7NO 2  8 H2O  5 CH4  3 CO 2  2 NH4  2 HCO3

Degradation of organic substances of app. 50%

Biogas production: 63% CH4 (Methane)

35% CO2
2% other gases (N2, H2, H2S)
 electricity and heating

Organic nitrogen is converged to NH4+

 N-loading of WWTP
Characteristic values of digester

Mean residence time of sludge

Small units, badly mixed < 30 d

Medium size units with mixing 20 d
Large plants with mixing 12 – 16 d

Biogas production related to

0.9 m3 / kg VSSdegr.
degradation of organic substances

Degradation of organic substances 40 – 55%

12 Sludge treatment

12.4 Volume reduction

 Volume reduction

Urban Water Systems 12 Sludge treatment © PK, 2006 - page 31

Drying bed
• Thin sludge layer (< 20 cm)

• Sand layer as drainage and filter layer

• Sludge is first dewatered by drainage

then air-dried through evaporation
• Applicable for small plants

Dimensioning   W  0.55 (Imhoff, 1990)

Plant type Specific surface

Only mechanical treatment 13 PE/m2

Trickling filter 6 PE/m2
Activated sludge plant 4 PE/m2
Drying

 Vaporisation of water content

Partial drying  W 0.3 – 0.4
Full drying  W down to < 0.1

Contact drying over heated areas

Drying by convection through hot air counter-current

inlet app. 600°C, outlet app. 300°C (Imhoff, 1999)

For large plants

Disposal is critical: fire, dust explosion

In granulate form as fertiliser

Sludge treatment

Sludge disposal
Use in agriculture

 Recycling of nutrients, from stabilised sludge

Sludge treatment Fertiliser*

Liquid sludge P- and N-fertiliser

Dewatered sludge P-fertiliser, N as storage product
Dried sludge P-fertiliser
*
Limit re. over-fertilisation

Problems
• Acceptance
• Heavy metals
• Micro-pollutants, pharmaceuticals, endocrine disruptors
Composting

 Aerobic biological degradation of organic substances

Prerequisites Stabilisation
Dewatering
Hygienisation

Approach
• Structure means: straw, wood, saw dust, wood chips
• Mixture app. 1:1
• Water content app. 0,65

 Requirements are more demanding than for sludge use as

fertiliser!
Incineration
Use of energy content, but not of nutrients

Mono incineration (sludge exclusively)

• Calorific value of sludge high enough  no biogas use
before, no stabilisation
• Water content not minimised (no full drying)
• Fluidised bed incinerator, incineration at 800 – 950°C in
fluidised sand bed
• Expensive!

Co- incineration
• In coal power station
• In solid waste incinerators
• In cement production, ash is bounded to cement