STP:

SECONDARY TREATMENT

INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES

ENGR. KIMBERLY MAE GABRIELLE B. DIA

SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT
Sewage treatment is the process of removing contaminants from municipal wastewater,
containing mainly household sewage plus some industrial wastewater. Physical, chemical, and
biological processes are used to remove contaminants and produce treated wastewater (or
treated effluent) that is safe enough for release to the environment.

Secondary treatment is designed to substantially degrade the biological content of the

sewage which are derived from human waste, food waste, soaps and detergent. The majority
of municipal plants treat the settled sewage liquor using aerobic biological processes. To be
effective, the biota require both oxygen and food to live. The bacteria and protozoa consume
biodegradable soluble organic contaminants (e.g. sugars, fats, organic short-chain carbon
molecules, etc.) and bind much of the less soluble fractions into floc.
 Biochemical Reaction in STP
•Oxidation
  and Synthesis

Endogenous Respiration

DESIGN CRITERIA
For any wastewater treatment plant design, the first step is to determine the characteristics of
the wastewater and the effluent requirements for the proposed system. These influent
(wastewater) parameters typically include design flow, maximum daily flow, BOD, TSS, PH,
alkalinity, wastewater temperature, nitrogen, ammonia-nitrogen and total phosphorus. For
industrial and domestic wastewater, there are other specific parameters that may also be
required.
TYPES OF SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANTS
• Activated sludge plant (ASP)
• Rotating disc system
• Submerged aerated filter (SAF)
• Suspended Media Filters (SMF)
• Sequencing batch reactor (SBR)
• Non-electric filter
• Trickling filter
TYPES OF SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANTS
• Activated sludge plant (ASP)
• Rotating disc system
• Submerged aerated filter (SAF)
• Suspended Media Filters (SMF)
• Sequencing batch reactor (SBR)
• Non-electric filter
• Trickling filter
 CHLORINE
EFFLUENT

INFLUENT

DYE
SEQUENCING BATCH REACTOR
The system is an Activated Sludge Process, which operates as fill and draw system, wherein a
predetermined batch volume of sewage is fed to the reactor for treatment prior to discharge. Organic
loading removal, “biomass” separation and effluent withdrawal is carried out sequentially in one single
basin, through a cyclic operation of the process equipment.

These systems are a type of activated sludge process for the treatment of wastewater. SBR reactors
treat wastewater such as sewage or output from anaerobic digesters or mechanical biological
treatment facilities in batches. Oxygen is bubbled through the mixture of wastewater and activated
sludge to reduce the organic matter (measured as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical
oxygen demand (COD)). The treated effluent may be suitable for discharge to surface waters or
possibly for use on land.
 ADVANTAGES
Equalization, primary clarification, biological
treatment, and secondary clarification can be achieved
in a sungle reactor vessel
Operating flexibility and control
Minimal footprint
Potential capital cost savings by eliminating clarifiers
and other equipment.
DISADVANTAGES
A higher level of sophistication is required especially for
larger systems in terms of timing units and controls.
Higher level of maintenance associated with more
sophisticated controls, automated switches and
automated valves.
Potential of discharging floating or settled sludge
during the DRAW or decant phase with some SBR
configuration.
Potential plugging of aeration devices during selected
operating cycles, depending on the aeration system
used by the manufacturer.
Potential requirement for equalization after the SBR,
depending on the downstream processes.
 SBR: FILL
• The influent to SBR may either be raw wastewater (screened and degritted) or primary effluent. Considerable decrease
in tank volume is observed due to quiescent conditions as the aeration tank acts as a primary clarifier in this step.
• The influent may either be pumped in or allowed to flow in by gravity. The time of Fill depends upon the volume of each
tank, the number of parallel tanks in operation, and the extent of diurnal variations in the wastewater flow rate though
in general it covers 20-25% of total time cycle.
• The following variations are used for the Fill step namely: Static fill, Mixed fill, Aerated fill. Static fill is characterized by
no mixing or aeration, meaning there will be a high substrate (food) concentration when mixing begins. A high food to
microorganisms (F/M) ratio creates an environment favorable to floc forming organisms versus filamentous organisms,
which provide good settling characteristics for the bio solids. Additionally, static fill conditions favor organisms that
produce internal storage products during high substrate conditions, a requirement for biological phosphorus removal.
Mixed fill is classified by mixing influent organics with the biomass, which initiates biological reactions. During mixed
fill, bacteria biologically degrade the organics and use residual oxygen/alternative electron acceptors, such as nitrate-
nitrogen. Mixed fill is comparable to the anaerobic zone used for denitrification. Aerated fill is classified by aerating the
contents of the reactor to begin the aerobic reactions initially and thereby reducing the time of react step considerably.
Level sensing devices/timers/in-tank probes (for measuring DO and ammonia nitrogen) can be used to switch aerators
on/off as desired.
SBR: REACT
• This phase is categorized by aeration where aerators/blowers impart oxygen and mixing to
the filled wastewater. Time dedicated to react can be as high as 50% or more of the total
time cycle but is generally around 35 %.
• The biological reactions are completed in the React step, in which mixed react and aerated
react modes are available. During aerated react, the aerobic reactions initialized during
aerated fill are completed and nitrification can be achieved. Nitrification is the conversion of
ammonia-nitrogen to nitrite-nitrogen and ultimately to nitrate-nitrogen. If the mixed react
mode is selected, anoxic conditions can be attained to achieve denitrification.
• In this step, no influent flow into SBR is allowed & no sludge could be wasted (Surampalli et
al., 1997 ;). Most of the carbonaceous BOD is polished in this step.
Aerators
and/ or
Diffuser
SBR: SETTLE
• In SBR, solids separation takes place under no inflow/outflow conditions.
• This helps to achieve considerable decrease in the clarifier volume which the reacts acts in
this step. This major advantage in the clarification process results from the fact that entire
aeration tank now serves as a secondary clarifier in this step.
• The activated sludge tends to settle as a flocculent mass, forming a distinctive interface
with the clear supernatant.
• It covers 20-25% of the total cycle time.
SBR: DECANT
• During this step a decanter is used to remove the clear supernatant effluent.
• There are floating and fixed arm decanters. Floating decanters maintain the inlet orifice slightly
below the water surface to minimize the removal of solids in the effluent removed during the decant
step. They offer the flexibility to vary fill and draw volumes.
• On the other hand fixed arm decanters are cost effective butNdoes not allow to vary the volume of
decanted effluent. The vertical distance from the decanter to the bottom of the tank should be
maximized to avoid disturbing the settled bio solids.
• The time dedicated to this step is around 15% of the total cycle time. The most important aspect to
the decanter design is to ensure that effluent is withdrawn uniformly from within the tank. Point
discharges suffer from scouring suspended solids from the settled sludge blanket and have no
flexibility for process changes, e.g. higher sludge blanket through increased tank solids
concentration.
• Decanter designs usually incorporate guard mechanisms to prevent scum and other floating material
from causing deterioration in effluent quality.
SBR: IDLE
• The period between Draw and Fill is termed as Idle. This step is classified as sludge
wasting. In SBR wasting of sludge can be as infrequent as once every 2 to 3 months. It
covers 5% of the total cycle time and covers 35 to 25% of total volume. It occurs
between draw step of one cycle and fill step of successive cycle. (USEPA, Wastewater
Technology Factsheet SBR, 1999).
Thank You!