UNIVERSITY OF GONDAR

INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
SCHOOL OF CIVIL AND HYDRAULIC
ENGINEERING

SEWAGE TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL (WWT)

SECONDARY/BIOLOGICAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT

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SECONDARY/BIOLOGICAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT

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The Role of Microorganisms in Wastewater Treatment
 Micro-organisms, such as bacteria, play an important role in the natural cycling of
materials and particularly in the decomposition of organic wastes.
 What is waste for humans and higher vertebrates becomes a useful food substrate for
the micro-organisms.
 Micro-organism convert organic waste to more stable less polluting substance.

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 MO’s are the primary agents of biological WWT processes.

(bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and crustaceans)

 MOs feed on substrates found in WW which is then used as
energy sources and cellular building blocks,
such as (carbon) C, (hydrogen) H, (oxygen) O, (nitrogen) N,
(phosphorus) P, and minerals
 Waste from humans/animals contain useful food substrates for the
micro-organisms.
 These building blocks and energy are used to synthesize more
cells for growth and reproduction.

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 Process;

 Micro organisms eat the organic material dissolved in WW or

hydrolyze suspended organic matter to be used.
 Through their metabolism, the organic material is transformed into
stable compounds and cellular mass,
 This cellular mass can be easily flocculated and precipitated at the
bottom of a settling tank; or retained as slime on solid surfaces (filters)
or vegetation in the system.
 Then, the WW exiting the system is much clearer than it entered.

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 Many types of microorganisms can be found in the wastewater treatment
system. However, the types of organisms that will dominate will be the
ones that are best suited to the “environment” or conditions in the
system.
 Wastewater treatment systems are designed to foster an “environment”
that suits a certain type of microorganism.
 These microorganisms not only remove organic wastes from the water,
but they also “settle out” as solid material for easy removal.
 It is required to maintain the right conditions in the treatment system for
the right type of microorganisms.
 If the right conditions are not present, the wrong microorganisms will
dominate.
 These “wrong” microorganisms not only interfere with the successful
removal of wastes from the water, but they themselves may be difficult to
remove from the system.

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In the treatment of wastewater three types of overall processes are
distinguished to represent the conversion of organic wastes by micro-
organisms.
a)Aerobic processes
Micro-organisms utilize oxygen to oxidize organic substances to obtain energy for
maintenance, mobility and the synthesis of cellular material.
 activated sludge process,
 Trickling filters,
 Rotating biological contactors,
 Oxidation ponds and lagoons,
 Constructed wetland
b) Anaerobic processes such as anaerobic digestion
The micro-organisms utilize nitrates, sulphates and other hydrogen acceptors to
obtain energy for the synthesis of cellular material from organic substances.
C) Photosynthetic organisms
Use carbon dioxide as a carbon source, inorganic nutrients as sources of phosphate
and nitrogen and utilize light energy to drive the conversion process.
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 M i c ro b i a l g ro w t h k i n e t i c s
Growth of a microbial population is defined as an
increase in numbers or an increase in microbial mass.
Growth rate is the increase in microbial cell numbers
or mass per unit time.
Microbial populations can grow as:

1. batch cultures (closed systems) or

2. continuous cultures (open systems).

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1. Batch Cultures
 Batch culture is the most common laboratory growth method in which
bacterial growth is studied,
 When a suitable medium is inoculated with cells, the growth of the microbial
population shows four distinct phases.

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2. Continuous Culture of Microorganisms
 The exponential growth phase over a
long period of time can be achieved by
growing continuously the cells in a
completely mixed reactor in which a
constant volume is maintained.
 The most commonly used device is the
chemostat
 Is a bioreactor to which fresh medium is
continuously added, while culture liquid
containing left over nutrients, metabolic end
products and microorganisms is continuously
removed at the same rate to keep the culture
volume constant

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Physical and Chemical Factors Affecting Microbial Growth
1.Substrate Concentration

There is direct relationship between specific growth rate and

substrate concentration.
2. Temperature

3. pH

Biological treatment of wastewater occurs generally at neutral pH.

4. Oxygen Level

Micro-organism can grow in the presence and in absence of

oxygen.

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 Trickling filter
A trickling filter is a bed of solid media for bacteria to
attach on its surfaces
 Also called a biological filter/bio-film process/ slim layer
or fixed film process
 Attached Growth Processes

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Trickling filter

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Trickling Filter (TF)- side view

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B i o l o g i c a l Wa ste wate r Tre at m e nt

Figure of Photographic view of trickling filter with its rotary distributors 16

 Trickling Filters
Principles of operation
 WW is allowed to sprinkle or trickle down over tanks of coarser filtering
media, by means of distributors.
 Aerobic bacteria form a bacterial film around the particles of the
filtering media.
→ sufficient quantity of oxygen is supplied by providing suitable
ventilation facilities in the body of the filter or through natural
draft
 Organic material from the liquid is adsorbed onto the biological film or
slime layer and get degraded by aerobic microorganisms
 As the microorganisms grow and the slime layer thickness increases,
oxygen is consumed and the substrate in the wastewater is used before
it can penetrate the inner depths of the biofilm.
 Bacteria in the slime layer enter an endogenous respiration state and lose
their ability to cling to the packing surface.

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 Trickling Filters
 The liquid then washes the slime off the packing, and a new slime layer
starts to grow. The phenomenon of losing the slime layer is called
sloughing
 The percolating sewage is collected at the bottom of the tank through a
well designed under-drainage system.
 The effluent must be taken to the secondary sedimentation tank for
settling out the solids generated as a result of WW treatment.

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 Design consideration
Influent wastewater characteristics
Degree of treatment anticipated (BOD & TSS
removal).
Temperature range of applied wastewater
Pretreatment processes
Type of filter media
Recirculation rate
Hydraulic and organic loadings applied to the filter
Under drainage and ventilation systems

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Design consideration - Recirculation
Why is recirculation required?
maintain constant wetting rate
dilute toxic wastes
increase air flow
recirculation flow dilutes the strength of raw
wastewater & allows untreated wastewater to be passes
through the filter more than once.
A common range for recirculation ratio
0.5 - 3.0

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 Trickling Filters
Distribution system
Provides uniform hydraulic loading on the filter
surface
Rotational speed is usually 1 rev/10 min
Under drain system
Supports the media
Collects the effluent
Permits circulation of air through the bed
Made of vitrified clay (for stone media) or simple
metal gratings (for plastic media)
Configuration
Trickling filters can be employed as a single unit,
units in series, or units in parallel

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 Flow Diagram for Trickling Filters
Recirculation= A portion of the TF effluent recycled through the filter
Recirculation ratio (R) = returned flow (Qr)/ influent flow (Q)
Recycle

Final
clarifier

Final
Influent effluent

Primary Waste
clarifier sludge
Trickling
filter

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 Trickling Filters

Types of Trickling Filters

(1) Conventional trickling filters /standard
rate /low rate trickling filters
• wastewater is applied
intermittently with rest periods
(2) High rate trickling filters
• Usually characterized by higher
hydraulic and organic loadings
than low-rate filters
• same construction details, but the
recirculation of effluent is provided
• Thus the incoming wastewater is
diluted and TSS concentrations are
reduced.
 Achieves
 80% to 90% BOD reduction (low rate)
and
 65 to 85% BOD reduction (high rate)

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 Trickling Filters
Single stage

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 Trickling Filters
Two stage

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 Trickling Filters
Design of Trickling Filters 
involves the design of :
 the diameter of the circular filter tank and its depth
 Filter media
 the distributors and
 under-drainage system
 Efficiency
Filter size
 the filter diameter and depth is designed for average value of sewage flow.
 Is based upon the values of the filter-loadings adopted for the design.
 This loading on a filter can be expressed in two ways:
The design of the filter size is based upon the values of the filter-loadings
adopted for the design.
1. Organic loading rate
2. Hydraulic loading rate
1. Organic (BOD) loading rate:
Is the mass application rate of organic matter per unit volume of reactor.
Expressed as kg of BOD/m3/d
Typically, 0.320 - 0.640 kg/m3/d for single-stage filters
Typically, 0.640 -0.960 kg/m3/d for two-stage filters
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 Trickling Filters
2. Hydraulic loading rate:
Flow per unit area (m3 wastewater/m2 filter*d)
the rate of total influent flow is applied to the surface of
the filter media
Total influent flow = the raw WW + re circulated flow
Typically, 9.4 m3/m2/d
Maximum, 28 m3/m2/d

 Knowing the area and volume, depth & diameter can be easily
determined
 The depth of the rock packing ranges from 0.9 to 2.5 m (rock fill)
 Moreover, since the rotary distributors are available indigenously only
up to 60m in length, it is desirable to keep the diameter of the filter
tank up to a maximum of 60m.
 If the required filter diameter is more than 60m, then it is better to
use more units of lesser diameter. 27
 Trickling Filters
Filtering medias (stone used)
 consists of coarser materials like cubically broken stones, plastic packing,
slag …
 should not be easily affected by acidic WW, and should be sufficiently
hard.
 Its resistance to freezing and thawing is another important property,
 A material with a specific surface area between
45 and 60 m2/m3 for rocks and
90 and 150 m2/m3 for plastic packing is normally used
Generally may range b/n 25-75mm
 The filtering material may be placed in layers; with coarsest stone used
near the bottom, and. finer material towards the top.
 should be washed before it is placed in position to free from dust

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 Trickling Filters
Sewage distributors over filters: are two types
- Rotary distributor:
 The rotary distributor consists of a hollow vertical central column
carrying two or more radial pipes or arms, each of which contains a
number of nozzles or orifices for discharging the waste water onto the
filter media.
 All of these nozzles point in the same direction at right angles to the
arms.
 The force of the water causes the spray heads to rotate above the media,
acting like a sprinkler and evenly distributing waste water across the media.
(can also be driven by electric motor)
 The rotary reaction is furnished by a head of 45 to 60cm.

- Spray nozzles:
• Stationary /Fixed/ Individual Spray Heads work best
for smaller areas
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 Trickling Filters
Under drains
 Vitrified clay blocks are generally used as under-drains.
 Ensures satisfactory drainage ……. Manning formula
 The blocks are laid directly on the filter floor, which is sloped toward the
collection channel at 1 to 5% gradient.
 The effluent channels are sized to produce a minimum velocity of 0.9
m/s
 also ensure satisfactory ventilation and aeration of the filter bed
→ To allow air circulation, the under-drainage system should be
designed to flow half full

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 Trickling Filters
Efficiency:

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Trickling Filters

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Trickling Filters

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Trickling Filters

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Trickling Filters

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Common Operational Problems
1. Fly nuisance
 The filter fly which develops in the filter particles, may
prove to be nuisance, as the same may be carried away
into the habitation.
2. Odour nuisance
 Odors, generally, do not prevail in trickling filters using
rotary distributors; but however, when fixed nozzles are
used, H2S and other odorous gases are frequently released
from the sprays into the atmosphere.
3. Ponding trouble
 Sometimes, the voids in the filter media get clogged due
to heavy growth of fungi and algae. This may result in
ponding of the sewage over the filter bed.

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Example-1

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Example-2
A municipal wastewater having a BOD of 200mg/L is to
be treated by a two-stage trickling filter. The desired
effluent quality is 25 mg/L of BOD. If both of the filter
depths are to be 1.83 m and the recirculation ratio is 2:1,
find the required filter diameters.
Assume the following design assumptions:
 Influent flow = 7570 m3/d
 Recirculation ratio = 2
 Depth of media = 1.83 m
 Water temperature = 20oC
 BOD removal in primary sedimentation = 35%
 E = E = 0.65
1 2

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Example -3
Influent BOD =200mg/L, influent flow = 1.8 ML/d,
diameter of the filter is 16 m & the depth of the filter is
2m. Calculate the organic loading rate.
Example 4
Influent flow = 8.5ML/d, the recirculation ratio is 2:1.
Diameter of the filter is 16 m & the depth of the filter is
2m. Calculate the hydraulic loading rate.

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