WATER IS LIFE

• 60-70% of human body contains water

• Brain contains 70 %
• Blood contains 82-83% water
• Lungs contain 90% water
• Average water in adult human body is 37 liters
• Each day humans must replace 2.4 liters of water
• At just 2% dehydration your performance
decreases by around 20%.
• We should drink at least 1½ litres of water a day.
 Synthetics

Gas

Crude Oil

Coal

Charcoal
(100% C) 19th-20th
Century

17th-18th
Century

S.K. Maity / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 43 (2015) 1427–1445

 100 micras
10 micras
1 micra
100 nm
0.1 nm

10 nm

1 mm
1 nm

1 cm
Dissolved comp. Colloids Suspended solids

Diameter of the Time needed to  Parameters  Range

particle (mm) settle 1m (approx) pH 4.6 – 4.8
10 1s BOD (mg/l) 3000 - 4500
1 10 s COD (mg/l) 5500 -7000
0.1 2 min.
Total Solids (mg/l) 5500 - 5800
10 -2
2h
Total Dissolved solids (mg/l) 1900 - 2200
10-3 8d
Total Suspended solids (mg/l) 1100 - 1300
10-4 2 years
Volatile solids (mg/l) 3500 -3700
The Average Waste water generated is Volatile suspended solids (mg/l) 600 - 800
estimated to be in the range of 50 – 1000 m3 Thiocyanate (mg/l) 15.47
depending on the size and capacity of the
Cyanide (mg/l) 2.33
plant.
6
Due to rapid economical growth, the consumption of water by industries has
increased drastically

It is estimated that, by 2034, the water usage for industrial purposes will
increase worldwide by approximately 50%

Water scarcity and pollution are serious problems for many countries,
especially in hot regions like India having limited water resources

In India, most of the industries have the mediocre water management system
which can reduce fresh water supply in the near future

In India, Tamil Nadu has a considerable role in water related issues, due to the
presence of a large number of industries.
 Wastewater Treatment
Purpose:
To manage water discharged from homes, businesses, and
industries to reduce the threat of water pollution.

 Pre-treatment
 Preliminary treatment
 Primary treatment
 Secondary treatment
 Sludge (biosolids) disposal
Pollutants in wastewaters may be characterized in a number of
ways.
•by their physical characteristics (e.g., soluble or insoluble),

•by their chemical characteristics (e.g., organic or inorganic),

•by their susceptibility to alteration by microorganisms (e.g.,

biodegradable or no biodegradable),
•by their origin (e.g., biogenic or anthropogenic),

•by their effects (e.g., toxic or nontoxic), etc.

THE ROLE OF BIOCHEMICALOPERATIONS
Four categories of pollutants

•soluble organic matter (SOM),

•insoluble organic matter (IOM),
•soluble inorganic matter (SIM), and
•insoluble inorganic matter (IIM)

For insoluble constituents – physical operation of

sedimentation,

Soluble pollutants - biochemical operations - more

efficiently than chemical and physical ones when the
concentrations are low.

Biochemical - the soluble pollutants carbon dioxide or

nitrogen gas, or into new microbial biomass -physical
operation.

Primary sludges from sedimentation of the wastewater prior

to application of any biochemical operations. - sludges tend
to be very diverse because of the multitude of sources.

Secondary sludges are those produced by biomass growth in

the biochemical operations and by entrap ment of insoluble
organic matter by that biomass. - secondary sludges are
more uniform.
At lower concentrations, carbon adsorption is often more
economical, although biochemical operations are being used
for treatment of contaminated groundwaters that contain less
than 50 mg/L of COD.

Although they must often be followed by aerobic cultures to

provide an effluent suitable for discharge, anaerobic cultures
are frequently used for high strength wastewaters because they
do not require oxygen, give less excess biomass, and produce
methane gas as a usable product.

If the COD concentration to be removed is above 50,000 mg/L,

however, then evaporation and incineration may be more
economical.
Anaerobic cultures are also used to treat wastewaters of
moderate strength (down to – 1000 mg/L as COD), and have been
proposed for use with dilute wastewaters as well.

Suspended or colloidal organic matter is often removed more

easily from the main wastewater stream by physical or chemical
means, and then treated in a concentrated form. However,
mixtures of soluble, colloidal, and suspended organic matter are
often treated by biochemical means.
Stabilization of insoluble organic matters:

Many wastewaters contain appreciable quantities of colloidal

organic matter which are not removed by sedimentation.

When they are treated in a biochemical operation for removal of the

SOM, much of the colloidal organic matter is entrapped with the
biomass and ultimately converted to stable end products that are
resistant to further biological activity.

The formation of such stable end products is referred to as

stabilization. Some stabilization will occur in the biochemical
operation removing the soluble organic matter, but most will occur
in operations designed specifically for that purpose.
Insoluble organic matter comes from the wastewater itself and from
the growth of microorganisms as they remove soluble organic matter.

The solids can be removed from the wastewater by settling, they are
normally concentrated by sedimentation before being subjected to
stabilization by biochemical means.

Stabilization is accomplished both aerobically and anaerobically,

although anaerobic stabilization is more energy efficient.

The end products of stabilization are carbon dioxide, inorganic

solids, and insoluble organic residues that are relatively resistant to
further biological activity and methane gas is a product from
anaerobic operations
The Biochemical Environment

The most important characteristic of the environment in which

microorganisms grow is the terminal acceptor of the electrons
they remove as they oxidize chemicals to obtain energy.

There are three major types of electron acceptors:

•oxygen,
• inorganic compounds, and
•organic compounds.

If dissolved oxygen is present or supplied in sufficient quantity so

as to not be rate limiting, the environment is considered to be
aerobic.

Aerobic Growth is generally most efficient in this environment and

the amount of biomass formed per unit of waste destroyed is high.
Any environment that is not aerobic is anaerobic

anaerobic is normally reserved for the situation in which organic

compounds, carbon dioxide, and sulfate serve as the major terminal
electron acceptor and in which the electrode potential is very
negative. Growth is less efficient under this condition

When nitrate and/or nitrite are present and serve as the primary
electron acceptor in the absence of oxygen, the environment is
called anoxic.

The presence of nitrate and/or nitrite causes the electrode potential to

be higher and growth to be more efficient than under anaerobic
conditions, although not as high or as efficient as when oxygen is
present.
.

The biochemical environment has a profound effect on the

ecology of the microbial community.

The biochemical environment influences the outcome of the

treatment process because the microorganisms growing in the
three environments may have very different metabolic
pathways.

This becomes important during the treatment of industrial

wastewaters because some transformations can be carried out
aerobically but not anaerobically, and vice versa.
Existing Industrial Treatment Process
Till date, almost all tapioca-processing companies are using pond type digester

Though the industries have

invested few hundred lakhs for
the digester, they are unable to
produce biogas continuously and
also unable to meet out norms of
pollution control board.

There are two major problems faced by all tapioca processing industries in Tamil Nadu
• Water scarcity due to poor rainfall leads to depletion of ground water level – unable to
operate the plant regularly.
• Enormous volume of effluent generation – TNPCB enforces “Zero Discharge”.
19
Lacuna in the Existing Process
Complex Organic Matter Clostridia and
Hydrolysis
Bifidobacteria
Acidogenesis

Proteins Carbohydrates Lipids

Amino Acids & Sugars Fatty Acids & Alcohols

Methanogenesis Acetogenesis

Intermediary Products
C>2,Propionate, Butyrate, etc.,

Acetobacterium woodii,
Acetate H2 and CO2
Clostridium aceticum
A pi
Me ceto rt o Methanosarcina barkeri,
tho tro eno
ge pic
ne
CH4 and CO r og c e sis Methanosarcina mazei,
d en Methanothrix soehngenii
s is Hy og
eth
M

Acid forming and methanogenic microorganisms Microorganisms Time of regeneration

differ greatly in terms of
•Physiology, Acidogenic bacteria Less than 36 hours
•Nutritional needs,
Acetogenic bacteria 80 – 90 hours
•Growth kinetics and
•Sensitivity to environmental conditions . Methanogenic archaea 5 – 16 days
20
Till date, in Tamil Nadu, almost all processing industries typically use
wastewater treatment systems based on pond type digester

In an anaerobic pond system organic waste is converted to CO2, CH4, and

other gaseous end-products

The major problem faced in the biogas production by effluent is the rapid
production of acid by the acid forming bacteria, which results in notable
change in pH below the neutral pH and eventually declining the growth of
methane forming bacteria

Currently the effluents are discharged into streams or canals after retention
period of few hours in a stabilization pond without any advanced treatment
Variables that affect the performance anaerobic digestion process
• Organic loads Relative activity of methanogens to pH

• Temperature
1.3

1.0

• pH 0.8

Activity
• Presence of toxic substances
0.5

0.3

and 0.0
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

• flow rates pH

Parameter Acidogenesis Methanogenesis

Temp 25-35°C 30-40°C

: 50-60°C
pH 5.2-6.3 6.7-7.5
C:N 10-45 20-30
C:N:P:S ratio 500:15:5:3 600:15:5:3

Trace elements No special requirements Essential: Ni, Co, Mo, Se

Anaerobic Treatment and biogas production from organic waster

Acid forming and methanogenic microorganisms are differ greatly in terms of
Microorganisms Time of regeneration
•Physiology, Acidogenic bacteria Less than 36 hours
•Nutritional needs, Acetogenic bacteria 80 – 90 hours
•Growth kinetics and Methanogenic archaea 5 – 16 days
•Sensitivity to environmental conditions. Aerobic microorganisms 1 – 5 hours

Problems encountered with stability and control in conventional one-stage reactors

have led researchers to new alternatives.

Providing the most appropriate environmental and operational conditions for each
microbial community in two-reactor systems which are physically separated hereby
have significant outcomes, such as

•Increased overall process efficiency,

•Stability and control,
•Higher specific activity of methane-formers in the methanogenic reactor,
•Higher organic loading rates and
•Faster start-up of high-rate systems

Anaerobic Treatment and biogas production from organic waster

 Advantage Of Anaerobic Processes
Less energy requirement as no aeration is needed
0.5-0.75 kWh energy is needed for every 1 kg of COD removal by aerobic processes

Energy generation in the form of methane gas

1.16 kWh energy is produced for every 1 kg of COD fermented in anaerobic process

Less biomass (sludge) generation

Anaerobic process produces only 20% of sludge compared with aerobic process
CO2 + H2O
Aerobic process 0.5 kg
Soluble BOD
1 kg
New biomass
0.5 kg

CH4 gas
Anaerobic process > 0.9 kg
Biodegradable
COD
1 kg New biomass
< 0.1 kg
 “TWO-STAGE” Process

Acid Forming Methane Forming

CH4
Organic Organic t eria
Bacteria c +
Matter Acids Ba
CO2

First Stage Second Stage

The efficiency of the two stage anaerobic process depends on pH, temperature, alkalinity,
volatile acid concentration, nutrient availability, retention time, characteristics of effluent
etc.,

Ref: Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Operator Training and Certification Unit
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 Single reactions

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 Organics Conversion in Anaerobic Systems
COMPLEX ORGANIC MATTER

Proteins Carbohydrates Lipids

hydrolysis

Bacteriocides,
Clostridia and
Bifidobacteria
acidogenesis

Amino Acids, Sugars Fatty Acids, Alcohols

acetogenesis

INTERMEDIARY PRODUCTS
(C>2; Propionate, Butyrate etc)
Acetobacterium
Woodii, Clostridium
aceticum

Acetate
methanogenesis

Hydrogen, Carbon dioxide

72 28
Methane Methanosa rcina barkeri,
Carbon dioxide
Metanono coccus mazej,
Methanotrix sochngenii
Bioreactor Configuration

Wastewater treatment bioreactors fall into two major categories:

depending on the way in which microorganisms grow in them:

Suspended in the liquid under treatment or

attached to a solid support.

When suspended growth cultures are used, mixing is required to

keep the biomass in suspension, and some form of physical unit
operation, such as sedimentation, is used to remove the biomass
from the treated effluent prior to discharge.

Attached growth cultures grow as a biofilm on a solid support and

the liquid being treated flows past them.
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 Types Of Anaerobic Reactors

Slurry type bioreactor, temperature, Able to retain very high concentration of

mixing, SRT or other environmental active biomass in the reactor.
conditions are not regulated.
 High-rate reactor designs
Biogas Biogas Biogas
• Anaerobic digester designs
based on biomass retention:
Effluent Influent Effluent

• (A) anaerobic filter/fixed bed

A
Influent
B C
reactor;

• (B) downflow stationary fixed-

film reactor;
Influent Effluent Effluent Influent
Biogas Biogas • (C) expanded bed/fluidised bed
reactor;
Effluent Effluent
• (D) upflow anaerobic sludge
blanket reactor; Expanded
D E granular Sludge Bed

• (E) hybrid sludge bed/fixed bed

Influent Influent reactor
A. Retention time is so long that microorganisms grow in suspension
B. At high flow rates, particulates biofilms and flocs are washed out and only static biofilms
can be retained in the reactors.
C. Flow and loading conditions are suitable for application of particulate biofilm reactors.
D. Flow and loading conditions are suitable for applications of flocs, provided that separation
and biomass recycle are used – Activated sludge process.
E. For High strength and low flow wastewater, upflow sludge blanket reactors can be used
AEROBIC DIGESTION
Felix Garcia-Ochoa and Emilio Gomez“ Bioreactor scale-up and oxygen transfer rate in microbial processes: An
overview” Biotechnology Advances 27 (2009) 153–176