Effluent Control

Biological Unit Processes

Biological ‘treatment’ (degradation) of wastewater
occurs predominately in secondary treatment zone.
• Secondary Treatment is arguably the most
important aspect of wastewater treatment.
• Concept is to create & control environment to
facilitate biological treatment of waste.
• Objective is to reduce the organic content as well
as nutrients such as nitrogen & phosphorous.
• Additionally the removal of inorganic compounds in
industrial wastewater may be important.
• Wastewaters contain a continuously variable
mixture of particulate and soluble matter which
influences a number of sub processes taking place
within the treatment system. These fractions can
be speciated into organic, inorganic, readily
biodegradable, slowly biodegradable and inert

Wastewater

Colloidal Particulate
Soluble (Microscopic) (Suspended
Solids)

Major Fractions of Wastewater

Organic Inorganic (Adapted from CIWEM, Activated
Sludge Treatment)

Non- Conservative
Biodegradable Oxidisable Assimilable
Biodegradable or Inert
Industrial Wastewater – Frequently receives primary
and some degree of secondary treatment prior to
discharge to public sewer.
Wastewater discharge licence required for all non
domestic discharges. Charges typically based on
industrial effluent strength, suspended solids content
& volumes (typically applied through ‘Mogden Formula’ or
some variation of this).
Microorganisms (mainly bacteria) used to convert
colloidal and dissolved carbonaceous organic matter
into various gases & into cell tissue. Cell tissue has
Specific Gravity (SG) marginally greater than water &
can therefore be removed by settlement.
Requirements for Microbial Growth (recap from previous lectures):-
• Carbon source to form new cellular material
• Organic Matter
• Carbon Dioxide
• Energy Source
• Light (bacteria known as phototrophs)
• Chemical Reactions (bacteria known as
chemotrophs)
• Nutrient source to form cell material
• Nitrogen & phosphorous (eutrophication)
• Others such as sulphur, potassium, calcium,
magnesium & iron
(Typically C:N:P ratio of ≈100:6:1 required for operation of WwTW)
General ‘Classification’ of Organisms:-
• Heterotrophs (heterotrophic microbes) – use
organic carbon for new growth and formation of
cell tissue. Characteristically fast growing, with
typical doubling times in tens of minutes;
• Autotrophs (autotrophic microbes) – use carbon
dioxide as a carbon source. Typically slow growing
and doubling time measured in days.
(Autotrophic organisms spend more energy for
synthesis than heterotrophs as conversion of CO2 to
organic cell tissue is a reductive process generally
lower growth rates among autotrophs).
Further Classification of Organisms (by energy source):-
Phototrophs – Organisms that are able to use light
as an energy source.
Chemotrophs – Organisms that are able to use
chemical reactions as an energy
source.
 General Classification of Microorganisms by
Sources of Carbon & Energy
Nitrification

Classification Carbon Source Energy Source

Autotrophic (Nitrifying bacteria)
• Photoautotrophic CO2 Light
• Chemoautotrophic CO2 Inorganic oxidation–reduction
reaction
Heterotrophic (protozoa,
fungi, most bacteria)
• Photoheterotrophic Organic Carbon Light
• Chemoheterotrophic Organic Carbon Organic oxidation–reduction
reaction

Adapted from ‘The Microbial World’ – Stainer, Ingraham, Wheelis & Painter

Primary Importance
• Aerobic Microbes – bacteria that grow in the
presence of dissolved oxygen
• Anaerobic microbes - bacteria that grow in the
absence of dissolved oxygen
• Anoxic microbes - bacteria that use nitrate or
nitrite to produce Nitrogen gas
(N2).
In most biological treatment processes, the major
objective is to reduce organic content (carbonaceous
BOD) in the wastewater. Therefore
chemoheterotrophic microbes of primary importance.
If treatment objectives include conversion of ammonia
nitrate, then chemoautotrophic nitrifying bacteria
important
Important Microorganisms in biological treatment (read in
conjunction with previous lecture notes):-

a) Bacteria
Single celled, 0.5-1.0 in diameter;
Optimal growth within narrow ranges of
temperature and pH;
Classified as psychrophilic (cryophilic), mesophilic
or thermophilic according to temperature range in
which they function best.
Type Temperature °C
Range Optimum
Psychrophilic / cryophilic -10-30 12-18
Mesophilic 20-50 25-40 Optimum
pH 6.5-7.5
Thermophilic 35-75 55-65

Typical Temperature Ranges for various bacteria

Source: Metcalf & Eddy
b) Fungi
Strict aerobes, can grow under low moisture
conditions with relatively low pH.
Fungi have low nitrogen requirements (approx. 50%
less requirements than bacteria).
c) Protozoa & Rotifers
Protozoa are single celled, generally larger than
bacteria and sometimes consume bacteria as energy
source. Act as polishers of effluent by consuming
bacteria and particulate organic matter.
Rotifer is aerobic, heterotrophic and multicellular.
Effective in consuming dispersed and flocculated
bacteria and small particles of organic matter.
Presence in effluent indicates a highly efficient
aerobic biological treatment process.
Bacteria grow rapidly (heterotrophs more quickly than
autotrophs);
Can reproduce by binary fission (by dividing original
cell into 2)
Each fission (generation time) can vary from days to
less than 20 minutes.

For example, provided there are no limiting

conditions, one bacterium with a generation time of 30
minutes can reproduce to almost 17 million in 12
hours (demonstrated in next slide)
Almost 17 million
bacteria produced
in a 12 hour period
However limiting conditions do exist and bacteria
growing at high rates eventually outgrow available
resources. (Quick recap on previous lectures):-
Biomass - Consortium of microorganisms in dynamic
equilibrium where billions of microorganisms are
continuously reproducing, competing and dying in
response to environmental conditions such as
sewage composition, retention time etc.
a) Lag Phase – Time required for bacteria to
acclimatise to their nutritional environment;
b) Log (exponential) Growth Phase – Excess amount
of food and rate of metabolism and growth only a
function of ability of microorganism to process the
substrate;
c) Stationary Phase – bacteria have exhausted
substrate or nutrients or O2 levels necessary for
growth.
d) Death Phase (Endogenous Phase) – Biomass
have outgrown available food supply and are
forced to metabolise their own protoplasm without
replacement. Remaining cells live off nutrients in
dead cells (autolysis)
• Biological wastewater treatment depends on
balance between substrate & biomass;
• Aim to operate the biological reactor in the
stationary growth phase, moving in to the
endogenous phase to optimise its use.
Mixed culture growth.
• Biological treatment depends on ecosystem or
community of microorganisms.
Kinetics of Biological Growth
This examines ‘how fast’ biological reactions occur
and understanding is necessary to enable us to
design wastewater treatment plants.
If we know biological growth kinetics, we can begin to
control the conditions (pH, temperature, oxygen,
mixing, etc.) to facilitate optimum operation.
Key Concepts:
Unlike communities of human beings or higher
animals, the growth of micro-organisms under ideal
conditions can be measured precisely and described
in mathematical terms.
To ensure microorganism growth, they must be
allowed to remain in the system long enough to
reproduce. This period depends on their growth rate
Cell Growth
Rate of growth of bacterial cells can be defined by the
following relationship (holds for batch and continuous
culture systems):-

Where
= Rate of bacterial growth (mass/unit volume/time)
= Specific growth rate (
= Concentration of microorganisms (mg/l) (mass/unit volume)

Definition:-
Specific Growth rate () is the increase in cell mass
per unit time (mg cells/mg cells/hour) or (.
Also can be given by the following expression (for
batch reactor)

Change in concentration with time

 • Batch Reactor:-

Flow neither entering nor leaving reactor.

Liquid contents completely mixed

• Continuous Reactor

Continuous flow where

Complete mixing occurs
Mixed Culture Growth
• Biological treatment depends on ecosystem or
community of microorganisms

Succession of indicator microorganisms in activated sludge