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Wastewater Engineering and Sanitation

Kandahar University

Engineering Faculty

Water and Environmental Engineering Department

Chapter # 9 Unit Operation and process for Sewage Treatment

2 Contents

 Introduction
 Physical unit operation
 Chemical unit operation
 Biological unit operation
 Reactors
 Classification of sewage treatment
 Process flow sheets flow diagrams of sewage treatment plants
 Methods of sludge processing and disposal
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Introduction

• The object of sewage treatment is to remove various contaminants

present in sewage so as to produce an effluent and sludge which can be
disposed of in the environment without causing health hazards or
nuisance.

• The main contaminants in domestic sewage to be removed are

biodegradable organics or decomposable organic matter, suspended
solids, pathogens and nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus.
4 Introduction continue

The sewage treatment involves various operation/processes or

combinations by which the decomposable organic matter is stabilized and
removed along with other contaminant, and thus the above indicated
object of sewage treatment is achieved.
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Physical unit operation

The operation used for the sewage treatment in which the application of
physical forces predominate are known as physical unit operation.

1. Screening: Removal of coarse and settle able solid by surface straining.

2. Commination: grinding of coarse solid to a more or less uniform size.

3. Flow equalization: Equalization of flow and mass loading of BOD and

suspended solid.

4. Mixing: chemical and gases sewage and maintaining solid in suspension.

6 Physical unit operation continue

5. Flocculation: Promotes the accumulation of small particles into larger

particles to enhance their removal by gravity sedimentation.
6. Sedimentation: Removal of settle able solid
7. Flotation: Removal of finely divided suspended solids and particles with
densities close to that of water
8. Filtration: Removal of fine residual after chemical or Biological treatment

9. Micro screening: Same as filtration and removal of algae from stabilization

ponds.
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2. Chemical unit processes

The processes used for sewage treatment by addition of chemicals or

chemicals reaction.
1. Chemical precipitation: Removal phosphorus.
2. Gas transfer: addition and removal of gases.
3. Adsorption: Removal of organics not removed by conventional
chemical and biological treatment method. Also used for de-clorination of
sewage before final discharge of treated effluent.
8 2. Chemical unit processes continue

4. Disinfection: selective destruction of disease-causing organisms,

usually with chlorine.

5. DE chlorination: Removal of chlorine residual that exists after

chlorination.
6. Others: various other chemicals can be used to achieve specific

objectives in sewage treatment.

9 3. biological unit processes

Removal of contaminants is brought about by biological activity are known

as biological unit processes classified on the basis of oxygen.
1. Aerobic processes: That occur in the presence of dissolved oxygen (aerobic bacteria)
2. Anaerobic processes: That occur in the absence Of dissolved oxygen (anaerobic bacteria)
3. Facultative processes: Micro organisms are indifferent (neutral) to the presence of
dissolved oxygen (facultative bacteria)

4: Anoxic denitrification: Is the process by which nitrate nitrogen is converted biologically

to nitrogen gas in the absence of oxygen.
10 5. Reactors
Any container or tank in which chemical and biological
reactions occur can be called as a reactors.
11 5. Reactors continue
The reactors used for the treatment of sewage are classified as:

1. Batch Reactors: In batch reactors, the flow is neither entering nor

leaving the reactor in continuous basis.

2. Plug flow reactors: In plug flow reactors fluid particles pass through the
tank and are discharged in the same sequence in which they enter.

3. Continuous flow or complete mix reactors: In these reactors complete

mixing of contents occurs when the particles entering the tank are
isolated immediately throughout the tank.
12 5. Reactors continue
4. Arbitrary flow reactors: Arbitrary flow represent some degree of

partial mixing between plug flow and complete mix flow.

5. Packed bed reactors: packed bed reactors are filled with some type of

packing medium, such as rock, slag, ceramic, or plastic.

6. Fluidized bed reactors: Fluidized bed reactors are similar to packed

bed reactors in many respects.

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Classification of Sewage Treatment

Depending on unit operations and unit processes employed sewage

treatments are classified as follows:

1. Preliminary treatment

2. Primary treatment

3. Secondary treatment

4. Tertiary treatment
 Classification of Sewage Treatment continue
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 Asbestos Cement Sewers conti
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 Classification of Sewage Treatment continue
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1. Preliminary treatment: In preliminary treatment of sewage only

physical unit operation are used. Preliminary treatment consist of
removing from sewage

I. Floating material such as dead animals, wood piece, tree branches,

papers, rags and other large sized floating materials.

II. Heavy settle able inorganic solid such as grit ,sand and fragments of
masonry.

III. Fats , oil and grease

 Classification of Sewage Treatment continue
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Various units or appurtenances of preliminary treatment are below:

1. Screens for removing floating matters.

2. Grit chambers or detritus tanks for removing grit and sand

3. Comminutes for grinding coarse solid

4. Skimming tank for removing fats oils and grease

5. Floatation units for removing finely divided suspended solids and particles

6. Flow measuring unit for measuring the rate of flow or discharge of sewage
20 Classification of Sewage Treatment continue

2. Primary treatment: Primary treatment consists of removing large suspended

organic solids. This is usually accomplished by sedimentation or primary settling tank

(P.S.T) or primary clarifiers.

3. Secondary (or Biological) treatment: Secondary treatment involves further

treatment of the effluent from primary treatment generally accomplished by using

biological unit processes.

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4. Tertiary or advanced treatment: Tertiary treatment involves all

operation and processes used to remove the contaminants not removed in
conventional treatment. These contaminants may include dissolved and
suspended material such as inorganic compounds, nitrogen and
phosphorus.
 Classification of Sewage Treatment continue
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The various process that are used in the tertiary or advanced treatment of sewage are
as fallows:

1. Chemical clarification

2. Recarbonation

3. Filtration

4. Activated carbon adsorption

5. Disinfection

6. Nitrogen removal

7. Phosphorus removal

8. Demineralization
24 Classification of Sewage Treatment continue

Actually, the distinction between preliminary, primary, secondary and

tertiary treatment is rather arbitrary since many modern treatment
methods incorporate physical, chemical and biological processes in the
same operation.
 Process Flow Sheet or flow diagrams of sewage
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treatment plants

• The process flow sheet is a graphical representation of the sequence in

which various unit operation and unit processes are adopted for
treatment of sewage at any sewage treatment plant.

• The design of process flow sheet involves selection of an appropriate

combination of various unit operations and unit processes to achieve a
desired degree of contaminant removal.
 Various type of joints used for joining the pipe cont…
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