Sewage Treatment PowerPoint

Background
Wastewater treatment is vital to the purification of our water and the
health of the population. At present, two basic stages exist in the
treatment of wastes: primary and secondary.
In the primary stage of treatment, solids are allowed to settle and are
removed from the water. Here's how it works: as sewage enters a plant
for treatment, it flows through a screen. The screen removes large
floating objects such as rags and sticks that may clog pumps and small
pipes. After the sewage has been screened it passes into what is called
a grit chamber where sand, grit, cinders and small stones are allowed
to settle to the bottom.
The unwanted grit or gravel from this process is usually disposed of by
filling land near a treatment plant. With screening completed and the
grit removed, the sewage still contains dissolved organic matter along
with suspended solids. In a sedimentation tank the suspended solids
will gradually sink to the bottom, forming sludge. Then, the sludge is
mechanically removed from sedimentation tanks.
The secondary stage of treatment removes up to 90% of the organic
matter by making use of the bacteria in it. Two techniques are used in
this stage: trickling filters and the activated sludge process.
A trickling filter is a bed of stones from 3-6 feet deep through which
sewage passes. Bacteria gather and multiply on these stones until they
can consume most of the organic matter in the sewage. The cleaner
water trickles out through pipes in the bottom of the filter, then flows
to another sedimentation tank to remove the bacteria. To complete the
process, the water gets chlorinated for disinfection purposes.
The other technique which is being used more today is the activated
sludge process. After the sewage leaves the settling tank in the
primary stage, it is pumped to an aeration tank where it is mixed with
air and sludge loaded with bacteria. It is allowed to remain here for
several hours. During this time, the bacteria break down the organic
matter. The sludge can be reused by returning it to the aeration tank
and mixing it with new sewage and an ample amount of air.
Meanwhile, the sewage flows from the aeration tank to another
sedimentation tank to remove the bacteria. The final step, as with the
first technique, is the addition of chlorine.

In some cases, tertiary treatment also is used. In this final step,

chemical treatment is used to remove specific compounds such as
phosphates. This allows the water to be in better condition before it is
put back into the water cycle system.
As our water supply demands are increasing, tertiary treatment allows
us to use wastewater to recharge the groundwater supply. However,
most wastewater plants do not employ this procedure due to cost and
feasibility.
Assignment
Construct a PowerPoint presentation illustrating with photos and diagrams the stages of
primary, secondary, and tertiary sewage treatment, and briefly describing each step. Your
description should be a brief statementsomething YOU can remember!
Try to include the following steps:
Primary Treatment (http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/wwvisit.html) may help
Influent (material coming inbe creative!)
Filter Screening
Grit chambers
Settling tanks
Sludge Digester
Secondary Treatment
Aeration Tank
Settling Tank
Chlorine Disinfection
Sludge Drying Beds
Advanced (tertiary treatment)
Alum, flocculation
Sedimentation
Activated Carbon
Desalinization
Nitrate and special compounds removal (sometimes this one is
tough to find..)