AL
INSTITU R
TE OF O
TECHNO
U
LOGY R
A REPORT
ON USEK
OF ALGAE
E
IN WASTE
L
WATER
A
TREATME
NT
SUBMITTE
D BY:
RACHIT
GOYAL
112CH030
3
FACULTY
INCHARGE:
PROF .Mrs A.
SAHOO
Abstract
Organic and inorganic substances which were released into the environment
as a result of domestic, agricultural and industrial water activities lead to
organic and inorganic pollution. The normal primary and secondary
treatment processes of these wastewaters have been introduced in a
growing number of places, in order to eliminate the easily settled materials
and to oxidize the organic material present in wastewater. The final result is
a clear, apparently clean effluent which is discharged into natural water
bodies. This secondary effluent is, however, loaded with inorganic nitrogen
and phosphorus and causes enrichment of soil by nutrients and more longterm problems because of refractory organics and heavy metals that are
discharged. Microalgae culture offers an interesting step for wastewater
treatments, because they provide a tertiary biotreatment coupled with the
production of potentially valuable biomass, which can be used for several
purposes. Microalgae cultures offer an elegant solution to tertiary and
quandary treatments due to the ability of microalgae to use inorganic
nitrogen and phosphorus for their growth. And also, for their capacity to
remove heavy metals, as well as some toxic organic compounds, therefore,
it does not lead to secondary pollution. In this report I will try to give an
actual picture of role of micro-algae in the treatment of wastewater.
2.Chemical
Chlorination -Chlorination is by far the most common method of
wastewater disinfection and is used worldwide for the disinfection of
pathogens before discharge into receiving streams, rivers or oceans.(11-14)
Chlorine is known to be effective in destroying a variety of bacteria, viruses
and protozoa, including Salmonella, Shigella and Vibrio cholera.
Ozonation -Ozone is a very reactive gas that can oxidise bacteria,
moulds, organic material and other pollutants found in water. Using ozone to
treat wastewater has many benefits:
o Kills bacteria effectively.
o Oxidises substances such as iron and sulphur so that they can be
filtered out of the solution.
o There are no nasty odours or residues produced from the
treatment.
3.Biological
Aerobic process -An aerobic treatment system or ATS, often called
(incorrectly) an aerobic septic system, is a small scale sewage
treatment system similar to a septic tank system, but which uses
an aerobic process for digestion rather than just the anaerobic process used
in septic systems. These systems are commonly found in rural areas where
public sewers are not available, and may be used for a single residence or
Anaerobic :
Septic Tanks - A septic system is a highly efficient, self-contained,
underground wastewater treatment system. Because septic systems treat
and dispose of household wastewater onsite, they are often more
economical than centralized sewer systems in rural areas where lot sizes are
larger and houses are spaced widely apart
Primary Treatment
In this treatment, most of the settleable solids are separated or removed
from the wastewater by the physical process of sedimentation. When
certain chemicals are used with primary sedimentation tanks, some of the
colloidal solids are also removed. Biological activity of the wastewater in
primary treatment is of negligible importance.
The purpose of primary treatment is to reduce the velocity of the wastewater
sufficiently to permit solids to settle and floatable material to surface.
Therefore, primary devices may consist of settling tanks, clarifiers or
sedimentation tanks. Because of variations in design, operation, and
application, settling tanks can be divided into four general groups:
1. Septic tanks
2. Two story tanks -- Imhoff and several proprietary or patented units
3. Plain sedimentation tank with mechanical sludge removal
4. Upward flow clarifiers with mechanical sludge removal
When chemicals are used, other auxiliary units are employed. These are:
1. Chemical feed units
2. Mixing devices
3. Flocculators
The devices used in secondary treatment may be divided into four groups:
1. Trickling filters with secondary settling tanks
2. Activated sludge and modifications with final settling tanks
3. Intermittent sand filters
4. Stabilization ponds
The use of chlorine with secondary treatment is discussed under the section
on Secondary Treatment
Chlorination
This is a method of treatment which has been employed for many purposes
in all stages in wastewater treatment, and even prior to preliminary
treatment. It involves the application of chlorine to the wastewater for the
following purposes:
1. Disinfection or destruction of pathogenic organisms
2. Prevention of wastewater decomposition -(a) odor control, and
(b) protection of plant structures
Sludge Treatment
The solids removed from wastewater in both primary and secondary
treatment units, together with the water removed with them, constitute
wastewater sludge. It is generally necessary to subject sludge to some
treatment to prepare or condition it for ultimate disposal. Such treatment
has two objectives -- the removal of part or all of the water in the sludge to
reduce its volume, and the decomposition of the putrescible organic solids to
mineral solids or to relatively stable organic solids. This is accomplished by
a combination of two or more of the following methods:
1. Thickening
2. Digestion with or without heat
3. Drying on sand bed -- open or covered
4. Conditioning with chemicals
5. Elutriation
6. Vacuum filtration
7. Heat drying
8. Incineration
9. Wet oxidation
10.
Centrifuging
The history of the commercial use of algal cultures spans about 75 years
with application to wastewater treatment and mass production of different
strains such as Chlorella and Dunaliella. Currently significant interest is
developed in some advanced world nations such as Australia, USA, Thailand,
Taiwan and Mexico . These are due to the understanding of the biologists in
these nations for the biology and ecology of large-scale algal cultures, as
well as in the engineering of large-scale culture systems and algal harvesting
methods, all of which are important to the design and operation of high rate
algal cultures to produce high-value products, such as Pharmaceuticals and
genetically engineered products . These include antibacterial, antiviral,
antitumers/anticancer, antihistamine and many other biologically valuable
products.
The algal systems can treat human sewage and industrial wastes . Also,
microalgal systems for the treatment of other wastes such as piggery
effluent .the effluent from food processing factories and other agricultural
wastes have been studied. Also, algae based system for the removal of toxic
minerals such as lead, cadmium, mercury, scandium, tin, arsenic and
bromine are also being developed .. Algal systems have traditionally been
employed as a tertiary process . They have been proposed as a potential
secondary treatment system.
Tertiary treatment process removes all organic ions. It can be accomplished
biologically or chemically. The biological tertiary treatment appears to
perform well compared to the chemical processes which are in general too
costly to be implemented in most places and which may lead to secondary
pollution. However, each additional treatment step in a wastewater system
greatly increases the total cost. The relative cost of treatment doubles for
each additional step following primary treatment .
A complete tertiary process aimed at removing ammonia, nitrate and
phosphate will thus be about four times more expensive than primary
treatment. Microalgal cultures offer an elegant solution to tertiary and
quinary treatments due to the ability of microalgae to use inorganic nitrogen
and phosphorus for their growth . And also, their capacity to remove heavy
metals, as well as some toxic organic compounds, therefore, does not lead
to secondary pollution. Amongst beneficial characteristics they produce
oxygen, have a disinfecting effect due to increase in pH during
photosynthesis.
Algae can be used in wastewater treatment for a range of purposes, some of
which are used for the removal of coliform bacteria, reduction of both
chemical and biochemical oxygen demand, removal of N and/or P, and also
for the removal of heavy metals.
Refrences:
http://www.waterandhealth.org
http://www.water-pollution.org.uk
http://www.sciencedirect.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sewage_treatment
http://www.nesc.wvu.edu/