Solution of WWT Paper

Question # 5: Define the following

Sedimentation:
Sedimentation is the physical operation that separates solid particles with a density higher than
that of the surrounding liquid. In a tank in which water flow velocity is very low, the particles tend
to go to the bottom under the influence of gravity. As a result the supernatant liquid becomes
clarified while the particles at the bottom form a sludge layer and are then subsequently removed
with the sludge. Sedimentation is a unit operation of high importance in various wastewater
treatment system.
Aeration:
Aeration is the process by which air is circulated through, mixed with or dissolved in a liquid or
substance. Aeration is a unit operation of fundamental importance in a large number of aerobic
wastewater treatment processes. When a liquid is deficient in a gas (oxygen, in this case), there
is a natural tendency of the gas to pass from the gas phase, where it is present in sufficient
concentrations, to the liquid phase, where it is deficient. Oxygen is a gas that dissolves poorly in
the liquid medium. For this reason, in various wastewater treatment systems it is necessary to
accelerate the natural process, in such a way that the oxygen supply may occur at a higher rate,
compatible with the biomass utilization rate.
Sedimentation Velocity:
Sedimentation velocity is an analytical ultracentrifugation method that measures the rate at
which molecules move in response to centrifugal force generated in a centrifuge. This
sedimentation rate provides information about both the molecular mass and the shape of
molecules.
Question # 2: Define the following
Flocculation: Flotation is a unit operation which removes solid or liquid particles from a liquid
(such as oil droplets removed from water). Flocculants are water-soluble, organic
polyelectrolytes that are used alone or in conjunction with inorganic coagulants or coagulant aids
to agglomerate solids suspended in aqueous systems. The large dense flocs resulting from this
process permit more rapid and efficient solidsliquid separation.
Coagulation: Coagulation is the conversion of finely dispersed colloids into small floc with the
addition of electrolytes like inorganic acids, bases, and salts. The salts of iron, aluminum, calcium,
and magnesium are inorganic electrolytes. Partial coagulation can also result from naturally
occurring processes, such as biological growth, chemical precipitation, and physical mixing.
Flocculation is the agglomeration by organic polyelectrolytes (or by mechanical means) of the
small, slowly settling floc formed during coagulation into large floc that settles rapidly.
Filtration: Filtration is any of various mechanical, physical or biological operations that separate
solids from fluids (liquids or gases) by adding a medium through which only the fluid can pass.
The fluid that passes through is called the filtrate.
Question # 4: Draw a complete sewage water treatment plant diagram?

Question # 1: Explain with diagram the chemical and biological processes in sewage water
treatment Plant?
1. Biological Processes:
In conventional biological treatment two basic techniques are used
1.1. Fluid-Bed Reactors
1.1.1. Activated Sludge Process
1.1.2. Sewage Lagoons
1.2. Fixed Bed Reactors
1.2.1. Trickling Filter
1.2.2. Sand Filters
1.2.3. Spray Irrigation System
1.1. Fluid Bed System:
 The activated-sludge processes and sewage lagoons are fluid-bed systems. The activated-
sludge process uses mechanical aeration and returns a percentage of the active sludge to the
process influent. Lagoons or stabilization ponds and oxidation ditches do not routinely waste
sludge, but multipond systems can have recirculation. Septic tanks and Imhoff tanks combine the
settling and biological oxidation processes in a single tank

Activated Sludge Process:

Activated-sludge processes use continuous agitation and artificially supplied aeration of
settled sewage together with recirculation of a portion of the active sludge that settles in a
separate clarifier back to the aeration tanks. These processes vary in detention time, the method
of mixing and aeration, and the technique of introducing the waste and recirculated sludge into
the aeration tank.

Figure is a conventional activated-sludge plant flow diagram. A return of activated sludge at a

rate equal to about 25% of the incoming wastewater flow is normal; however, plants operate
with recirculation rates from 15 to 100%. The mixture of primary clarifier overflow and activated
sludge is called mixed liquor. The detention time is normally 6 to 8 hr in the aeration tank.
In a conventional plant, the oxygen demand is greatest near the influent end of the tank and
decreases along the flow path. Plants built before the process was well understood provided
uniform aeration throughout the tank. A conventional plant cannot accommodate variations in
hydraulic and organic loadings effectively, and the final clarifier must be sized to handle a heavy
solids load. Usually aeration units are in parallel so that a shutdown of one unit does not totally
disrupt plant operation.
Modifications in Activated Sludge Process:
Modifications have evolved as the activated-sludge plant has become more widely used and are
described in the following paragraphs.
1. Step Aeration:
One technique that furnishes more uniform oxygen demand throughout the aeration tank is
introducing the primary settled waste at several points in the aeration tank instead of at a single
point as in the conventional process. This modification is step aeration, and Figure is a typical
flow diagram. The percentage of settled, activated sludge returned to the aeration tank is usually
greater than in the conventional process (about 50% typically), and the detention time is reduced
to 3 or 4 hr since the loading is more evenly distributed in the tank. Additional piping and pumps
are required to distribute the waste to several locations; however, the improved performance is
considered to be worth the expense.

2. Tapered Aeration:
A less popular alternative to distributing the load to the aeration tank is to provide different
quantities of oxygen along the tank length, related to the oxygen demand that gradually
decreases along the tank length. The flow sheet for tapered aeration is the same as that in Figure
1. The disadvantage of tapered aeration is that although it is more economical due to reduced
air quantities, it can only be designed for one loading.
3. Extended Aeration Treatment:
Figure shows the extended aeration treatment process. In extended aeration, as the name
implies, the activated- sludge detention time is increased by a factor of 4 or 5 compared to
conventional activated sludge. The primary clarifier is eliminated. At a surface settling rate of 350
to 700 gpd per ft2, 4 hr final settling is typical. The extended-aeration period reduces or eliminates
the requirement for disposing excess sludge and is therefore a popular system for small plants.
 4. Completely mixed, activated-sludge:
Figure is a flow diagram for the completely mixed, activated-sludge system. This process is an
extension of step aeration and provides a uniform oxygen demand throughout the aeration tank.
Mechanical aerators also provide mixing for this unit. The SS concentration in the mixed liquor is
two to three times the concentration in most conventional plants. Aeration detention times are
reduced to 2 to 4 hr. The sludge recycling ratio is generally high because the greater flow
improves mixing.
 5. Contact Stabilization Process:
Figure is a typical contact stabilization process flow
diagram. The small contact tank, with detention
times of about hr binds the insoluble organic
matter in the activated sludge. Clarification separates
the contact-settled sludge from the supernatant. The
smaller sludge volume is then aerated for an
additional 3 or 4 hr. Since the total sewage flow is
aerated for a shorter period (with only the returned
activated sludge being aerated for longer periods),
the aeration tank capacity is smaller than in
conventional plants. With the activated sludge in two
tanks, the plant is not out of operation when the
contact tank is disabled. Sludge recycling percentages
of 30 to 60% are normal with contact.

Lagoon and Oxidation Ponds

Lagoons and ponds have many applications ranging from complete raw waste treatment to
polishing a secondary plants effluents. The applications have certain characteristics in common:
they are each engineer-designed and uncovered and do not use metal or concrete tanks. A
lagoon is a pond of engineering design that receives waste that has not been settled or exposed
to biological oxidation prior to entering it.
Figure is a simple flow-sheet representing the raw sewage lagoon. Simplicity is the main feature
of the raw sewage lagoon. Since it is constructed by excavation and diking, it is a low-cost system
that can be constructed rapidly. Operator attention is minimal, and the flow through the system
is usually by gravity unless recirculation is provided. The raw sewage lagoon usually has a bar
screen placed in the influent and can have a Parshall flume with a drum recorder to determine
the inflow to the lagoon.
Recirculation can reduce the buildup of bottom solids near the inflow entrance point into the
pond. The raw sewage pond is usually a facultative aerobic system, which means that anaerobic
conditions exist at and near the bottom and aerobic conditions prevail in the upper layers of the
pond most of the time. Facultative organisms can function under either aerobic or anaerobic
conditions.
A series of ponds is frequently used when it comprises the sole treatment. The number and size
of the ponds are functions of the effluent quality, incoming waste load, temperature, and climate.
Part B in Figure 7.21.9 shows a multipond facultative system flow sheet with the corresponding
detention times.
The primary pond designed as an anaerobic pond is becoming more popular. Part C in Figure is
a typical flow sheet for an anaerobicaerobic pond system. Ponds A, B, and C are each anaerobic
ponds, and the flow arrangement provides flow through any two of the anaerobic ponds in the
series (AB, AC, and BC). This arrangement permits one pond to serve as an anaerobic digester.
The second anaerobic pond produces a higher quality effluent than does a single pond, thus
reducing the load and size of the facultative pond. An anaerobic pond is normally used for six
months to a year as the anaerobic digester. A pumped recirculation of about 25% of the total
flow is common. The raw sewage lagoon can have additional ponds (D in Figure 7.21.9) in the
series after the facultative pond for additional polishing treatment.
The oxidation pond, as opposed to the raw sewage lagoon, receives influent that has undergone
primary treatment.
A maturation pond provides a final, polishing treatment step that follows some form of secondary
treatment.
Therefore, the maturation pond is a form of tertiary treatment. Mechanically aerating the
oxidation pond improves treatment and reduces the pond size. When mechanical aeration is
provided, floating surface aerators are almost universally used. The series flow in ponds buffers
against shock loadings.
Fixed Film Reactors
Although there are many ways the microorganisms can be put to work, the first really successful
modern method of secondary treatment was the trickling filter.
The trickling filter shown in the figure, consists of a bed of media (such as fist-sized rocks or
various plastic shapes) over which waste is trickled. An active biological growth forms on the
media and organisms obtain their food from the waste stream dripping over the bed. Air is either
forced through the media or, more commonly, air circulation is obtained automatically by a
temperature difference between the air in the bed and ambient temperature. In older filters the
waste is sprayed onto the rocks from fixed nozzles; newer designs use a rotating arm that moves
under its own power, distributing the waste evenly over the entire bed, like a lawn sprinkler.
Often the flow is recirculated, obtaining a higher degree of treatment. The name trickling filter is
obviously a misnomer because filtration takes place.

A modern modification of the trickling filter is the rotating biological contactor or rotating disc,
pictured in the figure. The microbial growth occurs on rotating discs that are slowly dipped into
the wastewater, which provides their food. By bringing the discs out into the open air, the
microbes are able to obtain the necessary oxygen to the growth aerobic.
2. Chemical Treatment
Historically, SS have been removed from wastewater by gravity sedimentation. The removal
efficiency of this unit operation is a function of the presence of readily settle able solids. SS
removal through chemical treatment is accomplished by three series unit operations:
Rapid-mixing
Flocculation
Settling.
Rapid Mixing:
The chemical reagent must first be completely dispersed throughout the wastewater. This is
achieved through coagulation and Precipitation of wastewater stream
Coagulation
The principle function of chemical coagulation is known as destabilization, aggregation, and
binding together of colloids. Alum, or aluminum sulphate, (Al2 (SO4)3 .18 H2O) is one of the most
common coagulants which may be added to a water system. Such a coagulant possesses tiny
positive charges and therefore has the ability to link together with negatively charged color or
turbidity particles by mutual coagulation. Alum also reacts with the natural alkalinity (carbonate-
bicarbonate system) of the water to produce a precipitate which is usually thought to be
aluminum hydroxide. If the reaction takes place with natural alkalinity, it may be expressed as
follows:

In the event that there is insufficient natural alkalinity for this to occur, then calcium oxide (lime)
may be added to create the same effect. Because this system is very poorly understood, the
optimum dosage required in practice has to be done by trial and error through a series of tests
known as jar tests.
In these jar tests, the flash mixing and flocculation steps described previously are stimulated at
various concentrations of alum and the clarification which takes place and the reduction of
turbidity and the rate at which the floc settles are all observed in order to determine the optimum
dosage of coagulant. If too much coagulant is added, then the colloidal system which is primarily
negatively charged will become supersaturated by the aluminum system which is primarily
positively charged and the suspension will become restabilized and this can be observed by
conducting jar tests over a wide range of concentrations of coagulant.
The reason why alum is so generally used is that it is highly effective over a wide pH range in
waters of vastly different chemical make-up. Other materials such as ferrous sulphate are
occasionally used to increase the settling rate of plankton and thus increase the time of the filter
run, making the filter process more efficient.
Precipitation
There are two important processes which are associated with precipitation in the treatment of
water.
1. Reduction of hardness (calcium and magnesium)
2. Reduction of iron and manganese.
Reduction of Hardness:
Water Softening The lime-soda-ash process involves the addition of Ca (OH) 2 and Na2 CO3 to
water. The reactions which occur are as follows:

In this reaction it can be seen that the lime is added to precipitate the carbonate hardness, while
the soda ash provides the carbonate ion to precipitate the non-carbonate hardness.
Precipitation of Iron and Manganese
Normally, iron and manganese are only highly soluble if they are in their ferrous (Fe2+) and
manganous (Mn2+) forms. Normally, these two metals will only occur in this form if there is an
absence of dissolved oxygen. However, on occasions when the water is particularly acid, such as
might occur in mine drainage areas, the metals may remain in solution even though a very high
dissolved oxygen is present. Under these circumstances, aeration is frequently sufficient to drive
off the surplus carbon dioxide, increase the pH and bring about a natural precipitation of these
materials in their ferric and manganic form. In order to catalyze or accelerate this reaction, the
water is frequently caused to trickle over coke or crushed stone, or to flow upward through some
contact material. This allows deposits of iron and manganese to accumulate on the surfaces and
catalyze the further precipitation of ferric and manganic oxides.
If the pH of the system is forced to values higher than 7.1, the positively charged ferric
hydroxide particles may be adsorbed on the negatively charged calcium carbonate particles and
a stable colloidal suspension may result. Iron and manganese are objectionable constituents of
water supplies because they impart a brown color to laundry goods and frequently will stain
household plumbing fittings. Precipitation of iron and manganese can also be satisfactorily
accomplished by using the lime-soda-ash process as described above for softening.
Flocculation
After effective coagulation-precipitation reactions (rapid mix) occur, promoting particle size
growth through flocculation is the next step. The purpose of flocculation is to bring coagulated
particles together by mechanically inducing velocity gradients within the liquid. Flocculation
takes 15 to 30 min in a basin containing turbine or paddle-type mixers. Mean temporal velocity
gradients of 40 to 80 ft. per sec per ft. are recommended. The lower value is for fragile floc
(aluminum or iron floc), and the higher value is for lime-treatment floc.
Solids contacting is especially beneficial for lime treatment because it reduces the deposition
problems inherent in once-through, rapid-mix, flocculation systems. Wastewater treatment
facilities provide solids-contacting by maintaining or recycling large amounts of previously
formed precipitates in contact with the wastewater and adding lime. Several types of solids-
contact treatment units are available. These units were originally developed for lime-softening
water treatment and are effective for lime treatment of wastewater.
Settling
After flocculation, the final step is clarification by gravity settling. The conventional clarifier
design is suitable for this purpose. However, wastewater treatment facilities should provide
positive-sludge withdrawal to prevent problems associated with the formation of septic sewage
sludge. Figure shows a once-through and a solids contacting system for enhancing SS removal
with chemical treatment.

If a highly clarified effluent of less than 10 mg/l SS is needed, an additional liquidsolids

separation step is required. The unit operation recommended for effluent polishing is granular
media filtration, e.g., dual-media filtration. Here, the clarifier effluent containing 20 to 40 mg/l of
finely divided floc is passed through the filter. For peak hydraulic loadings of less than 5 gpm per
ft2, the filtered effluent contains not more than 5 to 10 mg/l of SS. The filter bed in this case
consists of 2 ft. of 1.0- to 1.5-mm anthracite coal over 1 ft. to 0.5- to 0.8-mm sand.