Module 4

Water
Introduction:

Water is very essential to human survival, man cannot live without water for a
few days. Also according to history most of the cities of great civilizations were founded
near the water bodies like the Babylonian empire which founded between the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers, Egyptian empire beside the Nile river and even the Spanish colonist
founded Manila beside Manila bay and Pasig River. Human uses water for food
preparation, cleaning, sanitation and even transportation that is why water became
essential to our daily activities not only in households but also for the improvement of
the economy.

Most of the human body tissues were made up of water. About almost 92% of
plasma blood, 80% of muscle tissues, 73% of brain and heart and 83% of the lungs
were composed of water making almost 60% of human adult body consist of water.
Around 90% of the body weight of an adult human body comes from water according to
the H.H. Mitchell, Journal of Biological Chemistry 158.

Water

Water refers to the transparent, odorless and tasteless liquid chemical substance
that forms most of the world’s hydrosphere such as ocean, seas, river, lakes, streams
and other water bodies. H2O is the chemical symbol for water meaning the substance
is a compound having two (2) atoms of Hydrogen and one (1) atom of Oxygen
combined together. Almost 71% of the Earth’s surface was covered by water. Water
can be in different forms such as liquid, solid and gas. Usually, at the normal
temperature and pressure water can be seen in its liquid form. Sometimes water can
be in its gaseous form when heated it turns into steams or in some instances water
turns into vapour like clouds. In some cold places water can turn into solid in the form
of ice like snow, glaciers, ice packs and ice burgs.
 Figure __-_: Water
Source: www.engineeredlifestyle.com

Quality of Clean Water

To enable to determine that the water is clean and free from any contaminants
that might affect the people who will drink it or affects the ecology of an environment
there are four (4) characteristics to be considered such as physical, chemical,
microbiological and radiological characteristics.

http://echo2.epfl.ch/VICAIRE/mod_2/chapt_2/main.htm

Physical Characteristics

Clean and pure water can be determined by observing its physical characteristics
such as its color, odor and taste, Temperature and Turbidity.

Color

One can say that the water was pure when it is colorless or clear. Some
impurities make the color appear on the water. For example the soil makes the water
appear brown color. Some gases such as smoke when absorbed by the water create
white. Color in the water can be an indicator that water was contaminated as the water
became darker the more contaminated it would take. Color in the water may be the
result of dissolved matter such as tannins or caused by suspended materials or
sediments. Tannin was caused by organic matters like leaves, barks, tissues of plants
and animals, leather products or inks that can be dissolve in water and produces colors.
The color in the water caused by tannins cannot be purified with the use of ordinary
filtration process, the color in the water may still remain after the said process. Another
cause of colorification of the water was the suspended solids like sediments and
biological agents. Sediments such as dirt, soil, clay and tiny particulates like stones
may appear color to the water. Also biological components such as algae, planktons
and others may add color and contaminate to the water.
https://water.usgs.gov/edu/color.html

Odorless

Another characteristic of clean and pure water is its smell or odor. A pure water
does not have any smell or odorless. Odor from the water may come from any
biological or chemical contaminants that mixes in the water.
http://www.trojanuv.com/resources/trojanuv/casestudies/Taste_and_Odor_Fact_Sheet_
RevSep05.pdf

Tasteless
Chemical Characteristics

Chlorides

Flourides

Iron

Lead

Manganese

Sodium

Sulfate

Zinc

Toxic Inorganic Substances

Toxic Organic Substances

Sources of Water

Uses of Water

Wastewater

Wastewater

Sources of Wastewater

Wastewater originates mainly from domestic, industrial, groundwater, and meteorological

sources, and these forms of wastewater are commonly referred to as domestic sewage, industrial
waste, infiltration, and storm-water drainage, respectively.
Domestic sewage results from people's day-to-day activities, such as bathing, body elimination,
food preparation, and recreation, averaging about 227 liters (about 60 gallons) per person daily.
The quantity and character of industrial wastewater is highly varied, depending on the type of
industry, the management of its water usage, and the degree of treatment the wastewater receives
before it is discharged. A steel mill, for example, might discharge anywhere from 5700 to
151,000 liters (about 1500 to 40,000 gallons) per ton of steel manufactured. Less water is needed
if recycling is practiced.

Infiltration occurs when sewer lines are placed below the water table or when rainfall percolates
down to the depth of the pipe. It is undesirable because it imposes a greater load on the piping
system and the treatment plant. The amount of storm-water drainage to be carried away depends
on the amount of rainfall as well as on the runoff or yield of the watershed (see Drainage).

A typical metropolitan area discharges a volume of wastewater equal to about 60 to 80 percent of

its total daily water requirements, the rest being used for washing cars and watering lawns, and
for manufacturing processes such as food canning and bottling.

Wastewater Treatment

Wastewater treatment refers to the process of cleaning and reducing other

harmful substances present in water that were not needed, not suitable for reuse and
by-product of an industrial process in order to lessen the effect to the ecosystem where
the wastewater will be released or disposed.

Effluent

1. Primary Treatment

The wastewater that enters a treatment plant contains debris that might clog or damage the
pumps and machinery. Such materials are removed by screens or vertical bars, and the debris is
burned or buried after manual or mechanical removal. The wastewater then passes through a
comminutor (grinder), where leaves and other organic materials are reduced in size for efficient
treatment and removal later.

a. Grit Chamber

Grit chamber refers to the long and narrow channel-shaped settling tanks
used to remove solid and mineral matter that mixes in wastewater. Grit chamber were
designed to slow down the flow of wastewater in such a way that solid particles like soil,
sand, silt, eggshells, gravel and cinders and other solid materials settle at the bottom of
the tank. The said system allows 0.2 millimeters (mm) or 0.008 inches (in) or larger to
settle at the bottom while the smaller particles remains in the wastewater to the next
treatment process. Nowadays, spiral-flow aerated grit chambers with hopper bottons,
or clarifiers with mechanical scrapper arms are commonly used.

The settled solid particles or also known as sludge were collected regularly in
a collection trap and treated as solid waste in some solid waste treatment facilities.
Figure __-_ shows the function of the grit chamber to further understand the role of the
said system in the waste water treatment.

Figure __-_: Schematic Diagram of Grit Chamber

Source: www.legacy.chemgym.net

b. Sedimentation

With grit removed, the wastewater passes into a sedimentation tank, in which organic materials
settle out and are drawn off for disposal. The process of sedimentation can remove about 20 to
40 percent of the BOD5 and 40 to 60 percent of the suspended solids.

The rate of sedimentation is increased in some industrial waste-treatment stations by

incorporating processes called chemical coagulation and flocculation in the sedimentation tank.
Coagulation is the process of adding chemicals such as aluminum sulfate, ferric chloride, or
polyelectrolytes to the wastewater; this causes the surface characteristics of the suspended solids
to be altered so that they attach to one another and precipitate. Flocculation causes the suspended
solids to coalesce. Coagulation and flocculation can remove more than 80 percent of suspended
solids.

c. Flotation

An alternative to sedimentation that is used in the treatment of some wastewaters is flotation, in

which air is forced into the wastewater under pressures of 1.75 to 3.5 kg per sq cm (25 to 50 lb
per sq in). The wastewater, supersaturated with air, is then discharged into an open tank; there
the rising air bubbles cause the suspended solids to rise to the surface, where they are removed.
Flotation can remove more than 75 percent of the suspended solids.

d. Digestion

Digestion is a microbiological process that converts the chemically complex organic sludge to
methane, carbon dioxide, and an inoffensive humuslike material. The reactions occur in a closed
tank or digester that is anaerobic—that is, devoid of oxygen. The conversion takes place through
a series of reactions. First the solid matter is made soluble by enzymes, then the substance is
fermented by a group of acid-producing bacteria, reducing it to simple organic acids such as
acetic acid. The organic acids are then converted to methane and carbon dioxide by bacteria.
Thickened sludge is heated and added as continuously as possible to the digester, where it
remains for 10 to 30 days and is decomposed. Digestion reduces organic matter by 45 to 60
percent.

e. Drying

Digested sludge is placed on sand beds for air drying. Percolation into the sand and evaporation
are the chief processes involved in the dewatering process. Air drying requires dry, relatively
warm weather for greatest efficiency, and some plants have a greenhouselike structure to shelter
the sand beds. Dried sludge in most cases is used as a soil conditioner; sometimes it is used as a
fertilizer because of its 2 percent nitrogen and 1 percent phosphorus content.

2. Secondary Treatment

Having removed 40 to 60 percent of the suspended solids and 20 to 40 percent of the BOD5 in
primary treatment by physical means, the secondary treatment biologically reduces the organic
material that remains in the liquid stream. Usually the microbial processes employed are
aerobic—that is, the organisms function in the presence of dissolved oxygen. Secondary
treatment actually involves harnessing and accelerating nature's process of waste disposal.
Aerobic bacteria in the presence of oxygen convert organic matter to stable forms such as carbon
dioxide, water, nitrates, and phosphates, as well as other organic materials. The production of
new organic matter is an indirect result of biological treatment processes, and this matter must be
removed before the wastewater is discharged into the receiving stream.

Several alternative processes are also available in secondary treatment, including a trickling
filter, activated sludge, and lagoons.
 a. Trickling Filter

In this process, a waste stream is distributed intermittently over a bed or column of some type of
porous medium. A gelatinous film of microorganisms coats the medium and functions as the
removal agent. The organic matter in the waste stream is absorbed by the microbial film and
converted to carbon dioxide and water. The trickling-filter process, when preceded by
sedimentation, can remove about 85 percent of the BOD5 entering the plant.

b. Activated Sludge

This is an aerobic process in which gelatinous sludge particles are suspended in an aeration tank
and supplied with oxygen. The activated-sludge particles, known as floc, are composed of
millions of actively growing bacteria bound together by a gelatinous slime. Organic matter is
absorbed by the floc and converted to aerobic products. The reduction of BOD5 fluctuates
between 60 and 85 percent.

An important companion unit in any plant using activated sludge or a trickling filter is the
secondary clarifier, which separates bacteria from the liquid stream before discharge.

c. Stabilization Pond or Lagoon

Another form of biological treatment is the stabilization pond or lagoon, which requires a large
land area and thus is usually located in rural areas. Facultative lagoons, or those that function in
mixed conditions, are the most common, being 0.6 to 1.5 m (2 to 5 ft) in depth, with a surface
area of several acres. Anaerobic conditions prevail in the bottom region, where the solids are
decomposed; the region near the surface is aerobic, allowing the oxidation of dissolved and
colloidal organic matter (see Colloid). A reduction in BOD5 of 75 to 85 percent can be attained.

3. Tertiary Treatment

4. Advance Waste Water Treatment

If the receiving body of water requires a higher degree of treatment than the secondary process
can provide, or if the final effluent is intended for reuse, advanced wastewater treatment is
necessary. The term tertiary treatment is often used as a synonym for advanced treatment, but
the two methods are not exactly the same. Tertiary, or third-stage, treatment is generally used to
remove phosphorus, while advanced treatment might include additional steps to improve effluent
quality by removing refractory pollutants. Processes are available to remove more than 99
percent of the suspended solids and BOD5. Dissolved solids are reduced by processes such as
reverse osmosis and electrodialysis. Ammonia stripping, denitrification, and phosphate
precipitation can remove nutrients. If the wastewater is to be reused, disinfection by ozone
treatment is considered the most reliable method other than breakpoint chlorination. Application
of these and other advanced waste-treatment methods is likely to become widespread in the
future in view of new efforts to conserve water through reuse. See Absorption; Osmosis;
Precipitation.

5. Septic Tank

A sewage treatment process commonly used to treat domestic wastes is the septic tank: a
concrete, cinder block or metal tank where the solids settle and the floatable materials rise. The
partly clarified liquid stream flows from a submerged outlet into subsurface rock-filled trenches
through which the wastewater can flow and percolate into the soil where it is oxidized
aerobically. The floating matter and settled solids can be held from six months to several years,
during which they are decomposed anaerobically.

Sources

Characteristic of Water:
https://www.slideshare.net/kismetl/what-are-the-physical-characteristics-of-water