Wastewater Treatment

On completion of this segment you should be:

Aware of the public health aspects and goals of wastewater treatment Able to describe the processes involved in primary, secondary and tertiary treatment Able to compare the differences between the fixed-film and suspended growth systems in biological treatment

Aware of some methods available for nutrient removal

Wastewater Treatment Goals

Aims
Protect public health from contamination of water supplies Reliable and economic operation Minimum capital cost

Wastewater Treatment Goals (cont)

Outcomes
Removal of floating, suspended and soluble matter Reduce BOD, COD pathogenic organisms and nutrient Maintain aesthetics of natural water bodies, ecology of water systems

Typical Characteristics of Wastewater

Oxygen demand, BOD5 mg/L Total suspended solids mg/L Nitrogen mg/L Phosphorus, mg/L Total dissolved solids, mg/l Toxins eg metals, organics Grease and oil Total coliform number/mL Fecal coliform, number/mL Fecal streptococci number/mL Enteric virus number/mL 105 - 106 104 - 105 103 - 104 10 - 102
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200 - 400 200 - 300 20 - 30 as NH3 30 - 70 total 8 - 16 total 400 - 600

Treatment Selection
Wastewater treatment comprises primary, secondary and tertiary treatments The selection of appropriate treatment processes is dependent upon the nature and strength of pollutants, quantity of flow, and discharge licence conditions

Primary Treatment
Usually the first stage of wastewater treatment comprises largely physical processes. A well-designed primary treatment should remove about 40 - 75% of TSS and about 25 - 40% BOD5 A possible pre-treatment is the injection of air, O2, H2O2 and pre-chlorination if the influent is 'stale Processes include screening, grit removal and primary settling

Screens
The removal of large objects that may damage pumps or block channels
Fixed or mechanical Velocity in channels about 0.3 - 0.4 m/s Design for PWWF All screenings to be removed/buried Location of strong odour from decomposition

Mechanical bar screen

Rotating drum screen

Comminutors
These are mechanical cutting screens that reduce the size of large objects Shredded matter are returned to the flow stream A by-pass may be included

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Comminutor

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Grit Chambers
Purpose is to remove inorganic grit/sand 0.2 - 1 mm size through differential settling Aim is to prevent damage to pumps, blockage of channels and cementing of sludge in settling tanks Two types of grit chambers, namely constantly velocity and aerated/spiral flow tanks

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Constant Velocity Grit Chamber

Class I settling - horizontal flow Uniform velocity at 0.25 - 0.35 m/s

Ideal parabolic shape or approximation Width:depth ratio 1:1 Length 18 x max. depth

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Constant Velocity Grit Chamber

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Aerated or Spiral Flow Grit Chamber

Flexibility of control; more efficient grit removal and can assist pre-aeration Air supply or spiral flow controls the amount of silt removed Suitable for larger population > 10 000 ep HRT of about 3 min at PWWF

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Aerated or Spiral Flow Grit Chamber

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Vortex Flow Grit Chamber

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Primary Sedimentation
Solids separation by gravity
Aim is to remove gross suspended solids (organic matter) Largely class II settling of flocculent matter and natural coalescence or flocculation occurs Surface skimmers remove floating matter (scum, grease etc) The settled solids are pumped to an anaerobic digestion tank. The effluent (settled sewage) from primary treatment flows to the next stage ie. secondary treatment
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Some Features of Primary Settling

Design to accept 2 to 3 x ADWF

Removal of 40 - 75% suspended solids

Some incidental BOD5 reduction 25 - 40% Hydraulic loading Q/A 30 m3/m2.d Hydraulic retention time (HRT) 1.5 to 3 h; depth 2.5 to 5 m Also act as flow/strength equalisation basins Sludge scrapers should not cause re-suspension
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Primary settling % removed vs time

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Types of Primary Settling tanks

Rectangular horizontal-flow
Tanks use less space Forward velocity 10 - 15 mm/s Weir loading rate < 300 m3/m.d Length:width ratio 3:1

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Rectangular horizontal-flow

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Types of Primary Settling tanks

Up-flow tank
Square with 60o sludge hopper No moving parts as sludge is removed hydrostatically Some possible particle carry over

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Up-flow settling tank

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Types of Primary Settling tanks

Circular radial flow tank
Inflow to a central stilling box

Radial-horizontal flow
Uses radial scrapers to remove sludge

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Circular Radial Flow Tank

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Circular Radial Flow Tank

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Circular Radial Flow Tank

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Pulteney Bridge and Weir, City of Bath

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Secondary Treatment
Removal of dissolved solids through microbial action
Objective is to remove the remaining suspended solids and also dissolved solids The process is mainly biological using microorganisms to convert the dissolved solids to biomass Two distinct systems are available i.e. fixed film (trickling filter) and suspended growth (activated sludge) The biomass is removed as sludge in final sedimentation tanks (clarifiers)

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Typical microorganisms in activated sludge

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Fixed-Film Systems
Land treatment, trickling and rotating biological filters are predominantly aerobic biological processes Land treatment ie. broadcasting of sewage, is one of the earliest forms of wastewater treatment

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Trickling Filter
Comprising an inert structure for growth of biofilm containing microorganisms (attached growth)

Microorganisms in biofilm interact with wastewater and metabolise the organic matter (BOD) into CO2 and H2O
Natural sloughing of the biofilm when it reaches a thickness that cannot be sustained Filter medium voids (40 60%) promote air circulation and aerobic condition

Solids in the effluent are separated in the secondary settling (humus) tank
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Interaction of biofilm
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Trickling Filter

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Trickling filters at Wetalla

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A rotating biological contact unit

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Suspended Growth Systems

Microorganisms are held in suspension as a high concentration flocculent, bulky matter through agitation, stirring The microorganisms interact with influent wastewater and biodegrade organic matter into CO2, H2O and byproducts, releasing energy for growth of new cells The activated sludge process is an example of an aerobic suspended growth system. The anaerobic digester for the break down of waste sludge is an example of an anaerobic suspended growth system

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Activated Sludge Process

The heart of the process is the reactor where aeration and oxidation of organic compounds occur Microorganisms are held in suspension by aeration and stirring Energy requiring process but has greater control and flexibility Return activated sludge and sludge wasting maintain the design biomass concentration (MLVSS) Final clarifier separates solids from the clear effluent and returns the settled sludge to the reactor
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Activated sludge process with alternative wasting locations

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Surface aerators
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Final sedimentation tank

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Final clarifier

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Comparison between attached film and suspended growth systems

Parameter BOD removal Trickling filter 85 90% Activated sludge > 95%

Lower limit of BOD effluent

Capital cost Operating cost Land requirement Operator control Shock loads Foaming Odour Filter flies

15 mg/L
High Minimal High Limited Rapid recovery None Yes Yes

< 10 mg/L
Moderate High Low More Very slow Often Minimal None

Noise
Hydraulic washout Plugging Drying of media

Minimal
No Yes Yes

Moderate
Yes No No

Output of sludge

moderate

High

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Wastewater Disinfection
Some microorganisms (105 107/100 mL) are still present in treated wastewater after secondary treatment Disinfection is required to reduce pathogenic microorganisms Chlorine is still the cost-effective disinfection, but requires minimum contact time and has adverse effects Other environmental friendly methods include UVL, ozone disinfection, membrane microfiltration and constructed wetlands

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Sludge Digestion
Sludge from primary and secondary settling tanks (including waste activated sludge) must be treated in digesters Sludge is thickened before passing to sludge digesters Sludge may be treated anaerobically or aerobically Anaerobic sludge digestion involves 2 sequential stages ie. acid formation and methane formation Digested sludge is dewatered before disposal

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Low rate single-stage sludge digester

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High rate two-stage sludge digester

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Anaerobic sludge digester

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Aerobic sludge digester

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Tertiary Treatment
Tertiary maturation ponds an aerobic polishing process with detention time and further reduction in BOD and TSS (NFR) Nutrient removal comprising nitrification and denitrification and phosphorus removal Microfiltration and reverse osmosis

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Nano-membrane filtration
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Nutrient Removal
The major components of nutrients in wastewater are nitrates and phosphates. They contribute to the eutrophication of receiving water Total nitrogen may be about 35 mg/L and total phosphorus 8 mg/L after secondary treatment Raw sewage composition of C:TN:TP 100:25:6 Normal plant growth only need C:TN:TP of 100:15:1

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Nitrogen Removal
Involves two stages of microbial action under different conditions
Ammonia is first oxidised to nitrites and nitrates through a process of nitrification by microorganisms Nitrification uses aerobic autotrophic microorganisms Dinitrification uses facultative heterotrophic microorganisms under anoxic condition where nitrates are converted to nitrogen gas

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Phosphorus Removal
Process may be through chemical precipitation or by preferred microbial action
Use of coagulants e.g. lime, aluminium sulfate, ferric chlorine will precipitate phosphorus Process is expensive and results in quantities of difficult sludge Preferred process is through microbial action with uptake of phosphorus by a select group of microorganisms

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Biological phosphorus removal

Modified Bardenpho process

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End of Module 18

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