CHAPTER ONE

Introduction & Waste Characterization

1

Why Treating Wastewater?

Domestic and industrial processes use and
pollute water
=> wastewater
Minimise effects of discharge on environment
Remove pollutants for recycling and/or reuse of
water

Objectives of Wastewater Treatment

Ensure good water quality in natural environment
Remove pollutants most efficiently and
economically
Avoid or minimise other environmental impacts
like:
+ solid disposal
+ gas emission
+ odour creation
+ noise generation
3

Wastewater Characterisation
What is (in) Wastewater?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Identify wastewater sources and flows

Specify likely key pollutants
Select suitable sampling strategies
Measure pollutant concentrations
Calculate pollutant loads
Identify main components to be removed

Sources and Flow Rates

Essential step to identify problem area
How to define sources & flows?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Use systems/mass balance approach

Utilize wastewater audits
Anticipate future requirements
Reduce > Reuse > Recycle
Simple is better than complex

Source reduction can drastically improve wastewater

situation
5

CHARACTERISTICS OF INDUSTRIAL
AND MUNICIPLE WASTE WATER

Physical Character
istics

Chemical Characte
ristics

Organic Matter

Biological Charact
eristics

Inorganic Matter

Measurement of Org
anic Compound

Toxicity

Types of Pollutants
Physical: solids, temperature, colour, turbidity, salinity,
odour
Chemical:
organic
carbohydrates, fats, proteins, toxins
inorganic
alkalinity, N, P, S, pH, metals, salts
gaseous H2S, CH4, O2
Biological: plants (algae, grass, etc.),

microorganisms (bacteria, viruses)

7

Measurement Techniques
Physical, chemical or biological methods
Summary of basic methods in APHA (US)(American
Public Health Assosiation): Standard Methods for
the Examination of Water and Wastewater
Many instrument methods in use Flow Injection
Analysis(FIA).
Good laboratory practice essential eg. dilution,
weighing, filtration, standards
8

Solids
Solids separated by filtration into non/soluble and
by high temperature oxidation into non/volatile
Solids often form large percentage of total organic
material
Solids degradation often slow due to mass transfer
limitations
Sources: food processing, abattoirs rural
industries, domestic
9

Solids Fractions

10

Practical Exercises: Solids

In solids analysis, the following measurements were obtained:
Sample size: 50 mL
After filtration/evaporation:
12mg filter cake, 2.5mg solids in filtrate
After high temperature oxidation:
2.0 mg filter cake
What is TSS, VSS and TS in the sample?
Solution
TSS : 12 mg / 50 ml = 0.24 mg/ml
VSS : (12 2.0 mg) / 50 ml = 0.2 mg/l
TS : (12+2.5) mg /50 ml = 0.29 mg/l
11

Odour
Often very small amounts cause nuisance (eg. H 2S
approx. 10 ppb)
Physical/chemical measurement difficult
Olfactometer determines dilution necessary until
no odour detected

12

Temperature
Industrial WW often elevated temperature
Affects treatment performance of many treatment
systems
Gas eg. O2 solubility is lower at higher
temperature
Effluent temperature usually specified in licence
limits
13

Salinity
Affects ecosystems in receiving waters
Reduces O2 solubility
Restricts reuse applications (eg. irrigation)
Critical for downstream water utilisation
Causes density currents, stratification etc.

14

Colour & Turbidity

Colour of ww & biological treatment:
- light brown-gray => fresh, aerob
- dark brown-black => old, anaerob
Soluble dyes (stains) also cause colouring, very
difficult to remove
Turbidity measures light-transmission
Caused by colloidal or suspended matter
Can be correlated with suspended solids
15

Organic Matter
Largest component group in most ww:
TSS, 40 % of TDS (domestic ww)
Composition highly industry dependent
Types: + carbohydrates
+ proteins
+ oil & grease
+ organic toxins (priority pollutants, eg. pesticides)
+ others eg. surfactants, dyes etc.
Mostly biodegradable, some very slowly

75 % of

16

Carbohydrates
Composition: C, H, O
Soluble: sugars, alcohols, Volatile fatty acids (VFA)
(ex. acetic acid, propionic acid or butyric acid)
rapidly biodegradable
Insoluble: starches, cellulose, fibres (relatively)
slowly biodegradable
Sources:
sugar mills, breweries, dairy factories, canneries etc.
17

Proteins
Composition: C, H, O, N (16%), S, P.
Solubility varies with protein type and ww conditions
(eg: pH, salt conc.).
Quite rapidly biodegradable to amino acids except
when insoluble.
Anaerobic degradation creates H2S and other sulphur
components => odor.
Sources: dairy factories, meat processing
(abattoirs),food processing.
18

Oil & Grease

Composition: C, H, O
Hydrophobic substances: grease, fat, oil
Mostly insoluble, floating, easily adsorbed on
surfaces
Slowly biodegradable, even when hydrolysed to
glycerol and fatty acids
Sources: meat processing, food production,
chemical factories
19

Toxics (Priority Pollutants)

Organic toxic chemicals, pesticides, herbicides,
solvents, etc.
Inorganic substances eg. As, Se, heavy metals (Cd,
Cr, Pb, Hg, Ag etc.)
Normally very low effluent limits
Sources: chemical factories, metal manufacturing,
tanneries, agriculture, etc.
20

Measurement of Organic Content

Mostly overall content measured:
Total organic carbon: TOC
Biochemical oxygen demand: BOD
Chemical oxygen demand: COD
BOD & COD most commonly used for design and
effluent specifications
Oil & grease: organic solvent extraction
Priority pollutant analysis highly specific
21

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)

Measures oxygen required for biological
oxidation of organics
BOD: oxygen uptake by microorganism during
aerobic growth in ww sample
Standard BOD: 5 day incubation @ 20C
Samples require a series of dilutions to achieve
suitable oxygen consumption
22

Calculation
(1.6)

Seeding: Provides micro-organisms to oxidize organic matter

23

24

25

26

Modeling of BOD Reaction

The rate of BOD oxidation (exertion) is modeled based on the assumption that the
amount of organic material remaining at any time t is governed by a first-order function:
d BODr / dt = - k1 BODr
2-58
Integrating between the limits of UBOD and BOD t and t=0 and t=t yields:
BODr = UBOD (e-k1t)

2-59

Where BODr = amount of waste remaining at time t (days) expressed in oxygen

equivalent , mg/l
k1
= First order reaction constant (1/d)
UBOD = Total or ultimate carbonaceous BOD, mg/L
t
= Time
Thus the BOD exerted up to time t is given by:
BODt = UBOD BODr = UBOD - UBOD (e-k1t) = UBOD (1- e-k1t )
approx

k1T = k1 20 T-20

2-60
27

Example 2-9: Calculation of BOD

Determine the 1-day BOD and ultimate first-stage BOD for a wastewater at 20oC whose 5-day
BOD at 20oC is 200 mg/L. The reaction constant k (base e)=0.23d-1 at 20oC . What would have
been the 5-day BOD if the test had been conducted at 25oC?
Solution:
1)Determine the ultimate carbonaceous BOD

BOD5 UBOD BODr UBOD(1 e k1t )

200 UBOD(1 e 5 x 0.23 ) UBOD(1 0.36)
UBOD 293mg / L
2) Determine the 1-day BOD at 20C

BODt UBOD(1 e k1t )

BOD1 293(1 e 0.23 x1 ) 293(1 0.795) 60.1mg / L
3) Determine the 5-day BOD at 25C

k125 0.23(1.047) 25 20 0.29d 1

BOD 5 293(1 e 0.29 x 5 ) 224mg / L

28

Practical Concerns with BOD Test

Only partial degradation of organics
Cannot be used for mass balancing
Very high (>1000mg/L) and very low (<10mg/L)
values often unreliable
Industrial wastewater can contain inhibitors,
leading to low BOD results
Nitrification needs to be inhibited to avoid
measuring partial oxidation of NH4+
29

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) 1/2

Also measures oxygen required, but for chemical
oxidation of organics
COD: chemical oxidants used for oxidation of organics
to CO2, H2O & NH3
Standard COD: K2Cr2O7 2- /H2SO4 @ 145C
During oxidation dichromate is used up and remaining
oxidant is measured Spectrophotometrically to
determine oxidant used
30

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) 2/2

31

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)

Oxygen equivalent of organic material that can be oxidized using
dichromate in a hot acid solution.

The excess dichromate is titrated with

Standard ferrous ammonium sulfate
32

Theoretical Oxygen Demand (ThOD)

stoichiometric: 1 mole of O2 required to convert 1 mole of carbon to CO2

33

BOD, COD, and TOC

Typical range of BOD/COD for untreated municipal WW is
0.3 - 0.8
Typical range for BOD/TOC is 1.2 - 2.0
If BOD/COD > 0.5
WW is considered to be easily treatable by biological means

If BOD/COD < 0.3

WW may have some toxic components and/or the addition of
acclimated micro-organisms may be required

34

Wastewater Flow Terms

Equivalent person (EP): average wastewater
amount produced per person
Typically 1 EP equivalent to 200-250 l/d per
person for domestic households
Average Dry Weather Flow (ADWF): average
flow over 7 days without rain
Peak Dry Weather Flow (PDWF): maximal flow
during day (1.5-3 x ADWF)
35

Typical Diurnal Flow Pattern

Infiltration: is a ground water that enter sanitary sewer systems through cracks and/or
36
Leaks in the sanitary sewer pipes.

WW Flowrates
Rated capacity of a WW treatment plant is based
on the average annual daily flowrate plus a factor
of safety
Factors that can influence the plant design:
WW characteristics
Constituent concentrations
Flowrates
Mass loading [kg/d] = (concentration [g/m3])*(flowrate [m3/d])
(103 g/kg)

37

Design Flowrates and Mass Loadings

Process units and hydraulic conduits must be sized to
accommodate the anticipated peak flowrates that will pass
through the plant
Many WW treatment units are designed/sized based on the
detention time or overflow rate (flowrate per unit surface area)
required to achieve specific BOD and TSS levels in the
effluent
Over-sizing the equipment can decrease the efficiency of the
plant
38

Sampling & Measurements

On-line measurements where possible
Appropriate sampling crucial to achieve relevant results
Sampling schedule
based on expected
(or measured)
variance over time
Automatic sampling
often essential
39

Composite Sampling
Reduces analysis costs and levels out
concentration fluctuations
Composite samples should be taken proportional
to flow
Individual samples can be collected and
composited later
Ensure appropriate sample conservation/ storage
from sampling time until analysis
40

Flow Proportional Composite Sample

41

Design Flowrates and Mass Loadings

A number of operating conditions must be
considered in the design of a WW treatment
facility:
Peak hydraulic flowrate
Minimum hydraulic flowrate
Maximum mass loading
Minimum mass loading
Sustained mass loading

Initial and future

Refer to Table 3-20 in Metcalf and Eddy

42

Nitrogen Compounds & Units

43

Phosphorus Compounds & Units

44

Typical Municipal WW
TSS: 220 mg/L
VSS: 165 mg/L
BOD5: 220 mg/L
COD: 500 mg/L
TKN: 40 mg-N/L
Ammonia: 25 mg-N/L
TP: 8 mg-P/L
Ortho-phosphate: 5 mg-P/L
45