The American University

in Cairo

Environmental Science
Water Pollution
Wastewater Treatment
Introduction
 Because many kinds of chemicals dissolve in
it, water is sometimes called the universal
solvent. This remarkable property of water
makes its contamination inevitable in the
technical sense. After water is purified by
evaporation and as it condenses and begins
to fall back to the earth, it immediately begins
picking up dissolved gases and particulates.
Once a raindrop strikes the earth, it picks up
materials like calcium, magnesium, iron, and
zinc and becomes contaminated at a more
rapid rate.
Types of Water Pollutants
 Suspended Solids
 Biodegradable Organics
 Pathogens
 Nutrients
 Refractory Organics
 Heavy Metals
 Dissolved Inorganic Salts
 Thermal Pollution
 Oils
Suspended Solids
 Suspended solids in untreated
wastewater can result in sludge deposits
and anaerobic conditions in the aquatic
environment.
Biodegradable Organics
 Biological stabilization of proteins,
carbohydrates, fats, and other
biodegradable organics can result in the
depletion of dissolved oxygen resources
and anaerobic conditions in the aquatic
environment. (the development of septic
conditions)
 Biodegradable organics are measured most
commonly in terms of BOD (Biochemical
Oxygen Demand) and COD (Chemical
Oxygen Demand.)
Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
 Water obtains its dissolved oxygen (DO) from
atmospheric by surface aeration. At 16º C,
pure water is in equilibrium with air and
contains 10 mg/l of dissolved oxygen. This
value fall when temperature rises and rises
when temperature falls.
 Fish and aquatic life require oxygen (4 – 6 mg/l
is the generally accepted range of dissolved
oxygen required to support fish population). If
dissolved oxygen concentration is reduced,
some of the organism die or may drive away.
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 When sewage is discharged into a stream of
water, the dissolved oxygen content of stream
decreases considerably in a short time. If the
stream is in a healthy state, the dissolved
oxygen will start to increase.
 However if the volume of sewage is large in
relation to the volume of the water stream and
strong in character, its oxygen demand will be
greater than the dissolved oxygen present in
the stream, accordingly the stream will be
highly polluted and may become septic.
B.O.D Biological Oxygen
Demand
 It is the amount of oxygen used during
decomposition of organic material. It is a
measure of the amount of organic material
present.
 BOD is determined by diluting a sewage
sample with water with known dissolved
oxygen content and storing the mixture for 5
days at 20º C. The oxygen content at the end
is measured and the difference is reported as
the BOD.
Pathogens
 Wastewater contains many germs and
viruses and caliform.
 Communicable diseases can be
transmitted by the pathogenic in
wastewater.
Nutrients
 Nitrogen and phosphorus, along with
carbon, are essential nutrients for
microbial growth. When discharged to
the aquatic environment, these nutrients
can lead to the growth of undesirable
aquatic life. When discharged in
excessive amounts on land, they can
also lead to the pollution of ground
water.
Refractory Organics
 These organics tend to resist conventional
methods (biodegradation) of wastewater
treatment. Typical examples include
surfactants, phenols, and agricultural
pesticides.
 They can be measured by Chemical Oxygen
Demand (COD) measure. It is a measure of
the organic substances which can be oxidized
chemically and not biologically, by using
oxidizing agents such as Potassium
Dichromate
Heavy Metals
 Heavy metals are usually added to
wastewater from commercial and
industrial activities and may have to be
removed if the wastewater is to be
reused.
Dissolved Organic Salts
 Inorganic constituents such as Calcium,
Sodium, and sulfate are added to the
industrial supply as a result of water use
and may have to be removed if the
wastewater if it is to be reused.
Thermal Pollution
 The difference between the temperature
of wastewater and the temperature of
surface water should not be more than
2º C, otherwise the percentage of
dissolved oxygen will be affected.
Oils
 The contamination of wastewater with oil
lead to dangerous effect on aquatic and
marine lives.
Wastewater Treatment
Preliminary
 Before the sewage reaches the
treatment plant, it first stops at various
head works. Head works are buildings
where solid objects are removed from
the sewage. At these head works, the
sewage first goes through bar screens
that remove large debris such as rocks,
bricks, and branches.
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 The sewage continues on and goes through
grit chambers which remove sand, grit, and
other heavy but small debris.
 The water flow slows down in the grit
chambers, giving the debris time to settle on
the bottom of the chamber.
 The trash gathered from the bar screens and
grit chambers is removed and transported to a
landfill.
Primary
 From the preliminary treatment, the
wastewater travels to the primary
treatment clarifiers, also called primary
settling tanks, which removes about half
of the pollutants found in the wastewater.
About 50-60% of total suspended solids
and up to 50% of pathogens and toxic
contaminants are removed during this
treatment process.
 During primary treatment, gravity
separates the sludge and scum from the
wastewater. The sludge settles to the
bottom and the scum floats to the top.
The scum is skimmed off and sent to a
landfill. The sludge is sent for further
sludge processing. The remaining
wastewater is called primary effluent.
 Scum: Grease, oil, and plastics that float
to the top of wastewater and are
skimmed off.
 Sludge: Solids that settle to the bottom
of wastewater. Examples include human
waste, food scraps, and other debris.
Secondary
 After primary treatment, the primary effluent (or
wastewater from primary treatment) is sent to
secondary reactors where the wastewater is
mixed with pure oxygen, sent from the
cryogenic oxygen facility, which stimulates the
rapid growth of beneficial microorganisms (e.g.
bacteria). These microorganisms consume
more solids and breaks down more
contaminants in the wastewater.
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 From the secondary reactors, the wastewater
flows into secondary clarifier where more
sludge and scum are separated. A portion is
used as secondary sludge which is returned to
the secondary reactor to help rebuild the
organic material. The other portion, the waste
sludge, is sent for further sludge processing.
The remaining liquid is sent to disinfection
system.
 Disinfection
 The remaining
liquid from
secondary
treatment is now
called the
secondary effluent,
and disinfected with
sodium hypochlorite
(a form of chlorine)
which kills bacteria .
Tertiary Sewage Treatment
 Primary treatment is physical, secondary
treatment is biological, and tertiary
treatment is chemical.
 It is basically the use of chemical
methods to remove some of the
chemicals remaining in sewage
wastewater after primary and secondary
treatment.
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 An example is the precipitation of
phosphorus compounds through the
addition of iron or aluminum salts.
 Nitrogen compounds including ammonia
can also be removed by chemical
processes.