Water Treatment

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5/29/12

Dr. Ola Abdelwahab

Introduction
The method and degree of water treatment

are site specific.

Although water from public water systems is

used for other uses, such as industrial consumption and firefighting, the cleanest water that is needed is for human consumption and therefore this requirement defines the degree of treatment.
Thus, we focus on treatment techniques that

produce potable (drinkable) water, or water that is both safe and pleasing. 5/29/12 Dr. Ola Abdelwahab 22

Water Treatment Plant

A typical water treatment plant is designed to

remove odors, color, and turbidity as well as bacteria and other contaminants.

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FIGURE 1. water treatment plant Dr. Ola Abdelwahab

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Water Treatment Plant

Coagulation Flocculation Settling Sand filtration Chlorination Clear well storage Pumping to distribution system

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Coagulation and Flocculation

Raw water entering a treatment plant usually

has significant turbidity caused by colloidal clay and silt particles. that keeps them in continual motion and prevents them from colliding and sticking together.

These particles carry an electrostatic charge

Chemicals like Alum (aluminum sulfate) are

added to the water both to neutralize the particles electrically and to aid in making them "sticky" so that they can coalesce and 5/29/12 Dr. Ola Abdelwahab 55

Coagulation and Flocculation

The charge neutralization is called

coagulation, and the building of larger flocs from smaller particles is called flocculation. add trivalent cations to the water. These ions would bend up to the negatively charged particle and, because they possess a stronger charge, displace the monovalent cations.

One means of accomplishing this end is to

The effect of this would be to reduce the net

negative charge and thus lower the repulsive force seen in Figure 2. In this condition, the 66 5/29/12 Dr. Ola Abdelwahab

FIGURE 2. A colloidal particle is negatively charged and attracts positive counter ions to its surface. 5/29/12 Dr. Ola Abdelwahab 77

SETTLING
When the flocs have been formed they

must be separated from the water. This is invariably done in gravity-settling tanks that allow the heavier-than-water particles to settle to the bottom. turbulence and allow the particles to fall to the bottom.

Settling tanks are designed to minimize

tank are the entrance and exit configurations because this is where turbulence is created and where settling 5/29/12 Dr. Ola Abdelwahab 88 can be disturbed.

The two critical elements of a settling

FIGURE 2. Settling tank used in water treatment

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SETTLING
The particles settling to the bottom become

what is known as alum sludge.

Alum sludge is NOT very biodegradable and

will not decompose . After some time, usually several weeks, the accumulation of alum sludge at the bottom of the tank is such that it has to be removed.
Typically, the sludge exits through a mud

valve at the bottom and is wasted either into a sewer or to a sludge holding and drying pond. 5/29/12 Dr. Ola Abdelwahab 1010

FILTRATION
The movement of water into the ground and

through soil particles, which helps in filtering the groundwater, and this principle is applied to water treatment.
In almost all cases, filtration is performed by a

rapid sand filter.

As the sand filter removes the impurities, the

sand grains get dirty and must be cleaned. involves two operations:

The process of rapid sand filtration therefore 1. filtration and Ola Abdelwahab 5/29/12 Dr.
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FIGURE 3. Rapid sand filter

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Backwashing
The cleaning process is done by reversing the

flow of water through the filter.

The operator first shuts off the flow of water

to the filter, closing valves A and C, then opens valves D and B, which allow wash water (clean water stored) in an elevated tank or pumped from the clear well) to enter below the filter bed.

This rush of water forces the sand and gravel

bed to expand and pushes individual sand particles into motion, rubbing against their neighbors. Dr. Ola Abdelwahab 5/29/12 1313

DISINFECTION
chlorine (step 5 in Figure 1). some of which may be pathogenic.

After filtration, the finished water is disinfected, often with Disinfection kills the remaining microorganisms in the water, Chlorine gas from bottles or drums is fed in correct

proportions to the water to obtain a desired level of chlorine in the finished water.
When chlorine comes in contact with organic matter,

including microorganisms, Free available chlorine kills pathogenic bacteria and thus disinfects the water.
Many water plant operators prefer to maintain a residual of

chlorine in the water; that is, have some available chlorine left over once the chlorine has reacted with the currently available organics. Then, if organic matter like bacteria enters the distribution system, there is sufficient chlorine 5/29/12 Dr. Ola Abdelwahab 1414 present to eliminate this potential health hazard.

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Dr. Ola Abdelwahab 1515

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Wastewater Treatment
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Dr. Ola Abdelwahab

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WASTEWATER CHARACTERISTICS

Discharges into a sanitary sewerage system

consist of domestic wastewater (sewage), industrial discharge. and type of industry and the amount of treatment applied before discharge into sewers.

Industrial discharges vary widely with the size

In the United States, the trend has been to

mandate increasing pretreatment of wastewater in response to both regulations limiting discharges and the imposition 5/29/12 Dr. Ola sewer supplements. 1717 (burden) of local Abdelwahab

Characteristics of Domestic Wastewater

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Basic Criteria of Wastewater Disposal Systems

The following basic criteria should be satisfied in the design and operation of any wastewater disposal system: 1. prevention of microbiological, chemical, and physical pollution of water supplies and contamination of fish and shellfish intended for human consumption; 2. prevention of pollution of bathing and recreational (activity) areas; 3. prevention of unpleasant odors; 4. prevention of human wastes and toxic chemicals from coming into contact with 1919 5/29/12 Dr. Ola Abdelwahab

CENTRAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT

For any given wastewater in a specific

location, the degree and type of treatment are variables that require engineering decisions. capacity of the receiving water. DO sag curves can indicate how much BOD must be removed from wastewater so that the DO of the receiving water is not depressed too far. an effluent standard and dictates in large part the type of wastewater treatment required.
Dr. Ola Abdelwahab

Often the degree of treatment depends on the

The amount of BOD that must be removed is

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Effluent standards
"typical wastewater
The effluent from this wastewater treatment

must meet the following effluent standards:

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Types of Treatment Systems

1. Primary treatment
physical processes that remove non

homogeneous solids and homogenize the remaining effluent.

2. Secondary treatment
biological processes that remove most of the

biochemical demand for oxygen.

3. Tertiary treatment
physical, biological, and chemical processes

to remove nutrients like phosphorus and 5/29/12 Dr. Ola Abdelwahab inorganic pollutants, to deodorize and

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PRIMARY TREATMENT
Screening were the first step in
wastewater treatment because the most objectionable aspect of discharging raw sewage into watercourses is the floating material. A screen in a modern treatment plant removes materials that might damage equipment or hinder further treatment. In some older treatment plants screens are cleaned by hand, but mechanical cleaning equipment is used in almost all new plants. The Removal of grit or sand were the 5/29/12 Dr. Ola Abdelwahab 2323 second treatment step is from the wastewater.

PRIMARY TREATMENT
place in the channel where the flow is slowed enough to allow the dense grit to settle out. Sand is about 2.5 times denser than most organic solids and thus settles much faster. The objective of a grit chamber is to remove sand and grit without removing organic material. Organic material must be treated further in the plant, but the separated sand may be used as fill without additional treatment. 5/29/12 Dr. Ola Abdelwahab 2424
The most common grit chamber is a wide

PRIMARY TREATMENT
The settling tank that immediately follows

screening and grit removal is called the primary clarifier.

The solids that drop to the bottom of a

primary clarifier are removed as primary sludge.

Primary sludge generally has a powerfully

unpleasant odor, is full of pathogenic organisms, and is wet, difficult. It must

three characteristics that make its disposal

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Figure 1.Dr. Ola Abdelwahab Primary Treatment 5/29/12

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PRIMARY TREATMENT
The objective of primary treatment is the

removal of solids, although some BOD is removed as a consequence of the removal of decomposable solids. The wastewater described earlier might now have these characteristics:

A substantial fraction of the solids has been removed, as well as some BOD and a little P, as a consequence of the removal of raw sludge. After primary treatment the wastewater may Abdelwahabto secondary 5/29/12 Dr. Ola move on 2727

Secondary Treatment
Trickling filtration was a well-established

treatment system at the beginning of the twentieth century.

In 1914, a pilot plant was built for a different

system that bubbled air through free-floating aerobic microorganisms. A process which became known as the activated sludge system. The activated sludge process differs from trickling filtration in that the microorganisms are suspended in the liquid.
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Trickling Filter System

The trickling filter, shown in Figure 2, consists

of a filter bed of fist-sized rocks or corrugated plastic blocks over which the waste is trickled. A very active biological growth forms on the rocks, and these organisms obtain their food from the waste stream dripping through the rock bed. Air either is forced through the rocks or circulates automatically because of the difference between the air temperature in the bed and ambient temperatures. Trickling filtersOla Abdelwahab 5/29/12 Dr. use a rotating arm that 2929

FIGURE 2. Trickling filter

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Activated Sludge System

An activated sludge system, as shown in the

block diagram in Figure 3, includes a tank full of waste liquid from the primary clarifier and a mass of microorganisms. the necessary oxygen for survival of the aerobic organisms.

Air bubbled into this aeration tank provides

The microorganisms come in contact with

dissolved organic matter in the wastewater, adsorb this material, and ultimately decompose Dr. Ola Abdelwahab the organic material to CO2, H2O, 5/29/12 3131

FIGURE 3. Block diagram of an activated sludge system

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Activated Sludge System

When most of the organic material, that is,

food for the microorganisms, has been used up, the microorganisms are separated from the liquid in a settling tank, sometimes called a secondary or final clarifier. The microorganisms remaining in the settling tank have no food available, become hungry, and are thus activated, hence the term activated sludge. The clarified liquid escapes over a weir and may be discharged into the receiving water. The settled microorganisms, now called return 5/29/12 Dr. Ola Abdelwahab 3333 activated sludge, are pumped back to the

Water Characteristics after Secondary treatment

Secondary treatment of wastewater

usually includes a biological step, like activated sludge, that removes a substantial part of the BOD and the remaining solids.

The typical wastewater that we began

with now has the following approximate water quality:

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TERTIARY TREATMENT
Primary and secondary (biological) treatments

are a part of conventional wastewater treatment plants. are still significantly polluted.

However, secondary treatment plant effluents Some BOD and suspended solids remain, and

neither primary nor secondary treatment is effective in removing phosphorus and other nutrients or toxic substances.
A popular advanced treatment for BOD

removal, Nitrogen and phosphorus are applied 5/29/12 Dr. Ola Abdelwahab 3535 using the proper way in tertiary treatment

TERTIARY TREATMENT
1. Oxidation ponds can provide complete

treatment and a sufficiently large oxidation may be the only treatment step for a small waste flow. 2. When the rate of oxidation in a pond is too great and oxygen availability becomes limiting, the pond may be forcibly aerated by either diffusive or mechanical aerators. 3. Such ponds are called aerated lagoons and are widely used in treating industrial effluent. 4. BOD may also be removed by activated 5/29/12 Dr. Ola Abdelwahab 3636 carbon adsorption, which has the added

Activated Carbon Technique column is a completely An activated carbon

enclosed tube, which dirty water is pumped into at the bottom and clear water exits at the top. Microscopic crevices in the carbon catch and hold colloidal and smaller particles. As the carbon column becomes saturated, the pollutants must be removed from the carbon The carbon then reactivated, usually by heating it in the absence of oxygen. Reactivated or regenerated carbon is somewhat less efficient than using virgin 5/29/12 Dr. Ola Abdelwahab 3737 carbon,

DISINFECTION
EPA and state effluent rules require that

municipal wastewater treatment plant effluents be disinfected before they are discharged to receiving bodies of water.
Chlorine is commonly used for this purpose

and a chlorine contact chamber is constructed as the last unit operation in the treatment plant.

Typically 30 minutes of contact time is

required to kill microorganisms in the water with a chlorine residual often remaining in the 5/29/12 water. Dr. Ola Abdelwahab 3838

Complete Wastewater Treatment Plant

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FIGURE 8-9. Block diagram of a

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