Environmental

Engineering

Lecture # 4

Kabul University, Faculty of Engineering

Department of Civil Engineering
 Synopsis

 Wastewater Treatment Methods

 Physical Unit Operations
 Chemical Unit Operations
 Biological Unit Operations
 Wastewater Treatment Methods

 Characteristics of waste water:

Removal
 Waste-water quality may be
defined by its physical, chemical,
Treatment
and biological characteristics.

Disposal
 Physical Parameters
 Physical parameters include:

(i) color,
(ii) odor,
(iii) Temperature,
(iv) Turbidity,
(v) Insoluble contents such as solids, oil and grease,

Solids may be further subdivided into suspended and

dissolved solids as well as organic (volatile) and
inorganic (fixed) fractions.
 Chemical Parameters
 Chemical parameters:

(a) Those associated with the organic content of waste-water include:

(i) biochemical oxygen demand (BOD),
(ii) chemical oxygen demand (COD),
(iii) total organic carbon (TOC), and
(iv) total oxygen demand (TOD).

(b) Thos associated with the Inorganic chemical parameters include:

(v) salinity,
(vi) hardness,
(vii) pH,
(viii) Acidity
(ix) alkalinity,
(x) concentrations of ionized metals such as iron and manganese,
(xi) anionic entities such as chlorides, sulfates, sulfides, nitrates and phosphates.
 Biological Parameters
 Bacteriological parameters include:
(i) coli forms,
(ii) fecal coli forms,
(iii) specific pathogens, and
(iv) viruses.

Both constituents and concentrations vary with time

and local conditions.

Waste-water is classified as strong, medium or weak,

depending on its contaminant concentration.
Typical composition of untreated
domestic waste-water
 Wastewater Treatment
Methods
 Physical, chemical and biological methods
are used to remove contaminants from waste-
water. In order to achieve different levels of
contaminant removal, individual waste-water
treatment procedures are combined into a
variety of systems, classified as:
(i) primary,
(ii) secondary, and
(iii) tertiary waste-water treatment.
Waste-water treatment unit operations and
processes
 Physical unit operations

 Physical unit operations: In this, physical

forces are applied to remove contaminants.
 Screening

 The screening of waste-

water, removes pollutants
from the waste stream to
protect downstream
equipment from damage,
avoid interference with plant
operations and prevent
objectionable floating
material from entering the
primary settling tanks.
Screen types
 Comminution

 Comminutors are used to pulverize large floating

material in the waste flow. They are installed
where the handling of screenings would be
impractical.
 Their use reduces odors, flies and unsightliness.
A comminutor may have either rotating or
oscillating cutters. Rotating-cutter comminutors
either engage a separate stationary screen
alongside the cutters, or a combined screen and
cutter rotating together.
 Sedimentation

 Sedimentation, a fundamental and widely

used unit operation in waste-water treatment,
involves the gravitational settling of heavy
particles suspended in a mixture.

 Thisprocess is used for the removal of grit,

particulate matter in the primary settling
basin.
 Flotation
 Flotation is a unit operation used to remove solid or liquid particles
from a liquid phase by introducing a fine gas, usually air bubbles.
The gas bubbles either adhere to the liquid or are trapped in the
particle structure of the suspended solids, raising the buoyant force
of the combined particle and gas bubbles.

 Particles that have a higher density than the liquid can thus be
made to rise. In waste-water treatment, flotation is used mainly to
remove suspended matter and to concentrate biological sludge.

 The chief advantage of flotation over sedimentation is that very

small or light particles can be removed more completely and in a
shorter time. Once the particles have been floated to the surface,
they can be skimmed out.
 Flotation Methods

 Dissolved-air flotation
 Air flotation
 Vacuum flotation
 Chemical additives
 Granular Medium Filtration
 It is relatively recent practice, but widely used for the
supplemental removal of suspended solids from waste-water
effluents of biological and chemical treatment processes, in
addition to the removal of chemically precipitated phosphorus.

 The complete filtration operation comprises two phases: (i)

filtration and (ii) cleaning or backwashing.

 The waste-water to be filtered is passed through a filter bed

consisting of granular material (sand, anthracite and/or
garnet), with or without added chemicals. Within the filter
bed, suspended solids contained in the waste-water are
removed.
 The Granular Medium
Filteration
 The phenomena that occur during the filtration phase are
basically the same for all types of filters used for waste-
water filtration.

 The cleaning/backwashing phase differs, depending on

whether the filter operation is continuous or semi
continuous.

 In semi-continuous filtration, the filtering and cleaning

operations occur sequentially, whereas in continuous
filtration the filtering and cleaning operations occur
simultaneously.
 Chemical unit processes

 Chemical processes used in waste-water

treatment are designed to bring about some
form of change by means of chemical reactions.
They are always used in conjunction with
physical unit operations and biological
processes.
 This section discusses the main chemical unit
processes, including chemical precipitation,
adsorption, disinfection, dechlorination and
other applications.
 Means of
Disinfection
 Commonly used means of disinfection include
the following:
 Physical agents such as heat and light.
 Mechanical means such as screening,
sedimentation, filtration, and so on.
 Radiation, mainly gamma rays.
 Chemical agents including chlorine and its
compounds, bromine, iodine, ozone, phenol and
phenolic compounds, alcohols, heavy metals,
dyes, soaps and synthetic detergents,
 Dechlorination

 Dechlorinationis the removal of free and total

combined chlorine residue from chlorinated
wastewater effluent before its reuse or
discharge to receiving waters. Chlorine
compounds react with many organic compounds
in the effluent to produce undesired toxic
compounds that cause long-term adverse
impacts on the water environment and
potentially toxic effects on aquatic micro-
organisms.
 Biological Unit processes

 In these processes, micro-organisms,

particularly bacteria, convert the colloidal and
dissolved carbonaceous organic matter into
various gases which is then removed in
sedimentation tanks.
 Step by Step Water Treatment

 Sanitary sewers
 Bar screens
 Primary settling basins
 Aeration basins
 Final settling basins
 Primary sludge
 Digesters
 Subsurface injection
 Sanitary Sewers

 They carry wastewater from

homes and businesses to the
raw wastewater pumping
station at the treatment
plant. The wastewater flows
by gravity, rather than
pressurized pipe flow, in the
sanitary sewer pipes. Routine
cleaning and closed circuit
television inspection of
sanitary sewer lines helps
keep the sewer collection
system in good shape.
 Bar Screens
 They let water pass, but not
trash (such as rags, diapers,
etc.). There are two bar
screens located inside the
Raw Wastewater Pump
Building. The trash is
collected and properly
disposed off. The screened
wastewater is pumped to
the Primary Settling Basins.
 Primary Settling Basins

 They allow smaller particles to

settle from wastewater by
gravity. This primary
wastewater flows out to the
next stage of treatment.
Scrapers collect the solid
matter that remains (called
"primary sludge"). A surface
skimmer collects scum or
grease floating on top of the
basins.
 Aeration Basins
 They supply large amounts of air to the mixture of primary
wastewater and helpful bacteria and the other microorganisms
that consume the harmful organic matter. The growth of the
helpful microorganisms is speeded up by vigorous mixing of air
(aeration) with the concentrated microorganisms (activated sludge)
and the wastewater. Adequate oxygen is supplied to support the
biological process at a very active level. The ratio of food (organic
matter) to organisms to oxygen is continually monitored and
adjusted to meet daily variations in the wastewater.
 Final Settling Basins
 They allow the clumps of
biological mass (the
microorganisms) to settle
from the water by gravity.
90-95 % of this mixture,
called "activated sludge," is
returned to the aeration
basins to help maintain the
needed amount of
microorganisms. The
remaining 5-10 % is pumped
to the anaerobic digester.
 Primary sludge
 The "primary sludge"
from the Primary
Settling Basins is
pumped to the
Hydrocyclone Grit
Separator where it is
spun, thereby separating
the inorganic solids (grit)
from the lighter weight
organic solids. The grit is
disposed of in the city
landfill.
 Primary Sludge
 The primary sludge continues on to the gravity
Sludge Thickener where the solids are concentrated
and pumped to the anaerobic digesters. The liquid
overflow is returned to the pump station. Waste
Activated Sludge from the Final Settling Basins is
pumped to a Centrifuge for further solids
processing, then pumped to the anaerobic
digesters.
 Digesters
 Primary and activated sludges
are anaerobically digested
(decomposed by bacteria
without the presence of air) in
the
 two-stage digesters.
Stabilized sludge has little
odor and conforms to the EPA
requirements to further
reduce harmful
microorganisms
 Digesters
 Methane gas is produced by this anaerobic
digestion and is used as fuel for an engine-
generator providing 240 kW of electrical
power used in the treatment process. Waste
heat from the engine is recovered for heating
the treatment plant buildings and to provide
heating to improve the sludge digestion
process and produce more gas.
 Subsurface injection
 Aplication of the stabilized sludge
(biosolids) onto both City-owned and
private farmland by subsurface
injection (plowing). The biosolids are
utilized in an environmentally
acceptable manner as a beneficial and
valuable fertilizer and soil conditioner.
The biosolids applied to all sites are
monitored for nutrients, metals, other
compounds and fecal coliform bacteria.
Soil testing is performed at all sites
prior to biosolids application.
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QUESTIONS!