Liquid waste

Dr Sharad Koirala
Community Medicine, GMC
 Liquid waste
• Any waste that has:
– Angle of repose <5 degrees above horizontal
– Becomes free flowing at 60 deg C or when it is
transported
– Is generally not capable of being picked up by a
spade or shovel
• Includes waste water and other liquids from
different sources
 Types, according to source
• Domestic/ Household
• Industrial
• Agricultural
• Healthcare institutional
 types, according to composition
• Sullage
• Sewage
 Sullage
• Also called Grey water
• Waste water without any faecal contamination
• Generated from houses, offices and other institutions
• Washing food, utensils, clothes; bath water; other
kitchen and household works; cleaning houses, parks,
roads; construction works
• May contain pathogenic micro organisms
• May pool and provide breeding place for arthropods
like housefly and mosquito
• Mixed sullage contains organic matter which readily
decomposes and emits foul smell
 Disposal of sullage
Sullage needs proper disposal; it can be
disposed by:
1. Watering the kitchen garden
2. Drainage into septic tank; there should be a
provision of water seal
3. Soakage pit
4. drainage system: open type or closed type;
separate or combined type
 Sewage
• Also called Black water
• Waste water with faecal contamination
• Human faeces is a source of many pathogenic
organisms
• Should be properly disposed to prevent the
public health and environmental hazards
 Sanitation barrier
• Human excreta (faeces) is a source of many diseases
• The disease agent in the faeces can enter new host
through different media: water, finger, flies, food and
soil
• The segregation of the faeces from reaching the
different media could stop the transmission of disease
• The segrigation could be done by instillation of a
barrier called the sanitation barrier
• A sanitation barrier could be:
– Sanitary latrine
– sewerage system
– sewage treatment plant
Sanitation barrier
 Disposal of human excreta
• Unsewered area
• Sewered area
 Excreta disposal in Unsewered areas
• Servicetype latrine
• Non-service type (sanitary latrine)
– Borehole latrine
– Dug well or Pit latrine
– Water-seal latrine
• Septic tank
• Aqua privy
• Chemical closet
• Latrines suitable for camps and temporary use
– Shallow trench latrine
– Deep trench latrine
– Pit latrines
 Excreta disposal in sewered areas
• water carriage system
• Sewage treatment
– Primary treatment
– Secondary treatment
– Other methods: sea outfall, river outfall, sewage
farming, oxidation ponds
 Service type latrine
• Not a sanitary method
• Night soil collected in buckets
• Carried in carts to the place of final disposal
• Disposed by burial or composting
 Sanitary latrine
• Excreta should not contaminate the surface or
ground water
• Excreta should not pollute the soil
• Excreta should not be accessible to vehicles of
transmission like flies, rodents and other
animals
• Excreta should not create nuisance due to
odour and unsightly appearance
 Borehole Latrine
• A circular hole with a squatting plate on top and a
suitable enclosure
• 30 to 40 cm diameter
• 4 to 8 m deep
• An instrument, “auger” is needed to dig the hole
• Lined with bamboo matting or pottery rings in
loose soil
• Anaerobic digestion
• Small capacity
 Dugwell Latrine
• Also called pit latrine
• Improvement over the borehole latrine, “auger”
is not required
• Circular hole of about 75 cm diameter
• 3 to 3.5 m deep (reduced to 1.5 to 2 m in sandy
soil)
• Pottery rings can be used to prevent caving in of
the soil
• Concrete squatting plate and a super structure
• Anaerobic digestion
 Waterseal Latrine
• Squatting plate is fitted with a bent pipe called
“trap” which traps some water
• Does not allow flies an access to the night soil
• Prevents foul odour
• The water seal is the sanitation barrier
 Features
• Location
• Squatting plate
• Pan
• Trap
• Connecting pipe
• Dug well or pit
• Superstructure
• Maintainence
 Septic tank
• A water-tight tank
• Household sewage is admitted for treatment
• Adequacy of water supply
• Individual houses, institutions or small group
of dwellings
 Features
• Location
• Capacity
• Length, breadth and depth
• Liquid depth
• Air space
• Bottom surface
• Inlet and outlet pipe
• Cover with a manhole
• Retention period
• Arrangements outside the outlet
 Working of a septic tank
• Formation of sludge and scum
• Anaerobic digestion
• Percolation of the effluent
• Aerobic digestion
 Maintainence of a septic tank
• Seeding of a new septic tank
• Use of soap and detergents should be avoided
• Intermittent Desludging
 Aqua privy
• Similar to septic tank
• A rectangular or circular chamber filled with
water
• An inlet pipe coming from the latrine
• Anaerobic digestion
• A vent pipe is provided for the escape of gases
 Chemical closets
• A tank with an active disinfectant fluid and a
water dye
• Water should not be used
• Only toilet paper can be thrown into the
closet
 Shallow trench latrine
• Useful in shorter camps, disasters
• Separate trenches should be provided for men
and women
• The excavated earth should be piled by the side
of the trench and the users instructed to cover
faeces with earth each time after using the latrine
• Appropriate super structure for privacy
• Supply of soap and water
• The trench covered with earth when the level
comes 30 cm below the surface
 Deep trench latrine
• Suitable for camps of longer duration
• Seat or squatting plates installed
• A super structure should be constructed
• Supply of soap and water should be ensured
 Water Carriage system
• Also called Sewerage system
• Method of choice for cities and towns where
the population density is high
• Collection and transport of liquid waste by a
network of underground pipes to the ultimate
place of disposal
 Types of Sewerage system
• Combined sewer system
• Separate sewer system
 Elements of Sewerage system
• Household sanitary fittings
• House drains
• Street sewers
• Sewer appurtenances: manholes, traps etc
 Primary treatment of sewage
• Anaerobic digestion
• Steps:
– Screening
– Grit chamber
– Primary sedimentation
 Secondary treatment of sewage
• Aerobic digestion
• Methods:
– Trickling filter method
– Activated sludge process
• Secondary sedimentation
 Final disposal
• Disposal of sludge:
– Sludge digestion
– Sea disposal
– Land disposal/ composting
• Disposal of effluent:
– Disposal by dilution
– Disposal on land
Other methods of sewage disposal
• Sea outfall
• River outfall
• Land treatment/ sewage farming
• Oxidation ponds
• Oxidation ditches
 Importance of liquid waste disposal
• Different environment health hazards may occur
if the waste is not properly disposed
• Unsightlyness and bad odour
• Breeding of insects
• Soil pollution
• Water pollution: surface and ground water
• Contamination of food
• Increase in the incidence of waterborne diseases
 Quality of liquid waste
• Physical characteristics
• Chemical characteristics
• Biological characteristics
 Physical characteristics
• Solids carried along in the flow
– Settleable
– Suspended
• Temperature: generally warmer than ambient
temperature
• Odour
• pH
 Chemical characteristics
• Organic matter: coming from animals and
plants; measured by Biochemical Oxygen
Demand and Chemical Oxygen Demand
• Inorganic matter: chemicals like ammonia,
chlorides, phosphates, metal compounds etc;
inert solids like sand, silt
 Biological characteristics
• Bacteria and other micro organisms
originating from human waste and other
sources
• Many of the bacteria are beneficial and help in
biodegradation
• Some of the bacteria and other micro
organisms are pathogenic
• The contamination of safe water and food
must be prevented
 Biochemical Oxygen Demand
• Amount of oxygen consumed by the micro
organisms in a sample of water to oxidize the
organic matter present in the sample
• Usually measured at 20 deg C for 5 days
• Ranges from 1 mg/l (for natural water) to 300
mg/l or more (for domestic sewage)
 Chemical Oxygen Demand
• Amount of oxygen required to oxidize the
organic matter present in a sample with the
help of a chemical oxidizer
• Useful in wastes with toxic matter
 Quality of liquid waste
quality strong weak
BOD >300mg/l <300mg/l
COD >300mg/l <300mg/l
suspended solid >500mg/l <500mg/l
Guideline values in liquid waste (World
Bank group)
• pH: 6-9
• BOD: 30 mg/l
• COD: 125 mg/l
• Total nitrogen: 10 mg/l
• Total phosphorus: 2 mg/l
• Oil and grease: 10 mg/l
• Total suspended solid: 50 mg/l
• Total coliform bacteria: 0
 Self study
• Management of liquid waste in Nepal
• Health hazards of improper disposal of liquid
waste
Thank you.