• Water treatment and waste water treatment

Water Treatment Wastewater Treatment

Water treatment plants purify Wastewater treatment plant is
groundwater, surface water, and for clean, grey, and
rainwater. Their goal is to blackwater that needs a high level
disinfect water for redistribution of sanitation to make it safe for
to storage tanks or people reuse
• Arguments for and against using treated wastewater
for drinking
Arguments for Approval Arguments against
Approval
Increases water availability Public perception
Promotes sustainable water Risk of contamination
management
Uses advanced treatment Uncertain long-term health
methods effects
Potential cost savings Ethical considerations
Religious considerations

• Aims of water quality testing

▪ Ensure water safety
▪ Identify problems
▪ Adopt precautionary measures
▪ Raise awareness
▪ Determine the effectiveness of water treatment technologies
▪ Choose the appropriate water source
▪ Influence policies to supply safe water
• Parameters of analyzing the water quality
▪ Physical Parameter
1. Temperature (10-25 °C)
2. Color
3. Taste & Oduor (TON should be greater than 3)
4. Turbidity
➢ measures how much particles are suspended in water, causing it to lose
its transparency
➢ measured in NTU or FTU
➢ The instrument used for measuring it is called nephelometer, colorimeter
or turbidimeter
5. Conductivity
➢ measure of water’s ability to conduct an electric current
➢ measured in (mS - µS - CF - ppm)
➢ The instrument used for measuring it is called Conductivity meter

▪ Chemical Parameter
1. Total solids
2. Chlorides
3. Hardness
4. pH (6.5 to 7.5)
5. Alkalinity (The capacity of water accept H+)
6. Acidity (The capacity of water to accept OH-)
7. Nitrogen and its components
8. Metals and chemical substances (Iron - Manganese - Fluoride)
9. Dissolved gases
▪ Biological Parameter
1. Presence-Absence (P-A) (Simplest method)
2. Most Probable Number (MPN) (Tells the number of bacteria)
3. Membrane Filtration (Most accurate method)
• Water Treatment Systems
▪ Coagulation plants

▪ Softening plants

▪ Limited treatment plants

• Pre-Treatment Processes
▪ Screening
Screening is crucial to remove suspended materials like debris,
weeds, and solids from raw water before further treatment.
Various types of screens are available based on wastewater
characteristics and requirements
▪ Trash racks
▪ bar screens
▪ Grit Chamber
• Primary Treatment Processes
▪ Coagulation
➢ Aids in removing turbidity, color, and bacteria
▪ Mixing and Flocculation
➢ Help in forming larger particles for subsequent removal
➢ Rapid mixing
➢ Up-flow Solids Contact Units
▪ Softening
➢ Removing the dissolved calcium and magnesium salts that
cause hardness in water
▪ Sedimentation
➢ Process used to remove suspended particles from water,
particularly surface water with high turbidity
➢ Weirs
❖ Used at the outlet of sedimentation tanks to reduce
turbulence and provide a large area for water flow,
minimizing velocity near the outlet zone
❖ Weir arrangements can be rectangular or circular
 ➢ Particle-settling velocities vary by particle type, which are
broadly categorized into three classes:
❖ Type I Sedimentation
o Particles settle discretely at a constant velocity
without flocculating
❖ Type II Sedimentation
o Particles flocculate during sedimentation,
causing their size and settling velocity to
constantly change
❖ Type III (Zone) Sedimentation
o Particles are at high concentrations and settle
as a mass, forming distinct clear and sludge
zones

▪ Filtration
➢ involves passing water slowly through a bed of granular
media, such as sand, anthracite coal, or garnet
➢ Particles are trapped through various mechanisms
including interception, flocculation, straining, and
sedimentation
➢ Types of filtration
a) Granular media filters
1. Slow sand filters
2. Rapid sand filters
3. High-rate granular media filters
b) Membrane filters
1. Microfiltration
2. Ultrafiltration
3. Nanofiltration
c) Cake filtration (Diatomaceous earth)
▪ Disinfection
➢ Process of removing organisms and pathogens from the
water
➢ Suitability of the disinfect
1. Effective in killing the microorganisms
2. Cheap and available
3. Safe to handle and easy to apply
4. Not make water toxic
5. Ability to persist in residual state
➢ Factors affecting disinfection
1. Contact time (Increase)
2. Dose (Increase)
3. Temperature (Increase)
4. pH value (Decrease)
5. Kind and concentration of microorganisms in water
6. Turbidity of water
➢ Disinfection methods
A. Boiling
o Most effective
o Kill bacteria and viruses
o Used in domestic scale
B. Silver treatment
o Inhibiting effect on bacterial life
o Used in small scale
C. Ozonation
Advantages Limitations
low cost and safe Toxic
highly effective against Corrosive for metal and rubber
vegetative bacteria tubes
Effective against MRSA Limited activity against spores
and fungi
 D. UV irradiation
Advantages Disadvantages Compared to
chlorination and
ozonation
Very short contact time Expensive More effective
Effective in killing bacteria Need trained workers More economical
No chemical used No residual in networks

E. Potassium Permanganate
F. Chlorination
Advantages Disadvantages
Effective in killing bacteria Problems in taste and color
Cheap May lead to corrosion
Easy to store and use May react with organic matters
Residual in networks

G. Other halogens (Iodine and Bromine)

• Municipal Wastewater Treatment Systems
▪ Preliminary Treatment: Removes large objects, debris, rocks,
and grit
▪ Primary Treatment: Involves the physical separation of
suspended solids and organic matter
▪ Secondary Treatment: Focuses on the biological degradation of
organic matter and removal of dissolved and colloidal substances
▪ Tertiary Treatment: An advanced stage for removing additional
contaminants
▪ Sludge Treatment: Sludge generated during wastewater
treatment undergoes separate treatment processes
• Characteristics of Domestic Wastewater
▪ Physical Characteristics
1. Odor
o Fresh, aerobic domestic wastewater can smell like
kerosene or freshly turned earth
o Aged, septic sewage is more offensive
2. Color
o Fresh sewage is grey
o Septic sewage is black
3. Temperature (10-20 °C)
4. Solids Content
o 500g of solids are present in one cubic meter of
wastewater
o Half of these are dissolved solids, while the other
half are insoluble
o Half of the insoluble fraction are settleable solids and
the remaining are suspended solids
▪ Chemical Characteristics
1. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD₅)
2. Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)
3. Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN)
o Measures the total organic and ammonia nitrogen in
wastewater
4. Phosphorus
o Can exist as orthophosphates, polyphosphates, and
organic phosphate
• Characteristics of Industrial Wastewater
▪ Pollutants
➢ Conventional
➢ Nonconventional
➢ Priority pollutants
• Pretreatment
▪ Bar Racks
➢ Remove large debris (e.g., rags, logs)
➢ Mechanically cleaned; solids sent to landfill
▪ Grit Chambers
➢ Remove dense inert materials (e.g., sand, silt, glass)
➢ Types
i. Horizontal flow
ii. Aerated
iii. Vortex
▪ Equalization Basins
➢ Mitigate flow and load fluctuations.
➢ Benefits:
i. Reduction of peaking requirements
ii. Reduction of process overloads at existing plants
under some conditions
iii. Protection against toxic upsets
iv. Potential reduction of operational problems
v. Provides increasing benefits with increasing plant
complexity
vi. Placement of equalization following primary
treatment minimizes operation and maintenance
➢ Design considerations:
i. Type and magnitude of input variations
ii. Required volume
iii. Facility configuration
iv. Pumping/control mode
v. Type of construction
vi. Appurtenances
vii. cost
➢ Types:
i. In-line (continuous flow-through)

ii. Off-line (diverts excess flow)

• Primary Treatment
▪ Tanks can be circular or rectangular.
▪ Removes sludge by mechanical scrapers and pumps
▪ Removes settleable solids as raw sludge and floats like oil and
grease.
▪ Characterized by Type II settling (flocculant particles).
▪ Not governed by simple equations like Stokes’ Law.

• Secondary Treatment
▪ Key Ingredients for Conventional Aerobic Secondary Biological
Treatment
➢ Requires:
o Abundant microorganisms
o Effective contact between microbes and organic
matter
o Adequate oxygen supply
o Favorable environmental conditions (e.g.,
temperature, time)
➢ Common treatment methods:
❖ Activated sludge process
o A biological wastewater treatment method
where wastewater is mixed with
microorganisms and aerated to promote
decomposition
o Key Features:
Aeration tank: Mixes wastewater with
microorganisms under oxygenated conditions.
Secondary clarifier: Settles out the biomass
(called activated sludge).
 Return sludge: Part of the settled sludge is
recycled to maintain microbial population.
Sludge wasting: Excess sludge is removed
regularly for disposal.
Aeration time
Sludge return flow: ~20–30% of wastewater
flow.
o Design Elements:
Based on mass balance for biomass and
soluble BOD₅.
Parameters: Hydraulic detention time, mean
cell residence time, mixed-liquor volatile
suspended solids
❖ Trickling filter process
o An alternative biological treatment method.
o Structure:
Bed of coarse media (stones/plastic) where
wastewater trickles through.
Microorganisms form a biofilm on the media
surfaces and degrade organic matter.
o Challenges:
Not a true filtration process.
Can clog under high organic loading.
Limited oxygen availability due to poor air
circulation in packed media
❖ Lagoons (used for small wastewater flows with
available land)
 ▪ Disinfection
➢ Removes pathogens from treated wastewater.
➢ Chlorination:
o Most common method.
o Chlorine added via automated feeders; 15-
minute contact time.
➢ Concerns with Chlorination:
o Formation of carcinogenic byproducts.
o Destruction of beneficial microorganisms more than
pathogens.
o High toxicity to aquatic life (especially chloramines).
➢ Alternatives:
o Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection is mentioned as a safer
option.
• Tertiary Treatment
▪ Filtration: Granular and membrane methods remove remaining
suspended solids and BOD₅.
▪ Carbon adsorption: Removes persistent (refractory) organic
compounds.
▪ Phosphorus removal: Achieved using chemical and biological
techniques.
▪ Nitrogen control: Through nitrification-denitrification and
ammonia stripping.
• Sludge Treatment
▪ Importance: Due to large sludge volumes generated in
wastewater treatment.
▪ Sources: Includes grit, primary, secondary, and tertiary sludges.
 ▪ Processes:
➢ Thickening: Flotation, gravity methods.
➢ Stabilization: Aerobic and anaerobic digestion.
➢ Conditioning: Using chemicals or heat.
➢ Dewatering: Via drying beds, vacuum filters, belt filter
presses.
➢ Reduction: Through incineration.
▪ Sludge Disposal Methods:
➢ Land spreading: For nutrient recovery and land
reclamation.
➢ Landfilling: For controlled, planned burial.
➢ Dedicated land disposal: For high-volume sludge
applications.