Water Supply and Environmental

Engineering Dept.

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 Wastewater Engineering-I

WASTEWATER ENGINEERING-I
(WSEE-3122)
FOR WATER SUPPLY & ENV’NTAL ENG’G
STUDENTS
YEAR III, Semister II
INSTRUCTOR: Moltot G. (MSc)

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 Wastewater Engineering-I

UNIT 1
INTRODUCTION TO WASTEWATER
Outline:
 General overview
 Objectives of wastewater treatment
 Standards of treated effluents

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 Wastewater Engineering-I

 What is Wastewater?
 Part of the water supply of the community or the industry which has been used for
different purposes and has been mixed with either suspended or dissolved materials

 99.94% water and 0.06% dissolved or suspended materials

 The main objective of WWT is to remove most or all of this 0.06% of materials
 Wastewater is generated by five major sources:
 Human and animal wastes:
 Household wastes
 Industrial wastes,
 Storm water runoff
 Groundwater infiltration.

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 CLASSIFICATION OF WASTEWATER
Domestic or sanitary wastewater: wastewater discharged from
 Residences, commercial districts (e.g.,banks, restaurants, airport, retail stores,
shopping center, assembly halls, bar, office, hotel, office)
 Institutional facilities (e.g., schools, prison and hospitals, Rest homes)
 Recreational facilities (e.g. Cafeteria, resort apartment, country club, dormitory,
swimming pool, theater, roadside rest area)
Industrial wastewater: wastewater discharged from industries and associated processes
utilizing water(e.g., manufacturing and chemical processes)
 Water is used in industrial cooling, product washing and transport, product generation and
other purposes
 Industrial wastewater flows vary with the type and size of the industry, the degree of water
use and the on-site wastewater treatment methods used, if any.
 Characteristics of industrial WW vary from industry to industry
 Industrial WW with characteristics compatible with municipal WW is often discharged to
municipal sewers
 However, many industrial WW require pre-treatment to remove non-compatible substances
prior to discharge into municipal system 5
 cont…

 Infiltration and inflow (I/I): Water that enters the sewer system from
groundwater infiltration and storm water that enters from roof drains, foundation
drains and submerged manholes
 Infiltration: water entering a sewer system, including sewer service connections
and from the ground through foundation drains, defective pipes, pipe joints,
connections, or manhole walls infiltration does not include inflow
 Inflow: water discharged into a sewer system from roof downspouts, basement,
yard and area drains; cooling-water discharges; drains from springs and swampy
areas; manhole covers; cross connections from storm sewers and combined sewers;
catch basins; storm water; surface runoff; street wash water or drainage
 Storm water: runoff from rainfall and snow melt.

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 Type of wastewater from households

yellow water: Urine with or without flushing water 87% N; 50% P
brown water: faeces with flush water without urine 40% P; Biogas
grey water: other domestic wastewater without urine and faeces 47% COD
black water: faeces with flushing water and urine

 Why do we need to treat Wastewater?

 Untreated WW causes major damage to the environment and human health
 Wastewater should be treated in order to:
 Prevent groundwater pollution
 Prevent pollution of sea shore
 Reduce water pollution and the consequent damage to aquatic biota
 Prevent marine life
 Protect public health (reduce the transmission of excreta-related diseases)
 Reuse the treated effluent for agriculture, GW recharge, Industrial recycle
 Solving social problems caused by the accumulation of wastewater 7
 Wastewater Engineering-I
Cont…
 Protecting the Public Health
 WW contains pathogenic microorganisms lead to dangerous diseases of humans &
animals
 WW contains Hazardous matter such as heavy metals that are toxic
 WW produces odorous gases and bad smell
 Protecting the Environment
 Soluble organics deplete DO in surface water which results in fish kills, growth of
undesirable aquatic life and undesirable odors
 Certain organics can be biomagnified in the aquatic food chain
 Trace quantities of certain organics cause undesirable tastes and odors
 SSs decrease water clarity and hinder photosynthetic processes
 Color, turbidity, oils and floating materials influence water clarity and
photosynthetic processes and are aesthetically undesirable

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Composition of wastewater

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 Treatment Methods
oA WWT system is a combination of unit operations and unit processes designed to reduce
contaminants to an acceptable level
oThe major Stages/levels of WWT Methods:
 Preliminary Treatment: gross solids such as large objects, rags and grit are removed that
may damage equipment
 Primary Treatment: a physical operation, is used to remove floating and settleable
materials usually by sedimentation
 Secondary (biological process) Treatment: biological and chemical processes are used to
remove most of the organic matter
 Secondary with nutrient removal: Removal of biodegradable organics, suspended solids
and nutrients (N, P or both N and P)
 Tertiary Treatment: removal of residual suspended solids (after secondary treatment),
usually by granular medium filtration or microscreens. Disinfection and nutrient removal
are typically a part of tertiary treatment
 Advanced Treatment: used when additional removal of wastewater constituents is desired
due to their toxicity or for potential water reuse applications (e.g/, C adsorption, ion
exchange)
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cont…

In addition to the above mentioned classical basic processes, some new directions are
also evident in various specific areas of wastewater treatment, including:
 Modification in treatment operations, processes and concepts
 The changing nature of the wastewater to be treated
 The problem of industrial wastes
 Wastewater treatability studies
 Environmental and energy concerns
 Land treatment
 Small and individual onsite systems

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cont…

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INTRODUCTION TO WWT SYSTEMS

oThe goal of WWT is to produce clean effluents and protect public health, NRs and the Env’nt
oWWT facilities are designed to:
o Speed up the natural purification process
o Remove contaminants that might interfere with the natural processes
oWastewater contains varying quantities of :
 Fragments of debris
 Suspended and floating solids
 Organic matter
Conventional WWT systems are combinations of physical and biological (sometimes with
chemical) processes to remove impurities from WW
The conventional plant’s performance is usually measured by reductions in suspended matter,
BOD and bacteria
oWWT Methods based on processes involved in removal of impurities from WW:
 Physical Unit Operations: Methods of treatment in which the application of physical forces
predominate
Examples: Screening, Communition, Aeration, Mixing chemicals and gases with
wastewater, Flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, adsorption, gas stripping,
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membrane processes (e.g., Reverse osmosis, electrodialysis, ultrafiltration)
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Cont…

Chemical Unit Operations (Processes): treatment of contaminants is brought by

the addiction of chemicals or by chemical reactions
Examples: Chemical precipitation, Coagulation, Disinfection, Ion exchange
Biological Unit Processes:: treatment of contaminants is brought by biological
means (conversion contaminants with the help of microorganisms)
 Examples: aerobic processes, anaerobic processes, anoxic processes
oUnit operations and processes are grouped together to provide various levels of
treatment known as preliminary, primary, secondary (without or with nutrient
removal) and advanced (tertiary) treatment

Table 1.1 Important contaminants of concern in wastewater treatment (next slide)

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Cont…
Contaminants Reason for importance
Suspended solids can lead to the development of sludge deposits and
Suspended
anaerobic conditions when untreated wastewater is discharged in the aquatic
solids
environment
Composed principally of proteins, carbohydrates and fats, biodegradable
organics are measured most commonly in terms of BOD and COD. If
Biodegradable
discharged untreated to the environment, their biological stabilization can lead
organics
to the depletion of natural oxygen resources and to the development of septic
conditions
Communicable diseases can be transmitted by the pathogenic organisms in
Pathogens
wastewater
Both nitrogen and phosphorus, along with carbon, are essential nutrients for
growth. When discharged to the water these nutrients can lead to the growth
Nutrients
of undesirable aquatic life. When discharged in excessive amounts on land
they can also lead to the pollution of groundwater
Refractory These organics tend to resist conventional methods of wastewater treatment.
organics Typical examples include surfactants, phenols, and agricultural pesticides
Heavy metals are usually added to wastewater from commercial and industrial
Heavy metals
activities and may have to be removed if the wastewater is to be reused
Inorganic constituents such as calcium, sodium, and sulfate are added to the 15
Dissolved
original domestic water supply as a result of water use and may have to be
 Wastewater Engineering-I

 Biodegradable wastewater
 The stabilization of organic matter is accomplished biologically using a variety of
microorganisms.
 Based on bacterial relationship to oxygen (ability or inability to utilize oxygen as a
terminal electron acceptor in oxidation/reduction reactions), the microorganisms can
be: obligate aerobes
 obligate anaerobes
 facultative anaerobes
 denitrifiers
 The general term that describes all of the chemical activities performed by a
bacterial cell is metabolism which is divided into catabolism and anabolism.
 Catabolism includes all the biochemical processes by which a substrate (food) is
degraded to end products with the release of energy
 Anabolism includes all the biochemical processes by which the bacterium
synthesizes new cells.
 The type of electron acceptor available for catabolism determines the type of
decomposition used by a mixed culture of microorganisms. 16
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Cont…

 Decomposition of wastes and particularly of wastewater can be:

 aerobic decomposition
 anaerobic decomposition
 anoxic decomposition
 For aerobic decomposition the molecular oxygen (O2) must be present as the
terminal electron acceptor to proceed by aerobic oxidation.
 The chemical end-products of aerobic decomposition are primarily carbon dioxide
(CO2), water, and new cell material
 Anoxic decomposition occurs when some microorganisms will use nitrate (NO3-) as the
terminal electron acceptor in the absence of molecular oxygen. Oxidation by this route is
called denitrification.
 In order to achieve anaerobic decomposition, molecular oxygen and nitrate must not
be present as terminal electron acceptors.
 Sulfate (SO42-), carbon dioxide, and organic compounds that can be reduced serve
as terminal electron acceptors.
 The end-products of anaerobic decomposition are hydrogen sulfide (H2S),
mercaptans, methane (CH4), carbon dioxide, ammonia and water. 17
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Cont…

 Non-biodegradable wastewater
 The wastewater are rich in non-biodegradable matter
consisting of solids and liquids in suspended or
dissolved form, including various inorganic and
organic, many of which may be highly toxic.

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Objectives of WWT
 To introduce fundamentals of the wastewater treatment plants and their unit
operations and processes
 To provide basic design skills and knowledge on the wastewater treatment plants and
their unit operations and processes
 To experience a design project on a hypothetical wastewater treatment plant
 Identify kinds and sources of wastewater
 Describe hazards in wastewater
 Describe ways of treating wastewater
 Describe the products of wastewater treatment, including the production and use
of biosolids.

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Environmental standards are developed to ensure that the impacts of

treated wastewater discharges into ambient waters are acceptable.
Effluents from different establishments should be:
1. Free from materials and heat in quantities, concentrations or
combinations which are toxic or harmful to human, animal, aquatic
life.
2. Free from anything that will settle in receiving waters forming
putrescence or that will adversely affect aquatic life.
3. Free from floating debris, oil, scum and other materials;
4. Free from materials and heat that produce color, turbidity, taste or
odor in sufficient concentration to create a nuisance or adversely affect
aquatic life in receiving waters;
5. Free from nutrients in concentrations that create nuisance growths of
aquatic weeds or algae in the receiving waters.
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cont…

Specific Limits
Effluents discharged to receiving water bodies should achieved the following
minimum wastewater quality limits:
Parameter Effluent Limit
BOD5 20mg/l
TSS 30mg/l

Nitrates (as Nitrogen) 30mg/l

Phosphate 10mg/l
COD 100mg/l
pH 6–9

Faecal coliform 1000MPN/100ml

Residual chlorine 1.5mg/l

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 Flow Sheets for WWT Systems

• The term "flow sheet" is used to describe a particular combination of unit
operations and processes used to achieve a specific treatment objective.
• Is the combination preliminary treatment
primary
secondary
tertiary treatment system

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cont…

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 Water Supply and Environmental Engineering

Thank You for Listening

Safe water!

water is life! 24