Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Principles of Secondary Treatment
Principles of Secondary Treatment
Principles of Secondary Treatment
Process
During this program, you will learn:
COD/BOD/TOC concept and measurement
Terminology for secondary treatment
Purpose and types of secondary treatment
Activated Sludge Process
Basic WWT microbiology
Payoff
As a result of participating the secondary treatment course, you will:
Gain more knowledge in wastewater treatment
Understand the principle of secondary treatment, especially Activated
Sludge Process
COD, BOD&TOC
Concept and
Measurement
Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)
COD is a measure of the oxygen equivalent of the organic matter
content of a sample that is susceptible to oxidation by a strong
chemical oxidant.
In-soluble
Soluble
Biodegradable
Non-biodegradable
COD Test
The COD test uses a strong chemical oxidant (potassium dichromate),
acid, and heat to oxidize organic carbon to carbon dioxide and water.
TOC = TC IC
TOC correlates very well with COD for a particular type of water.
Example:
COD = a*TOC + b
TOC Test
Analytical technologies utilized to measure TOC share the objective of
completely oxidizing the organic molecules to CO2,
measuring the resultant CO2 levels, and
expressing this response as carbon concentration.
For a given system there may be correlations among the three tests, but
not necessarily.
Supra Colloidal
Physical
Dissolved Colloidal Visible
Chemical
Silt Fine sand Coarse sand
Bacteria
Biological
Nutrients Organic debris
Viruses (food, human wastes)
Are consumed by
bacteria as food
Producing more
Solids Settle Out bacteria
15
Principle of Secondary Treatment
Organics in water
Bacteria eat
Bacteria multiply
Removal of
(insoluble)
bacteria
Basic Terminology
MLSS = Mixed Liquor Suspended Solids
The concentration of total suspended solids in the aeration basin.
MLVSS = Mixed Liquor Volatile Suspended Solids
The volatile portion of the mixed liquor and more closely approximates
the biological component.
F/M ratio = Food to Microorganism ratio
# kgBOD/day
# kg MLSS in basin
MCRT = Mean Solid Retention Time
# Solid in inventory
# solid lost (TSS + WASS)
SV30 = 30 min sludge settling volume
SV30(%) x 1000
MLSS (g/L)
DO = Dissolved Oxygen
Good settling
Poor settling, but clear supernatant
Good settling, but sludge rises in clarifier
Poor settling, with cloudy supernatant
Good settling, with small ash like particles floating
on clarifier
Good settling, but pin or straggler floc in
supernatant
SVI Calculation
settled solids, ml/l (after 30 min)
SVI =
MLSS (g/L)
influent Q
Q Q+R
effluent
RAS
WAS
Sludge Age and Wasting Rate
The average time the sludge is in the system is called: MCRT = Mean Cell
Residence Time or Sludge Age or Sludge Retention Time (SRT)
Controls the Sludge Quality, Settling and effluent quality
The solids lost each day should equal the solids generated by biological
reproduction
Aerobic
DO > 0.5 ppm
Bacteria use oxygen to convert COD to CO2 + H2O + New Biomass
Very common worldwide
Oxygen transfer is critical
Anaerobic Treatment
Anaerobic:
COD CO2 + CH4 + Biomass
Absence of oxygen
Produces energy (methane)
Low biomass production
Granular sludge; easy settling
Small reactor volume & footprint
Anaerobic Treatment Equipment
UASB
Aerobic Treatment
Aerobic: Sections for COD(removal) and Ammonia oxidation
Section with added oxygen (diffused air)
Biomass removes here includes the bulk of COD and:
Biomass converts (oxidize) Ammonia into Nitrate/Nitrite(NO3 / NO2)
- Known as NITRIFICATION
- This biochemical step uses high amounts of oxygen
- pH decreases significantly during nitrification: acid is bio- chemically produced!
Nitrified wastewater/biomass mixture is recycled to Anoxic tank in A/O system
Aerobic Treatment
N2 NO2-,
NO3-
If SRT is too long, oxygen deficient conditions can be developed in the clarifier,
and some phosphorous can be released before the sludge is removed.
If SRT is too short, the settling rate is slow.
Activated Sludge
Process
What Can Activated Sludge Do?
Poly-
New Cells Storage saccharides
H 2O
Cell CO2
Absorbed Organics
Cell Slime
Membrane layer
NH3-H, PO4
O2
Soluble Organics
NH3, PO4
Organic Carbon + O2 New Cells + CO2 + H2O
Aerobic Bacteria
How it Works COD Degradation
For bacteria to make new bacteria, they need to have the chemical
building blocks available.
Aerobic bacteria get their carbon from the organic waste that are in
the wastewater. Thus bacteria make new population by using the
pollutant molecule as a cell building block.
3-
How it Works Nitrogenous Waste Removal
3-
How it Works Fine Solids Removal
During aeration absorption, flocculation, and oxidation of the organic matter take
place. The mixed liquor is settled in the secondary clarifier, and sludge is returned at
a rate of approximately 25-100% of the influent flow rate.
Variations of Activated Sludge Process
Advantages:
Very good removal efficiency
Require limited space (HRT in 3 to 24 hour range)
Reliable operator control capability
Can handle shock loads
Can handle high loaded waste streams
Excellent solids removal capability
Disadvantages:
Requires highly trained operators
Requires substantial monitoring
Energy cost (aeration)
Microbiology
What is inside the sludge?
54
Microorganisms in Biological Treatment
Viable bacteria - 10 - 15 %
Nonviable bacteria Floc forming bacteria
Filamentous bacteria
Dead cell matter
Exocellular material (polysaccharides)
Inorganic material
Higher life forms Indicator organisms
Two Basic Types of Bacteria
In absence of turbulence
bacteria stick together to form
flocs which are heavy enough to
settle (depends on age etc.)
Causes of filamentous
bacteria overgrowth
Low DO
Low pH (<6.5)
F/M ratios
Nutrient Deficiency (P or N)
Septic wastewater/sulfides
60
Free swimming Bacteria
Positive aspects:
Degrade BOD
provide food source for
higher life forms
Negative aspects:
Cause TSS problems
Can increase demand for
polymer
Higher Life Forms
Higher Life Forms: Indicator Organisms
65
Stalked Ciliates
Digononta Class
Monogononta Class
Worms
Higher Life Forms - Indicator Organisms
None 0
Few 1-5
Some 6-9
Common 10-49
Amoebae Flagellates Free Swimming Stalked Ciliates Rotifers Worms
Ciliates
Abundant Greater than 50
Organisms
10 Fields at 100X
Abundant (>5 per field)
Common (1-5 per field)
Some ( >5 ) x
Few (1-5) x x x
None x x
THANK YOU!
&