Environmental Engineering

Unit-4
Waste Water Treatment
Prof. Anant Patel
Civil Eng. Dept.
GENERAL

• Why Sewage treatment is required ?

• Sewage disposal methods ?
• Sewage Quantity / Sewage Strength
SEWAGE TREATMENT PROCESSES

Preliminary Treatment

Primary Treatment

Secondary Treatment (Biological Treatment)

Final Treatment ( Tertiary Treatment)

GRIT CHAMBER DESIGN

• Ex-1 Determine Length and C/S area of Grit chamber for wastewater flow of 15000 cubic
meter per day. This chamber is to be designed for removing particle of 0.2 mm diameter,
specific gravity of 2.65. Settling velocity of these particles are found as 0.022 m/sec and
flow through velocity is 0.46 m/sec. Detention time is 58 seconds.

• Ans: Length-26.68m C/S Area-0.377 m2

GRIT CHAMBER DESIGN

• Ex-2 Determine Length and C/S area of Grit chamber for wastewater flow of 14000 cubic
meter per day. This chamber is to be designed for removing particle of 0.2 mm diameter,
specific gravity of 2.65. Settling velocity of these particles are found as 0.022 m/sec and
flow through velocity is 0.41 m/sec. Detention time is 50 seconds.

• Ans: Length-20.50m C/S Area-0.395 m2

SEDIMENTATION TANK

• Ex-3
• Design a circular settling tank unit for a primary treatment of sewage at 12 MLD. Assume
detention period is 2 hr and surface loading rate as 40,000 lt/sq.m/day.
• Ans: Dia= 19.6 m Depth of tank = 3.2 m
• Ex-4
• Design a suitable rectangular sedimentation tank for treating the sewage from a city,
provided with an assured public water supply system, with a max. daily demand of 12
MLD. Assume detention period as 2hr, flow velocity as 0.3 m/min, water depth as 3m.
• 80% water supplied become sewage.
SEPTIC TANK
 BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT

• It involves further treatment of effluent coming from the primary sedimentation tank.
• This treatment is generally accomplished through biological decomposition of organic
matter which can be carried out either under Aerobic or Anaerobic conditions.
• In these biological units, bacteria will decompose the fine organic matter to produce
clear effluent.
• These process helps in Changing the Unstable organic matter in to Stable
forms.
 SECONDARY TREATMENT

• All the secondary treatment process are designed to work on Aerobic

bacterial decomposition.
1. Chemical Precipitation & Coagulation
2. Filtration (Trickling Filters)
3. Activated Sludge Process
 FILTRATION

• In filtration process, aerobic bacteria present in sewage form a thin film around the
filter media (Sand & Gravel) particles and oxidise the organic matter.

• Types of filter used:

1. Contact beds (not used now a days)
2. Intermittent Sand filters (use for small plant)
3. Trickling filters (commonly used)
 TRICKLING FILTERS

• They are also knows as percolating filters or sprinkling filters

• Trickling filter is an artificial bed of stones over which waste water is distributed and
applied in drops, films or spray should which it trickles to the under drain.
• Trickling filter consists of tanks of coarser filtering media, over which the sewage is
allowed to sprinkle or trickle down, by means of spray nozzles or rotary distributors.
The percolating sewage is collected at the bottom of the tank through a well
designed under drainage system.
 TRICKLING FILTERS

• The decomposition of the organic matter and the resultant purification of the
sewage is brought about by a population of micro-organisms.
• Micro organisms and bacteria, which naturally present in sewage, get attached to the
filter media.
• Organic matter from the sewage influent is also adsorbed on the biological film,
which is formed by the micro-organisms around the filtering media particles.
TYPES OF TRICKLING FILTERS

• 1. Conventional trickling filter

• 2. High Rate trickling filter
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONVENTIONAL & HIGH-RATE
TRICKLING FILTERS
 TRICKLING FILTER & ASP

• In previous theory, when sewage is passed or trickles through a grit bed, the sewage is
purified.
• This purification is due to the actions of the aerobic bacteria which remain in the organisms
film.
• The main disadvantage of such filters is that they cannot treat the concentrated sewage
continuously and get clogged.
• Due to this difficulty long ago experiment were carried out for many years by blowing air in
the sewage and it was discovered that the floc having living organisms is formed.
• When the so-formed floc was examined by a microscope, it showed the presence
of variety of freely moving bacteria, protozoa, moulds and yeasts which were similar
to the organism film formed in the sewage filters.
• When the circulation of air was stopped, the flow settled.
• The floc if added in the another fresh sewage caused it digestion. This floc is called
the activated sludge. It was named, so because it is very active and can treat the
fresh sewage.
 ACTIVATED SLUDGE PROCESS

• The term active sludge is used to indicate the sludge which is obtained
by settling sewage in presence of abundant oxygen. The activated
sludge is biologically active and it contain a great number of aerobic
bacteria in it. Which have an unusual property to oxidize the organic
matter.
DESIGN CONSIDERATION IN ASP

• Aeration tank loadings includes following calculations:

1. Aeration period (HRT – Hydraulic retention time )

2. BOD Loading per unit volume of aeration tank (Volumetric loading)
3. Food to Micro-organisms ration (F/M Ratio)
4. Sludge Age
1.The Aeration Period or HRT:
t = V / Q in days = (V*24)/ Q in hrs
V = Volume of Aeration tank in m3
Q= Quantity of wastewater flow into the tank in m3/day

2.Volumetric BOD Loading or Organic Loading:

It is defined as the BOD5 load applied per unit volume of aeration tank.
Organic Loading = Mass of BOD Applied per day to aeration tank in gm / Vol. of Aeration
tank in m3
= (Q * Y0 )/ V
Q = Sewage flow in tank in m3 ,Yo =BOD5 in mg/L or gm/m3 of the influent sewage
3. Food to Micro-Organisms (F/M Ratio):
F/M = Daily BOD load applied to the Aerator system in gm / Total Microbial mass in
system in gm
• Yo = 5 day BOD in mg/L of the influent sewage flow of Q m3/day, then
• The BOD applied to the aeration system = Yo in mg/L or gm/m3 of the influent
sewage
• So, BOD load applied to the aeration system = F = Q * Yo in gm/day
• Total Microbial mass in system (M) = MLSS * V
• MLSS (Xt) = Mixed Liquor Suspended Solids in mg/L
• Low F/M ratio = Higher will be the BOD removal in the plant
So, F/M = (Q * Yo) / (V * Xt)
4. Sludge Age
It defined as the average time for which particles of suspended solids remain under aeration. It
thus indicate the residence time of biological solids in the system.
Aeration period may be vary from 3 hr to 30 hr.

Sludge Age = Mass of suspended solids in the system (M) / Mass of solids leaving the system
per day
Sludge Age = (V*MLSS)/ (Qw *XR)
Qw = Volume of wasted sludge per day
XR = Concentration of solids in the returned sludge in mg/L
 SLUDGE VOLUME INDEX (SVI)

• It is defined as the volume occupied in ml by one gm of solids in the mixed liquor after settling
for 30 min.
• Collect one lt of sample of mixed liquor. It is allowed for settle for 30 min in lab. Then Settled
sludge volume (Vob) in ml is recorded as represent sludge volume. (ml/Lit)
• After remixing the above settled solids, is further tested in lab for MLSS for measuring the
suspended solids in sewage. The concentration of suspended solids in the mixed liquor in mg/Lit
is (Xob).
• SVI = {(Vob in ml/L) / (Xob in mg/L)} * 1000 (mg/gm)
• SVI = {(Vob / Xob)} * 1000 (ml/gm)
EXAMPLE
 SLUDGE DIGESTION PROCESS

• Source of Sludge
• What is sludge digestion ?
• Sludge Digestion stage
• Factors affecting to SDP
• Sludge Digestion tank