EKC 278

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING & MANAGEMENT

WASTEWATER CHARACTERISTICS
NUR AYSHAH ROSLI
Wastewater
❑After water flows down the drain in the sink, it usually flows
through a series of sewage pipes that carry it, along with all the
other wastewater in your community, to a wastewater treatment
plant.
❑Wastewater is water that contains wastes from homes or industry.
❑At a wastewater treatment plant, water is filtered and treated to
make the water clean enough to return to a river or lake.
WASTEWATER CONSTITUENTS​
TYPICAL COMPOSITION OF UNTREATED
DOMESTIC WASTEWATER
CONSTITUENT Weak (mg/L Medium (m Strong (mg
) g/L) /L)

Alkalinity (as CaCO3) 50 100 200

BOD5 100 200 300
Chloride 30 50 100
COD (as O2) 250 500 1000
Suspended Solids (SS) 100 200 350
Settleable solids (in mL/L) 5 10 20
Total Dissolved Solids 200 500 1000
Total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) 20 40 80
Total organic carbon 75 150 300
Total phosphorous 5 10 20
CATEGORY OF WATER QUALITY​
DRINKING WATER ENVIRONMENT
Alkalinity Conductivity
Color Dissolve Oxygen
pH nitrate -N
Taste & Odor orthophosphate
Dissolved metals & salts & metaloids Chemical oxygen demand (COD)
Microorganism Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)
Dissolved organics Pesticides
Radon pH
Heavy metals Temperature
Pharmaceuticals Total suspended solid
Hormone analogs Turbidity
Biological Assessment
 Color
❑ Colour in water is measured in Hazen Units
(HU) or Platinum Cobalt Units (PCU).
❑ There are standards which provide
guidance on the safe level of color in
discharged waters.
❑Colored wastewater is extremely variable
in composition due to the amount of dyes
or chemicals used in processing and can
have a complex structure which is resilient
to light, biological or UV treatments.
Odor
Temperature
❑In general, the temperature of the
wastewater will be higher than that of the
water supply.
❑This is because of the addition of warm
water from households and heating within
the plumbing system of the structure.
❑Maximum temperature of the
wastewater entering a biological reactor
should be < 95°F (35°C).
Total Solids
Turbidity
❑Turbidity is the measure of relative clarity of a liquid.
❑It is an optical characteristic of water and is a measurement of the amount of
light that is scattered by material in the water when a light is shined through the
water sample.
❑The higher the intensity of scattered light, the higher the turbidity.
DISSOLVED OXYGEN (DO)​
❑DO is the amount of molecular oxygen dissolved in water
❑The amount of DO decrease with an increase in
temperature
❑DO affects aquatic life and also WW treatment process
that utilizes microorganisms, corrosion chemistry and other
chemical reactions.
THEORETICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (ThOD)​
❑Theoretical oxygen demand (ThOD) is the amount
of oxygen required to oxidize a known compound
completely to CO2 and H2O
❑It can also be used to calculate the amount of
oxygen required to oxidize the ammonia presence in
water
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND​ (BOD)
❑Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is the amount of oxygen required to
oxidize any organic matter present in the water biochemically​
❑High organic matter, higher amount of oxygen that microorganisms will
consume in oxidizing the waste to CO2 and H2O.
❑BOD analysis does not oxidize all organic matters in waste but only the
biochemically degradable during the standard 5-day time period.
❑BOD test is an indirect measurement of organic matter because we actually
measure the changes in DO concentration caused by MO as they degrade the
organic matters.
STANDARD BOD5 TEST​
•Temperature : 20oC
•Condition : Total Darkness (prevent algae from
producing oxygen)
•Excess of nutrients for microorganism
•Test Period : 5 days duration
•Inhibitor : ammonia inhibitor may required to
avoid oxygen depleted in ammonia reaction
CHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (COD)
❑COD is the amount of oxygen required to oxidized any organic
matter in the water sample by means of a strong chemical
oxidizing agent​
❑COD analysis is faster than BOD (1-2 hrs)​
❑COD value is higher than BOD value​
❑The test for COD is by mixing water sample with strong
chemical oxidizing agent (chromic acid).
OIL & GREASE​