Type of sewage treatment

 Aerobic
 Anaerobic

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Wastewater Treatment
• It is a process used to convert wastewater into an effluent that can be returned
to the water cycle with minimal environmental issues.
• Instead of disposing of treated wastewater it is reused for various purposes, which
is knows as water reclamation

• During the treatment process, pollutants are removed or broken down

• The infrastructure used for wastewater treatment is called a wastewater

treatment plant or a sewage treatment plant in the case of municipal
wastewater

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Aerobic Wastewater Treatment
• Aerobic processes use bacteria that require oxygen, so air is circulated throughout
the treatment tank

• These aerobic bacteria then break down the waste within the wastewater

• Some systems utilize a pretreatment stage prior to the main treatment to reduce
the chance of clogging the system

• Electricity is required for system operation

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Advantages
• Minimum odor
• Large BOD removal providing a good quality effluent
• High rate treatment with less land requirement
• Final discharge may contain DO which reduces the immediate OD on
receiving water

Disadvantages
• Energy cost of aeration at an adequate rate to maintain the DO levels needed
• Some organics cant be efficiently decomposed aerobically
• These biologically non-reactive components mainly composed of insoluble materials
can account for up to 70% COD
• Reduction in storage capacity of lagoons and/ or ponds

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Activated Sludge Process

• Process for treating sewage or industrial wastewaters using aeration and a

biological floc composed of bacteria and protozoa

• It is a biological process that can be used for oxidizing carbonaceous biological matter,
oxidizing nitrogenous matter (NH3 and N2), removing nutrients (N and P).

• Aeration methods - diffused aeration, surface aerators (cones) and pure

oxygen aeration

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Activated Sludge Process
• The sludge blanket is measured from the bottom of the clarifier
• The Sludge Volume Index is the volume of settled sludge in mm occupied by 1 gram of
dry sludge solids after 30 mins of settling in a 1000 ml graduated cylinder.

• The Mean Cell Residence Time is the total mass(kg) of mixed liquor suspended solids
(MLSS) in the aerator and clarifier divided by the mass flow rate (kg/day) of MLSS effluent

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Activated sludge process

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Process

• Pre-treatment stage to remove large solids and other undesirable substances

• Aeration stage, where aerobic bacteria digest biological wastes
• Settling stage allows undigested solids to settle, forms a sludge that must be periodically
removed from the system
• Disinfecting stage, where chlorine or similar disinfectant is mixed with water, to
produce an antiseptic output

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 Trickling Filter

• It Consists Of Rocks, Lava, Coke, Gravel, Slag,

Polyurethane Foam, Sphagnum Peat Moss,
Ceramic, Or Plastic Media Over Which
Sewage Flows Downward And Causes A
Layer Of Microbial Slime (Biofilm) To Grow,
Covering The Bed Of Media

• Aerobic Conditions Are Maintained By

Splashing, Diffusion, And Either By
Forced-air Flowing Through The Bed Or
Natural Convection Of Air If The Filter
Medium Is Porous
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 Sewage flow enters at a high level
•
and flows through the primary Process
settlement tank
• The supernatant from the tank flows into a
dosing device, often a tipping bucket which
delivers flow to the arms of the filter
• The flush of water flows through the arms and
exits through a series of holes pointing at an
angle downwards
• This propels the arms around distributing
the liquid evenly over the surface of the
filter media

• Both absorption and adsorption of organic

compounds and some, inorganic species by
the layer of microbial bio film

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Process
• The filter media is typically chosen to provide a very high surface area to volume

• Passage of the waste water over the media provides DO which the bio- film layer
requires for the biochemical oxidation of the organic compounds and releases CO2
gas, water and other oxidized end products

• As the bio film layer thickens, it eventually sloughs off into the liquid flow and
subsequently forms part of the secondary sludge

• Other filters utilizing higher-density media do not produce a sludge that must be
removed, but require forced air blowers and backwashing

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Rotating Biological Contactor
• RBC is a type of secondary treatment process
• The primary treatment process means removal of grit and sand through a screening
process, followed by settling

• This process involves allowing the wastewater to come in contact with a biological
medium in order to remove pollutants

• It consists of a series of closely spaced, parallel discs mounted on a rotating shaft

which is supported just above the surface of the waste water.

• Microorganisms grow on the surface of the discs where biological degradation

of the wastewater pollutants takes place

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Biofilter
• Biofiltration is a fixed–film process

• It is a bed of media on which microorganisms attach and grow to form a biological layer
called biofilm

• Biofiltration is used to treat wastewater from a wide range of sources, with varying
organic compositions and concentrations

• This process is versatile as it can be adapted to small flows (< 1 m3/d) as well as to
flows generated by a municipality (> 240 000 m3/d)

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ANAEROBIC WASTEWATER TREATMENT

• Anaerobic bacteria transform organic matter in the wastewater into biogas that contains
large amounts of methane gas and carbon dioxide

• Energy-efficient process

• Often used to treat industrial wastewater that contains high levels of organic matter in
warm temperatures

• It can be used as a pretreatment prior to aerobic municipal wastewater treatment

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Types Of Anaerobic Digester

The following is a partial list of digesters can be categorized according to two main criteria: by
whether the biomass is fixed to a surface or can mix freely with the reactor liquid and by the
organic loading

• Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket

• Expanded Granular Sludge Bed

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UPFLOW ANAEROBIC SLUDGE BLANKET

 It is a suspended-growth high-rate digester,

with its biomass clumped into granules that
will settle relatively easily and with typical
loading rates in the range 5-10 kg
COD/m3/d

 It is a methanogenic (methane-producing)
digester that evolved from the anaerobic
clarigester

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PROCESS
• Forming a blanket of granular sludge which suspends in the tank
• Wastewater flows upwards through the blanket and is processed (degraded) by the
anaerobic microorganisms
• The upward flow combined with the settling action of gravity suspends the blanket with the
aid of flocculants
• The blanket begins to reach maturity at around three months
• Eventually the aggregates form into dense compact biofilms referred to as "granules"
• Biogas with a high concentration of methane is produced as a by-product, and this may
be captured and used as an energy source, to generate electricity
• The heat produced as a by-product of electricity generation can be reused to heat the
digestion tanks
• UASB reactors are typically suited to dilute waste water streams

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Expanded Granular Sludge Bed
• It is a variant of the UASB concept
• Faster rate of upward-flow velocity is either
accomplished by utilizing tall reactors, or by
incorporating an effluent recycle for the
wastewater passing through the sludge bed
• The increased flux permits partial expansion
(fluidisation) of the granular sludge bed,
improving wastewater-sludge contact as well
as enhancing segregation of small inactive
suspended particle from the sludge bed
• It is appropriate for low strength soluble
wastewaters (< 1 - 2 g soluble COD/l) or for
wastewaters that contain inert or poorly
biodegradable suspended particles

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Anaerobic Filter
• The digestion tank contains a filter medium where anaerobic
microbial populations can establish themselves

• They produce a less solid residue than other types of filter

Presented by: Ar. Sujit Prabhu 18ARC43 - M2 20

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Up-flow Anaerobic Hybrid Reactors

• It involves the introduction of a new phase of attached- biomass into a regular

suspended-growth system

• It contains both suspended and attached-growth biomass which is developed by

introducing porous materials into a regular activated sludge unit

• It combines a UASB reactor with an anaerobic filter

• This combination is an advanced form enabling improved solid retention time in the
treatment of waste water

• This waste water can be built up in the secondary chamber and must be removed daily

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MERITS
• High degree of waste stabilization
• Low production of excess biological sludge that can be directly dried on sludge
drying bed without further treatment
• Low nutrition requirements
• No oxygen requirement
• Production of valuable by product, methane gas
• Organic loading is not limited
• Less land requirement
• Non feed conditions for few month do not affect adversely to the system
(can work seasonally)

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DISADVANTAGES

• Incomplete break-down of organic compounds

• No thorough nutrient removal

• Again later aerobic purification with nutrient removal is often needed

• Most efficient purification in the mesophilic range (30- 37°C) whereby the
influent must be heated in most cases

• Less robust system with regards to toxicity and inhibition

• Risk of odor problems

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Septic Tank

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Process  The septic tank is a buried, water-tight
container usually made of concrete,
brick masonry, fiberglass or
polyethylene.
 Its job is to hold the wastewater long
enough to allow solids to settle down
to the bottom (forming sludge), while
the oil and grease floats to the top (as
scum).
 Compartments and a T-shaped outlet
prevent the sludge and scum from
leaving the tank
 The liquid wastewater (effluent) then
exits the tank into the drain field.
 From there it percolates into the soil,
naturally removing harmful bacteria,
viruses, and nutrients.

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Soak Pit

 A closed circular or rectangular pit

through which effluent will be soaked
or absorbed into the surrounding soil.
 Soak pit may be either be filled with
stone aggregates or may be kept
empty.
 Soak pits are used for soils where
percolation rate is below 30 min/cm.
 They are not appropriate for areas that
are prone to flooding or have high
groundwater tables

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Advantages
 Ease in construction.
 No maintenance problem(except
periodical cleaning).
 Cost of construction is less.
 Effluent can be discharged without any
trouble.
 It is suitable for isolated community.
 Very little attention is needed.
Disadvantage
 If ST is not properly functioning, effluent will be
very foul & dark.
 Leakage of gases from top cover of ST may
cause bad smells & environmental pollution.
 Periodical cleaning, removal and disposalof
sludge remains a tedious problem.
 Size required is large for larger communities.
 Effluent contains high BOD.
 Problem of ground water contamination
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