Module: 5: Wastewater Management

 Sources and characteristics of wastewater

 Primary wastewater treatment

 Secondary wastewater treatment

 Sludge treatment alternatives

 Industrial wastewater treatment

 Zero Liquid Discharge

 Wastewater disposal methods.

Constituents of wastewater
 Constituents of wastewater
 Domestic wastewater is composed of
 human body wastes (faeces and urine) together with the water used for
flushing toilets.
 sullage, which is the wastewater resulting from personal washing, laundry,
food preparation and the cleaning of kitchen utensils.
 It contains large floating and suspended solids (such as faeces, rags, plastic
containers, maize cobs), smaller suspended solids (such as partially
disintegrated faeces, paper, vegetable peel) and very small solids in colloidal
suspension, as well as microorganism.
 Fresh wastewater is a grey turbid liquid that has an earthy but
inoffensive odour. In warm climates wastewater can soon lose its content of
dissolved oxygen and so become ‘stale’ or ‘septic’. Septic wastewater has an
offensive odour, usually of hydrogen sulphide.
Characterization of domestic wastewater

The characteristic of sewage can be classified

as:
 Physical characteristics
 Chemical characteristics
 Biological characteristics
 Physical characteristics
Temperature: In general, under Indian condition the temperature of the raw sewage
was observed to be between 15° to 35°C at various places in different seasons.
pH: Generally the pH of raw sewage is in the range 5.5 to 8.0.
Color and Odors: Fresh domestic sewage has a slightly soapy and cloudy appearance
depending upon its concentration. As time passes the sewage becomes stale,
darkening in color with a pronounced smell due to microbial activity.
Turbidity: It is caused due to the suspended matter and colloidal matter.
Solids: Sewage contains only about 0.1 percent solids, the rest being water, still the
nuisance caused by the solids cannot be overlooked, as these solids are highly
putrescible and therefore need proper disposal.
The sewage solids may be classified into
a)dissolved solids,
b)suspended solids and
c)volatile suspended solids.
 Chemical characteristics
Nitrogen: The principal nitrogen compounds in domestic sewage are proteins, amines, amino
acids, and urea. Ammonia nitrogen in sewage results from the bacterial decomposition of these
organic constituents. Generally nitrogen content in the untreated sewage is observed to be in the
range of 20 to 50 mg/L measured as TKN.

Phosphorous: Phosphorus is contributing to domestic sewage from food residues containing

phosphorus and their breakdown products and from detergents. The concentration of PO 4 in raw
sewage is generally observed in the range of 5 to 10 mg/L.

Chloride: The daily contribution of chlorides averages to about 8 gm per person. Based on an
average sewage flow of 150 LPCD, this would result in the chloride content of sewage being 50
mg/L higher than that of the water supplied. The chloride concentration in excess than the water
supplied can be used as an index of the strength of the sewage.

Organic Material: The organic matter in wastewater typically consists of protein (40 to 60%),
carbohydrates (25 to 50%), and oil and fats (8 to 12%). A large variety of microorganisms (that
may be present in the sewage or in the receiving water body) interact with the organic material by
using it as an energy or material source.

Toxic Metals and Compounds: Some heavy metals and compounds such as chromium,
copper, cyanide, which are toxic may find their way into municipal sewage through industrial
discharges.
 Biological characteristics
Sewage contains large quantity of bacteria which come from
excremental matter. All the bacteria present in the sewage are not
harmful. The majority of these are harmless – indeed some are
beneficial – but an important minority is able to cause human
disease. Apart from bacteria innumerous number of other living
organism like algae, fungi, viruses, protozoa are also present in sewage.
a) Bacteria
b) Algae
c) Fungi
d) Protozoa
e) Viruses
Some harmful biological characteristics in
water

 Bacteria: Escherichia Coli (causes Gastroenteritis/Diarrhea),

Salmonella typhi (causes Typhoid), Shigella (causes Bacillary
dysentery), Vibrio Cholera (causes Cholera).

 Algae: Some algae may form toxic algal bloom

 Protozoa: Cryptosporiduim porvum (causes Diarrhea), Giardia
Lambia (causes mild to severe diahhrea, nausea, indigestion),
Entamoeba histolytica (causes prolonged diarrhea with bleeding)

 Viruses: Enteroviruses (polio, echo, and coxsackie),

Norwalk viruses, hepatitis A virus.
Measurement of Solids
 Definitions of solids in wastewater
Term Description
Total solids (TS) The residue remaining after wastewater sample has been evaporated
and dried at a specified temperature (103-105°C)
Total Suspended Portion of TS remained on a filter (Whatman GF/C or equivalent of
Solids (TSS) pore size 1.5 μm)) measured after being dried at a specified
temperature (105°C)
Total Dissolved The solid that pass through the filter and are then evaporated and
Solids (TDS) dried at a specified temperature.
Total VolatileThose solids that can be volatilized and burned off when the TS are
Solids (TVS) ignited (500 ± 50°C)
Total Fixed Solids The residue that remains after TS are ignited (500 ± 50°C)
(TFS)
Volatile Suspended Those solids that can be volatilized and burned off when the TSS are
Solids (VSS) ignited (500 ± 50°C)

Settleable Solids Suspended solids, expressed as mm per liter, that will settle out of
suspension within a specified time interval.
The following test results were obtained for a wastewater sample taken at
a headwork to a wastewater treatment plant. All of the tests were
performed using a sample size of 50 ml. Determine the concentration of
total solids, total dissolved solids, total volatile solids, suspended solids,
and volatile suspended solids. The samples used in the solids analysed
were all evaporated, dried, or ignited to constant weight.
Total mass of evaporated dish = 53.5433 gm
Mass of evaporating dish plus residue after evaporation at 105°C =
53.5794 gm
Mass of evaporation dish plus residue after ignition at 550°C = 53.5625
gm
Tare mass of Whatman GF/C filter after drying at 105°C = 1.5433 gm
Tare mass of Whatman GF/C filter and residue after drying at 105°C =
1.5554 gm
Mass of Whatman GF/C filter and residue after ignition at 550°C = 1.5476
g