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Wastewater Engineering and Sanitation

Kandahar University

Engineering Faculty

Water and Environmental Engineering Department

Chapter # 10 Preliminary Treatment of Sewage

2 Contents
 Introduction
 Screening Screens
 Type of Screens
1. Coarse Screen
2. Medium Screen
3. Fine Screen
 Comminution comminutors
 Grit Removal grit Chambers
 Skimming Tanks or grease removal
 Flow Equalization
 Example
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Introduction

As indicated in the previous chapter preliminary Treatment consists of

removing from sewage.

1. Floating materials: (Dead animals, Wood pieces, Tree branches, Paper, Rags,
Other large materials).

2. Heavy Settle able inorganic Solids: (Grit, Sand, Fragments of masonry, etc.

3. Fats: (Oils, Grease).

4 Introduction continue

The preliminary treatment of sewage involves only the use of physical unit
operations such as:
 Screening (screens)

 Commination (comminatory)

 Grit removal ( or accomplished by grit chamber)

 Skimming (or accomplished by detritus tanks)

 Floatation, etc (or accomplished by skimming tanks)

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Screening Screen

Screening is the first operation carried out at sewage treatment plant.

A screen is a device with openings generally of uniform size (circular,

rectangular), it consist of parallel or flats.

• Rods or wires

• wire mesh

• grating

• perforated plate
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Type of Screens
1.Coarse screen
2.Medium screen
3.Fine screen
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Type of Screens continue
8 Type of Screens continue
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Type of Screens continue

3. Fine Screen: Are made of perforated plates ,wire cloth closely spaced
bars with clear opening < 20mm.
Its used for industrial sewage to remove materials which produce scum or
foam on the top of tank. Its not suitable for sewage because of clogging.

Screen are also classified according to their condition as fixed screens,

movable screens, and moving screens.
 Type of Screens continue
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1. Fixed screens are permanently set in a position. Fixed screen are the
most commonly used type of screens.

2. Movable screen are stationary during their operation period. But they
can be lifted up physical and removed from their position for the
purpose of cleaning.

3. Moving screen are moving during their operating period and they are
automatically cleaned while they are in motion.
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Design consideration for screen and screen channels

1. Velocity of flow: The velocity of flow through a screen varies materially and affects its
operation. The lower velocity of flow through the screen, the greater is the amount of
screening that would be removed from sewage.

2. Loss of Head: As sewage flows through a screen certain amount of loss of head takes
place, the loss of head through bar screens is a function of
• bar shape
• velocity head of the flow between the bar
13 Design consideration for screen and screen channels
 Design consideration for screen and screen channels continue
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Bar type
1. sharp edge rectangular 2.42
2. Rectangular with semicircular upstream face 1.83
3. Circular 1.79
4.Rectangular with semicircular upstream and downstream faces 1.67
15 Design consideration for screen and screen channels continue

Common orifice
formula
16 Design consideration for screen and screen channels continue

3. Materials: Bar screens are made of steel bars or plats or rode fixed to
a suitable steel frame.

The minimum cross section of bars or plats or rode used for screens is
10mm x 50mm and are placed with large dimension parallel to the
direction of flow.
 Design consideration for screen and screen channels continue
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Other Consideration:
 the top of screen is provided at least 300mm above the highest flow level of sewage.

 In case of large sewage treatment plants maximum screen width of 1.5 m.

 The submerged area of the screen should be (25-35%)

 The length of screen should be sufficient

L = (d+ 0.3) cos Ѳ +1.73(w +ds)

L=length of screen (in m)
D= depth of flow in screen
Ѳ= angle of inclination of screen with horizontal,
W=width of screen channel
ds=diameter of incoming sewer
 Design consideration for screen and screen channels continue
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Summary
 Minimum bar size = 10mm×50mm
 Clear spacing between bars = 15mm to 75mm
 Slope horizontal
1. Manually cleaned =45° to 60°
2. Mechanically cleaned =60° to90°
 Minimum approach velocity = 0.3m/s
 Velocity of flow through screen opening =0.6 to1.2m/s
 Allowable head loss = 0.15m
 COMMINUTION _ COMMINUTORS
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Comminution may be defined as the process of cutting the large size solids
present in sewage into smaller pieces of more or less uniform size of
about 6mm.

Comminution also carried out to improve the downstream operation,

processes and to eliminate problems caused by different size of solids that
present in sewage.
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Grit Removal – Grit Chambers

Sewage contains
considerable amount of
grit which consists of
sand, silt, gravel, ash,
cinders, clinkers, egg
shells, bone chips and
several other inert
inorganic materials.
 Grit Removal – Grit Chambers continue
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Both quality and quantity of grit varies depending upon

• Type of street surfaces come across

• Relative areas served

• Climatic conditions
• Type of inlets and catch basins
• Amount of storm water diverted from combined sewers at overflow points.
• Sewer grades.
• Construction and condition of sewer system
• Ground and groundwater characteristics
• Industrial wastes
• Social habits
 Type of Grit Chamber
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1. Horizontal grit chamber

2. Aerated grit chamber

1. Horizontal flow grit chamber: In horizontal flow grit chambers sewage

flows through the grit chamber in horizontal direction.
Horizontal flow grit chambers are designed to maintain a velocity of flow
of sewage in the range of 15 to30 cm/s at peak flow.
 Type of Grit Chamber
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2. Aerated grit chamber: An

aerated grit chamber is a special

form of grit chamber consisting

of a standard spiral flow aeration

tank provided with air-diffusion

tubes placed on one side of the

tank, 0.6 to 1m from the bottom.

 Design of grit chambers
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Various consideration involved in the design of grit chamber are:

1. Settling velocity: the grit particles are treated as separate particles settling
with their own settling velocities. The settling velocities overseen by the
size and specific gravity of the grit particles to be separated and the
velocity of the sewage.

2. Surface overflow rate: the surface overflow rate is defined as the ratio of
flow Q of sewage to be treated in an ideal grit chamber or settling tank to the

plan area A of the chamber or tank Vo = Q/A

 Design of grit chambers cont…
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3. Detention period: the detention period for the grit chamber may vary from 45 to
90 seconds.

4. Bottom scour and flow through velocity: the scouring process itself determines
the optimum velocity of the flow through the grit chamber.

5. Velocity control devices: Numerous devices have been designed in an attempt to

maintain a horizontal velocity of flow through grit chambers in the recommended
range of 15 to 30 cm/sec.
 Design of grit chambers cont…
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6. Number of unit: in case of manually cleaned grit chambers at least two

unit should be provided.

7. Dimensions of each unit: the surface area required for each unit is work
out on the basis of the surface overflow rate chosen as discussed earlier.

8. Loss of head: Loss of head in a grit chamber varies from 0.06 to 0.6 m
depending on the device adopted for velocity control.
28 Grease Removal

 Plenty of greasy materials such as fats, oils, grease, waxes, soaps, fatty
acids and etc. may be present in sewage obtained from kitchens of
restaurants and houses, motor garages, oil refineries, etc.

 The removal of greasy materials from sewage is essential to avoid the

formation of unsightly and odorous scum on the surface of receiving
waters in case the untreated sewage is to be disposed of by dilution.
29 Skimming Tanks

Skimming tank is
rectangular or
circular tank in
which as sewage
flow air is blown by
an aerating device
through the bottom
of the tank.
30 Skimming Tanks Con…

 The collected greasy material are removed either manually or with the
help of some mechanical equipment .

 Sewage enters the skimming tank at one end, flows longitudinally and
leaves the tank through a narrow inclined channel at other end. The
channel is so narrow that the suspended heavier particles are carried up its
slope and out of the tank.
31 Skimming Tanks Con…
32 Skimming Tanks Con…

The detention period for skimming tanks in the range of 1 to 15 minutes

and the value commonly assumed in the design is 3 to 5 minutes.
33 Skimming Tanks Con…

The aeration of sewage in skimming tanks has following

advantages.
• It skims greasy matter out of sewage and raises it to the surface.

• It freshens sewage by supplying some dissolved oxygen.

• Objectionable gases such as H2S, etc. are driven out .

• It causes flocculation of colloidal matter.

34 Vacuum Floatation

Greasy materials can also be removed from sewage by subjecting the

aerated sewage to a vacuum pressure of about 250 mm of mercury for 10
to 15 minutes in a evacuator, this process is as vacuum floatation .
35 Vacuum Floatation continue

 The vacuum pressure causes the air bubbles , present in the aerated
sewage to expand and move upward through the sewage to the surface

 The rising air bubbles lift greasy and other lighter materials to the
surface where they are removed through skimming troughs.
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Examples 1
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Solution continue
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Solution continue
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Solution continue
40 Thanks from your attention
&
Question