CIV 264 - Lecture

Introduction to Environmental Engineering

Kodwo Beedu Keelson Msc Env Eng

MODULE CONTENTS

Microbial Processes

Reactor Hydraulics

Water Quality Parameters

Microbial Processs

CONTENTS

Role of microorganisms

Biological conversions in treatment plants

Types of Microorganisms

Bacteria (most important in wastewater treatment)

Algae

Fungi

Protozoa

Role of Microorganisms

The removal of carbonaceous BOD, nitrogen, phosphorous

and the stabilization of organic matter are accomplished
biologically by using a variety of microorganisms, mainly
bacteria

The microorganisms convert the colloidal and dissolved

carbonaceous organic matter into cells, more or less
degraded organic compounds, various minerals and gases

The cells in the suspended sludge can be removed from the

treated liquid by gravity settling, because cells have a
specific gravity greater than that of water.

Energy and Carbon Sources for Microorganisms

Energy and carbon are both required for the

maintenance of the cell and for the synthesis of new
cellular material

Autotrophic organisms use inorganic carbon as carbon

source it is called autotrophic.

Heterotrophic organisms use organic carbon as carbon

source

Conversions in Biological Treatment Plants

Biological growth

Hydrolysis

Decay

Biological Growth

Bacteria are only able to utilize very small and simply

built molecules directly for growth

Acetic acid, ethanol, methanol, propionic acid, glucose

and ammonium, nitrate etc.

Bigger molecules have to be hydrolyzed first

Hydrolysis

Conversion of large molecules into small, directly

degradable molecules

The hydrolysis process is a slow process compared to

the biological growth process

Therefore, the hydrolysis will often be the rate-limiting

step in biological wastewater processes

Hydrolysis can be described as a first order process

Decay

Slowly biodegradable material is released and then

hydrolyzed to soluble substrate

Soluble substrate is used by the viable biomass for

growth, yielding new cell material

Decay of biomass is described as a first order process

with respect to the biomass concentration

Reactors

MODULE CONTENTS

Reaction Kinetics

Reactor Vessels

Reaction Kinetics

Zero Order Reaction Kinetics

Rate of reaction is independent of proportional to

the concentration of reactant

Occurs in reactions in which a catalyst comes into

plays a part

dC/dt = K

First Order Reaction Kinetics

Rate of reaction is proportional to the concentration

dC/dt = -Kc

k is the first order reaction rate constant (1/T)

c is the concentration (M/L3)

Reactions in water and wastewater treatment plants

are assumed to follow first order reaction kinetics

Second Order Reaction Kinetics

Reactions involving two species A and B

dCA/dt = -KCACB

dCB/dt = -KCACB

k is the second order reaction rate constant (L3/T.M)

Reaction Vessels

What is a reactor vessel?

Any natural water body or artificial tank or enclosure

that receives and discharges water

Biogeochemical transformations occur in reactors

such that the effluent has characteristics different
from the influent

Types of Reactor

Fully mixed tank

Plug-flow

Reactor Variables

Influent concentration (Cin)

Reactor volume (V)

Effluent concentration (C)

Flow rate (Q)

Residence time (tR)

Reactor liquid depth (D)

Reaction rate constant (k)

Dispersion factor (d)

Volumetric loading rate (v)

Surface loading rate (s)

Characteristics of Fully-mixed Tanks

Influent is mixed instantly and completely

Uniform concentration in tank = Concentration in outflow

Treatment Efficiency in Fully-mixed Tanks

Characteristics of Plug-flow Tanks

Long tank of small cross-section

There is little or no longitudinal mixing of the influent
Uniform concentration in tank is different from outflow

Treatment Efficiency in Plug-flow Tanks

Non-ideal Flow in Reactors

Short circuiting - density currents, wind-driven currents

can cause flow to go directly from inlet to outlet, by
passing much of the tank volume

Dead zones Short circuiting - density corners, stagnant

zones, swirling eddies are parts of tank not contributing
much to treatment, shortening effective detention time

Water Quality Parameters

MODULE CONTENTS

Physical Water Quality Parameters

Chemical Water Quality Parameters

Biological Water Quality Parameters

What is Water Quality?

The term water quality relates to all the constituents

of water including both dissolved substances and
any other substances carried by the water.

Water pollution may be defined as the presence in

water of impurities in such quantities and of such
nature as to impair the use of the water for a stated
purpose.

The concentration of the pollutant is given by the

expression c = Mass/Volume. usually expressed in
mg/L

Significance of water quality parameters

All receiving waters can assimilate wastes to some extent

depending on the natural selfpurification capacity

Water quality problems or issues arise when the pollutant

loads exceed this capacity

Water quality parameters makes it possible to assess

extent of water pollution and hence water/wastewater
treatment methods

3 types of water quality parameters physical, chemical,

biological

Physical Water Quality Parameters

Physical Water Quality Parameters

Physical
parameters
define
those
characteristics of water that respond to the
senses of sight, touch, taste, or smell.

Parameters that fall into this category include

suspended solids, colour, taste, odour,
temperature, turbidity

Categories of solids
Type of Solid

Size (m)

Specific Gravity

Gross

> 6000

0.9 1.2

Grit

> 150

2.6

Suspended

0.45

1.4 2.0

Dissolved

< 0.45

Gross solids and Grit

Gross sanitary solids also known as aesthetic, refractory or

intractable solids include faecal matter, toilet paper, sanitary
pads and condoms.

The particular concern about gross solids these solids is

their aesthetic impact when they are discharged into water
bodies.

Grit which is also called sewer sediment includes sand,

gravel and any other solids that have higher specific gravity
than organic biodegradable solids.

The problems associated with grit include partial or total

blockage of pipes which leads to a loss of hydraulic capacity.

Suspended and Dissolved solids

The total suspended solids (TSS) content is the organic and

inorganic solid matter which is maintained in suspension, and
retained when the sample is filtered (0.45 m pore size)

The retained filter material that can be volatized and burned

off when ignited at 500C is classified as volatile

Volatile solids, VS, are presumed to be organic matter and

fixed solids, FS, is the inert residue

The ratio of VS to FS, typically, 70%, is used to characterize

wastewater with respect to the amount of organic matter
present

Total suspended solids

The total suspended solids (TSS) is used

to measure the quality of wastewater

Turbidity

Turbidity is a measure of the light-transmitting

properties of water

Turbidity is used to indicate water quality with

respect to colloidal and residual suspended
matter

Turbid water is aesthetically displeasing

Turbidity measurements are usually made on

clean water

Colour

Pure water is colourless, but water in nature is often

coloured by foreign substances.

Water whose colour is partly due to suspended matter is

said to have apparent color.

Colour contributed by dissolved solids that remain after

removal of suspended matter is known as true colour

True colour may be measured in potable water analysis

Taste and Odour

The terms taste and odour are themselves definitive of

this parameter.

Substances that produce an odour in water will almost

invariably impart a taste.

However, there are many mineral substances that

produce a taste but no odour.

Odours produced by organic substances may pose more

than a problem of simple aesthetics, since some of those
substances may be carcinogenic.

The taste and odour parameter is associated with potable

water

Temperature

Temperature is not typically used to evaluate directly

either potable water or wastewater.

It is, however, one of the most important parameters in

natural surface-water systems.

The temperature of surface waters governs to a large

extent the biological species present and their rates of
activity.

Temperature also has a pronounced effect on solubility

of gases.

Wastewater is typically warmer than the local water

supply because of warm wash water and industrial
contributions

Chemical Water Quality Parameters

Chemical Water Quality Parameters

The chemical parameters refer to those parameters

associated with the solvent capabilities of water

Parameters that fall into this category include total

dissolved solids, alkalinity, hardness, organics and
nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus)

Total dissolved solids

This refers to the material remaining in water after

filtration for suspended solids analysis (0.45 m pore
size)

Dissolved solids may be organic or inorganic in nature

Dissolved solids may produce odour, taste and colour in

water

TDS is used in analysis of water and wastewater

Alkalinity

Alkalinity is defined as the quantity of ions in water that

will react to neutralise hydrogen ions

Alkalinity is the measure of the ability of water to

neutralise acids

Main constituents of alkalinity include hydroxides (OH-),

carbonates (CO32-), bicarbonates (HCO3-)

Alkalinity is used in analysis of natural waters to

determine buffering capacity

Hardness

Hardness is defined as the concentration of multivalent

metallic cations in solution

Hardness is classified as carbonate hardness and

noncarbonated hardness, depending upon the anions
with which it associates

Carbonate hardness in the hardness that is equivalent

to the alkalinity

Noncarbonated hardness refers to any hardness in

excess of the carbonated hardness

Analysis for hardness is made on natural waters and on

waters intended for potable supplies and certain
industrial uses

Organics

Organic compounds in water are unstable and are

readily oxidized either biologically or chemically

End products include such as carbon dioxide, nitrates,

sulphates and water

Decomposition of organic matter in wastewater by

micro-organisms consumes dissolved oxygen (DO)

An indirect indication of the amount of organic material

in wastewater can be derived from the BOD,COD, TOC
tests

Tests for Organics

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) - indicates the amount

of oxygen required by aerobic micro-organisms to
decompose the organic matter in a sample of water in a
defined time period e.g. 5 days

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) measures the oxygen

equivalent of organic matter that can be oxidized by a string
oxidizing agent e.g. potassium dichromate

Total Organic Carbon (TOC) measures the total organic

content of a compound

Phosphorus

Phosphorus is an aquatic plant nutrient

Phosphorus can contribute to eutrophication and

reduction of dissolved oxygen

Phosphorus can be expressed as total, organic or

inorganic (ortho- and poly-) phosphorus

Most of the phosphorus occurring in wastewater is in

the inorganic form

Nitrogen

Nitrogen is also an aquatic plant nutrient that can

contribute to eutrophication and reduction of dissolved
oxygen

Nitrogen exists in four main forms: organic nitrogen,

ammonia nitrogen, nitrite and nitrate

The term total nitrogen is used to refer to the sum of all

these forms in a sample of wastewater

Organic and ammonia nitrogen make up most of the

total nitrogen in wastewater

Biological Water Quality Parameters

Biological Water Quality Parameters

This refers to those parameters associated with the absence

or presence of aquatic organisms in a given body of water

Aquatic organisms range in size and complexity from the

smallest single-cell microorganism to the largest fish

Based on their known tolerance for a given pollutant, certain

organisms can be used as indicators of the presence of
pollutants

A body of water hosting large numbers of species with well

balanced numbers of individuals (species-diversity) is
considered to be a healthy system

Pathogens present in aquatic environments are capable of

infecting, or transmitting diseases to humans

Types of Pathogens

Bacteria

Viruses

Protozoa

Helminths (worms)

Bacteria

Bacteria are single-celled

usually colorless

microorganisms,

Bacteria are the lowest form of life capable of

synthesizing protoplasm from the surrounding
environment

Gastrointestinal
disorders
are
common
symptoms of most diseases transmitted by
water-borne pathogenic bacteria.

Viruses

Viruses are the smallest biological structures known to

contain all the genetic information necessary for their own
production.

Viruses are only visible with aid of electronic microscopes

Viruses are obligate parasites that require a host in which

to live

Waterborne viral infections usually involve disorders of

the nervous system rather than of the gastrointestinal
tract

Protozoa

Protozoa are the lowest form of plant life

Protozoa are unicellular organisms more complex in

their functional activity than bacteria or viruses

Protozoa can be free-living or parasitic, pathogenic or

nonpathogenic

Protozoal infections are usually characterized by

gastrointestinal disorders of a milder form than those
associated with bacterial infections

Helminths

Helminth is a term used to describe parasitic worms

The life cycles of helminths, often involve two or

more animal hosts, one of which can be human

Water contamination may result from human or

animal waste that contains helminths.

Helminths pose hazards primarily to those persons

who come into direct contact with untreated water

Pathogen Indicators

Analysis of water of all the known pathogens would be

very time-consuming and expensive proposition

Tests for specific pathogens are usually made only

when there is a reason to suspect that those particular
organisms are present

At other times, the purity of water is checked using

indicator organisms

An indicator organism is one whose presence presumes

that contamination has occurred and suggests the
nature and extent of contaminant(s).

Microbiological indicator tests

Faecal coliforms (FC) - is an indicator of water

contamination with faecal matter. The common lead
indicator is the bacteria Escherichia coli or E. coli.

Total coliforms (TC) this encompasses faecal

coliforms as well as common soil microorganisms, and
is a broad indicator of possible water contamination.

Helminth analysis investigates the presence for worms

eggs in water.