ENVIRONMENTAL

ENGINEERING
Wastewater Treatment

Dr. Majid Majeed Akbar

Institute of Chemical Engineering & Technology,
University of the Punjab.

Wastewater Treatment
Purpose:

To manage water discharged from

homes, businesses, and industries
to reduce the threat of water
pollution.

Wastewater Treatment

Pre-treatment
Preliminary treatment
Primary treatment
Secondary treatment
Sludge (biosolids) disposal

Wastewater Treatment

Pre-treatment
- Occurs in business or industry
prior to discharge
- Prevention of toxic chemicals or
excess nutrients being discharged
in wastewater

Wastewater Treatment
Water discharged from homes, businesses,

and industry enters sanitary sewers

Water from rainwater on streets enters
storm water sewers
Combined sewers carry both sanitary
wastes and storm water

Wastewater Treatment
Water moves toward the

wastewater plant primarily by

gravity flow
Lift stations pump water from low
lying areas over hills

Wastewater Treatment

Wastewater Treatment
Preliminary Treatment

- removes large objects and nondegradable materials

- protects pumps and equipment from
damage
- bar screen and grit chamber

Wastewater Treatment
Bar Screen

- catches large
objects that have
gotten into sewer
system such as
bricks, bottles,
pieces of wood, etc.

Wastewater Treatment
Grit Chamber

- removes rocks, gravel, broken glass,

etc.
Mesh Screen
- removes diapers, combs, towels,
plastic bags, syringes, etc.

Wastewater Treatment

Preliminary Treatment

Wastewater Treatment
Measurement and sampling at the inlet

structure
- a flow meter continuously records the
volume of water entering the treatment
plant
- water samples are taken for determination
of suspended solids and B.O.D.

Wastewater Treatment
Suspended Solids the quantity of solid

materials floating in the water column

B.O.D. = Biochemical Oxygen Demand

- a measure of the amount of oxygen

required to aerobically decompose organic
matter in the water

Wastewater Treatment
Measurements of Suspended Solids and

B.O.D. indicate the effectiveness of

treatment processes

Both Suspended Solids and B.O.D.

decrease as water moves through the

wastewater treatment processes

Wastewater Treatment
Primary Treatment

-- a physical process
-- wastewater flow is slowed down and
suspended solids settle to the bottom by
gravity
-- the material that settles is called sludge
or biosolids

Wastewater Treatment
Primary Treatment

Wastewater Treatment
Primary Treatment

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Sludge from the primary sedimentation

tanks is pumped to the sludge

thickener.
- more settling occurs to concentrate
the sludge prior to disposal

Wastewater Treatment
Primary treatment reduces the suspended solids

and the B.O.D. of the wastewater.

From the primary treatment tanks water is
pumped to the trickling filter for secondary
treatment.
Secondary treatment will further reduce the
suspended solids and B.O.D. of the wastewater.

Wastewater Treatment
Secondary Treatment

Wastewater Treatment
Secondary Treatment

Secondary treatment is a biological process

Utilizes bacteria and algae to metabolize
organic matter in the wastewater

Wastewater Treatment
Secondary Treatment

the trickling filter does not filter the

water
water runs over a plastic media and
organisms clinging to the media remove
organic matter from the water

Wastewater Treatment
From secondary treatment on the trickling filter

water flows to the final clarifiers for further

removal of sludge.
The final clarifiers are another set of primary
sedimentation tanks.
From the final clarifiers the water is discharged
back to the River or source of clean water.

Wastewater Treatment
The final clarifiers

remove additional
sludge and further
reduce
suspended solids
and B.O.D.

Wastewater Treatment
Disposal of Sludge or Biosolids

-- the sludge undergoes lime

stabilization (pH is raised by addition of
lime) to kill potential pathogens
-- the stabilized sludge is land applied by
injection into agricultural fields

Screens
First unit operation encountered in wastewater treatment
plants.
A screen is a device with generally uniform openings that is used
to retain coarse solids.
Screens may be divided into coarse (.25-6) and fine (<.25)
screens. Microscreens (<50m) are also available can be
used to remove fine solids from treated effluents.
The material that is retained by the screens is know as
screenings. Screenings are typically hauled to a landfill or
may be buried on site or incinerated depending upon the
plant.

Screens

Screens
Coarse Screens (Bar Racks):
Coarse Screens (Bar Racks): Composed of parallel bars or rods
with openings of 0.25-6 and are used to protect pumps, valves
from clogging by large objects and rags.
Bar racks may be hand cleaned or mechanically cleaned. The
bars are mounted at some angle to the horizontal and the
allowable head loss is 6 or less.
Design of Bar Racks: Considerations should include: location
( upstream of grit chamber), approach velocity (1.25-3fps); clear
openings between bars or mesh size, headloss through the
screens (<6), screenings and controls.

Screens

Screens
Fine Screens
Fine Screens. Composed of wires, grating, wire mesh, or
perforated plates with openings.
The application range from primary treatment to the removal of
residual SS solids from biological treatment processes. Fine
screens may static, rotary drum or step type.
Design of Fine Screens: Fine screens would be preceded by
coarse screens. Use at least 2 sized to handle peak flow.
Head-loss across fine screens can be obtained from
manufacturers rating tables .

Screens
Microscreens
Composed of filter fabrics with openings of 10 35 m and are
fitted on a drum periphery.
The principle applications for microscreens are to remove
suspended solids from secondary effluent and from stabilizationpond effluent.
Typical suspended solids removal range from 10 to 80 percent
with an average of 55 percent.
Problems encountered with microscreens include incomplete
solids removal and inability to handle solids fluctuations.

Screens
Screenings:

Screenings are the material retained on bar racks and screens.

The quantity of screenings collected depends on the screen
openings.
Screenings retained on coarse screens: consists of debris
such as rocks, branches, leaves, paper, plastics, rags, etc.
Screenings retained on fine screens: include small rags, plastic
material of various types, razor blades, grit, food waste, etc. Fine
screenings must be handled and disposed of properly because it
contains fine matter and substantial grease and scum.

Grit Removal
Grit is sand, gravel, cinders, eggshells, seeds, coffee grounds and other
heavy solid material that is much heavier than the organics in
wastewater. Specific gravity (sg) of approximately 2.7 but can be as low
as 1.3 versus an organic sg of 1.
Grit is predominantly inert and relatively dry and highly variable in
composition ranging from 13-65% moisture with a volatile content of 156%. It has a bulk density of 100lb/ft3.
Normally, grit chambers are designed to remove all grit that will be
retained on a 0.21-mm-diameter (65 mesh) screen, and some chambers
are based on 0.15 mm-diameter (100 mesh).
Grit chambers are typically located after the bar racks but before the
primary sedimentation tanks.

Grit Chambers
The function of the grit chambers include:

Protect moving mechanical equipment from abrasion and wear.

reduce formation of heavy deposits in pipelines.
reduce the frequency of digester cleaning caused by excessive
accumulation of grit.

Types of grit chambers: horizontal flow, aerated or vortex.

Rectangular Horizontal-flow grit chamber:

Designed to maintain a velocity of 1.0 ft/s and provide sufficient time

for grit particles to settle.
Organic particles will be carried out at this velocity.
Designed to remove grit particles that will be retained on a 65-mesh
screen (0.21 mm dia).

Grit Chambers
Aerated Grit Chambers:

Because some organic matter is settled with grit, grit washing

is usually done in order to clean the grit before disposal

Aerated grit is used in order to eliminate the need for grit

washing.

The velocity governs the size of particle to be removed.

o if velocity is too great, grit will be carried out
o if velocity is too small, organic will be removed with grit
o velocity is controlled by quantity of air.

Grit Chambers

Vortex-type Grit Chambers, Two Types:

PISTA unit:

Wastewater enters and exits tangentially

Rotating turbine maintains constant flow velocity and

promotes separation of organics from grit.

Grit settles by gravity into the hopper.

Teacup unit:

Grit Chambers

Flow enters tangentially at the top of unit and a free vortex is

generated.

Effluent exits the center of the top of the unit from a rotating
cylinder.

Grit settles by gravity to the bottom

Organics including those separated by centrifugal forces exit with

effluent.