ADVANCED WATER AND

WASTEWATER
TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES
(7403-CHME-4)
INSTRUCTOR
Dr. Muhammad Arshad
Room No. B15-02-112
[email protected]

GRADING
The grade for the course will be determined by semester
work (70%) and one final exam (30%).

SEMESTER WORK GRADING

The semester grade will be determined by two midterms
(15% each), four quizzes (5% each), one presentation
(10%) and one assignment (10%).
Instructor’s Brief Info
➢Bachelors in Chemical Engineering (1989) from UET Lahore – Pakistan
➢MS in Environmental Engineering (2002) from George Washington
University at Washington DC - United States (with focus on addressing
Industrial, Water and Air Pollution).
➢Doctorate (D.Sc.) (2009) in Remote Sensing & GIS from George Mason
University at Fairfax, Virginia – United States (with focus on addressing
Industrial, Water and Air Pollution).
➢Worked as a Research Associate for United States Geological Survey
(USGS) at Reston, Virginia – United States
➢Worked as Research Professor at the Institute of Space Technology
(IST), Islamabad – Pakistan
Main purpose of the course?
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
• Appreciate how the nature of source waters, raw wastewaters, and
treatment objectives, influence the type, and sequence of unit processes.
• Understand the fundamental and scientific basis governing the design and
performance of the treatment technologies.
• Appreciate the advantages, disadvantages and limitations of the technologies
and new developments.
• Be able to define an appropriate process stream for the treatment of a typical
raw/source water and a wastewater, and the main secondary flows from the
treatment.
• Apply their knowledge of the principles of water and wastewater treatment
to the design of each unit process.
• Be familiar with the terminology applied to water and wastewater treatment
processes and the key design parameters.
Topic to be covered
• Sources of water and wastewater
• Surface and underground water. Rivers, lakes, oceans and aquifers.
Domestic, industrial, and agricultural wastewater. Physical, chemical,
and biological characteristics of water and wastewater
• Design of facilities for the treatment of surface water and
wastewater
• Screens, comminution, grit removal, primary sedimentation tanks,
chemical precipitation, activated sludge treatment, disinfection, and
other chemical applications.
• Advanced Wastewater Treatment
• Advanced Treatment technologies used for water and wastewater.
Topic to be covered (Contd-)
• Design of Facilities for the Treatment and Disposal of Sludge
• Sources, Characteristics, and quantities of sludge. Regulations for the
reuse and disposal of sludge.
• Wastewater Reclamation and Reuse
• Introduction, Reuse applications and reclamation technologies.
• Effluent Disposal
• Disposal into Lakes, Reservoirs, Rivers, Estuaries and Ocean.
 DRINKING WATER
TREATMENT
LECTURE 1
Prepared from books titled:
1. “Environmental Pollution & Control”.
2. “Water & Wastewater Treatment Technologies”.
Introduction
• Due to urbanization and industrialization, several pollutants and their
derivatives are discharged into the water environment.
• Several micropollutants and their derivatives released from source into
water and wastewater and are highly toxic to humans and the aquatic
environment including:
• Disinfection by-products (DBPs), endocrine disrupting compounds
(EDCs), pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs),
antibiotics, pesticides and heavy metals etc.
• Disinfection by-products (DBPs): These are also called trihalomethanes formed
when chlorine and bromine interacts with natural organic materials in water.
Examples are: Chlorinated drinking water and chlorine-treated swimming
pools.
• Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs): EDCs are chemicals or mixture of
chemicals that interfere with the way the body’s hormones work. Examples are
certain industrial chemicals, cosmetics, lotions, and anti-bacterial soaps.
Introduction
• To ensure the safety of drinking water supplies, a variety of physical,
chemical, and biological processes such as coagulation, flocculation,
sedimentation, filtration, disinfection, adsorption and biodegradation
are applied for the removal of the above stated chemicals.

• First we will discuss:

• Drinking water standards, followed by
• Concept of Eutrophication
• Use of conventional chemical water treatment using aluminum sulfate (alum)
followed by
• Use of natural coagulant called Moringa oleifera seeds as an alternative
technique for water treatment.
DRINKING WATER STANDARDS
• Drinking water standards are more important to public health than
stream standards.
• In the US, federal government passed the Safe Drinking Water Act in
1974.
• This law authorizes EPA to set minimum national drinking water
standards.
• Potable water standards were divided into three categories: physical,
bacteriological, and chemical.
• Physical standards include color, turbidity, and odor. These may not
itself be dangerous but could, if present in excessive amounts, drive
people to drink other, perhaps less safe, water.
DRINKING WATER STANDARDS (Contd-)
• Bacteriological standards are in terms of coliform, the indicator of pollution by
wastes from warm-blooded animals.
• Fecal Coliform and E. coli are bacteria whose presence indicates that the
water may be contaminated with human or animal wastes.
• Microbes in these wastes can cause short-term effects, such as diarrhea,
cramps, nausea, headaches, or other symptoms.
• Present EPA standards call for a concentration of coliform of less than 1/100
mL of water.
• Before modern water treatment plants were commonplace, the
bacteriological standard stood at 10 coliform/100 mL.
• Chemical standards include a long list of chemical contaminants, beginning
with arsenic and ending with zinc.
• Two classifications exist, the first a suggested limit, the latter a maximum
allowable limit.
DRINKING WATER STANDARDS (Contd-)
• Arsenic, for example, has a suggested limit of 0.01 mg/L.
• From experience, this concentration has been shown to be a safe
level even when ingested over an extended period.
• The maximum allowable arsenic level is 0.05 mg/L, which is still under
the toxic threshold but close enough to create public health concern.
• On the other hand, some chemicals such as chlorides have no
maximum allowable limits since at concentrations above the
suggested limits the water becomes unfit to drink on the basis of
taste or odor (Disputed).
Selected EPA Drinking Water Standards
Fresh and Marine Water Standards
Nutrients causes Eutrophication
• The nutrients of primary concern in water and wastewater are
carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus. Why?

• Because it causes Eutrophication in receiving water bodies (i.e.,

Rivers, streams lakes and oceans)
• Eutrophication means an aquatic or marine ecosystem with too
many nutrients
• Eutrophication causes accelerated growth of algae and higher forms
of plant life
Eutrophication
• Aquatic vegetation exists in two general forms:
• Benthic = rooted in the substrate, usually multicellular vegetation
• Planktonic = free-floating in the water column, often single celled algae

• In nutrient poor environments the benthic organisms have an

advantage over the planktonic. Because they are rooted and they can
draw nutrients from within the sediments.
Aquatic Vegetation
Eutrophication (Contd-)
• Planktonic algae can form a thick scum surface that blocks out light
to the benthic species.

• In addition, the algae blooms result in lots of dead algae. The dead
algae along with the dead fish and other organisms creates an
abundance of organic materials. This is broken down aerobically,
which depletes the dissolved oxygen in the water.

• Once the dissolved oxygen is reduced, very few organisms can

survive in this hypoxic environment.
Eutrophic
Pond
Pollution of Lakes
Cultural Eutrophication (caused by human activities)
Conventional Chemical Water Treatment
• Many aquifers and isolated surface waters are high in water quality
and may be pumped directly from the source to any number of end-
users including:

• Human consumption
• Irrigation
• Industrial processes, and
• Fire control

• For example water wells in Wadean (‫ )واديين‬is very good for drinking
and does not need any pretreatment.
Chemical Water Treatment (Contd-)
• However, clean water sources are not available everywhere

• In such places, the water supply must be adequately treated before

distribution

• Why? because impurities enter water as it moves through the

atmosphere, across the earth’s surface, and between soil particles in
the ground
Degree of Treatment
• The method and degree of water treatment are site specific

• The cleanest water is needed for human consumption and therefore

this requirement defines the degree of treatment

• Thus, we are focusing on treatment techniques that produce potable

water, water that is both safe and pleasing
Why a Chemical Water treatment Plant?
• It is designed to remove the followings from raw water:
• Odors
• Color
• Turbidity, as well as;
• Bacteria and other contaminants

• Raw water entering a treatment plant usually has significant turbidity

caused by colloidal clay, silt particles and organic matter.
Chemical Water Treatment Plant
• A typical water treatment plant (WTP) is diagramed below:
Water Treatment Plant
Colloidal and Silt Particles
• These particles carry an electrostatic charge that keeps them in
continual motion and prevents them from colliding and sticking
together

• Chemicals like alum (aluminum sulfate) are added to the water both
to neutralize the particles electrically and to aid in making them
“sticky” so that they can coalesce and form large particles called flocs
Water Treatment Plant (Contd-)

• This process is called coagulation and flocculation and is

represented in stages 1 and 2 in the diagram above
Coagulation and Flocculation
• Naturally occurring silt particles suspended in water are
difficult to remove because they are very small, often
colloidal in size and possess negative charges
Coagulation and Flocculation
• The charged layers surrounding the particles form an energy
barrier between the particles
• Hence, they are prevented from coming together to form
large particles that can more readily be settled out

Way Around?
Coagulation and Flocculation
• The removal of these particles by settling requires
reduction of this energy barrier i.e., neutralizing the
electric charges and by encouraging the particles to
collide with each other
• The charge neutralization is called coagulation, and
the building of large flocs from smaller particles is
called flocculation
• Usually trivalent cations are added to the water
Fig: A colloidal particle is negatively charged and attracts positive counter ions to its surface
Coagulation and Flocculation Chemistry
• The usual source of trivalent cations in water treatment is
called Alum (Aluminum sulfate)
• Simple Reaction:
Al+++ + 3OH- Al(OH)3

• These complexes are sticky and heavy and will greatly assist
in the clarification of the water in the settling tank
• This process is enhanced through the operation known as
flocculation
Settling
• When the flocs have been formed they must be
separated from the water
• This is done in the gravity settling tanks that allow the
heavier-than-water particles to settle to the bottom
• Settling tanks are designed to minimize turbulence and
allow the particle to fall to the bottom
• The two critical elements of a settling tank are the
entrance and exit configurations
Settling
• Following figure shows one type of entrance and exit
configuration used for distributing the flow entering
and leaving the water treatment settling tank
• The particles settling to the bottom is known as Alum
sludge
• Alum sludge in not very biodegradable and will not
decompose at the bottom of the tank
Settling Tank
Settling
• After sometime, the alum sludge accumulated at the bottom
of tank is removed through a mud valve at the bottom and is
wasted either into a sewer or to a sludge holding and drying
pond
• However, Sludges collected in wastewater treatment plants
can remain in the bottom of the settling tank for very little
time (few hours) before starting to produce odiferous gases
Filtration
• Soil particles helps in filtering groundwater, and this principle is
applied to water treatment

• In almost all cases, filtration is performed by a rapid sand filter

• As the sand filter removes the impurities, the sand grains get
dirty and must be cleaned

• The process of rapid sand filtration therefore involves two

operations – filtration and backwashing
Filtration
• Water from the settling basin enters the filter and seeps through
the sand and gravel bed, through a false floor, and out into a
clear well that stores the finished water

• Valves A and C are open during filtration

Schematic diagram of rapid sand filter
Filtration
The Cleaning Process is known as “Backwashing”

• It is done by reversing the flow of water through the filter

• The operator first shuts off the flow of water to the filter,
closing valves A and C, then opens valves D and B, which
allow wash water (clean water stored in an elevated tank
or pumped from the clear well) to enter below the filter
bed
Filtration
The Cleaning Process/“Backwashing” (Contd-)

• This rush of water forces the sand and gravel bed to

expand and jolts individual sand particles into motion,
rubbing against their neighbors
• The light colloidal material trapped within the filter is
released and escapes with the wash water
• After 10 to 30 minutes of washing, the wash water is
shut off and filtration is resumed
Filtration
The Dual Media Filter

• Filter beds can also be made from filtration media

other than sand
• Crushed coal, for example, is often used in
combination with sand to produce a dual media filter
• This dual media filter can achieve greater removal
efficiencies
Disinfection
• After filtration, the finished water is disinfected, often
with chlorine, step 5 in the figure
• Disinfection kills the remaining microorganisms in the
water, some of which may be pathogenic
• Chlorine gas from bottles or drums is fed in correct
proportions to the water to obtain a desired level of
chlorine in the finished water
Chlorine Disinfection Process
Chlorine Chemistry
• When chlorine comes in contact with the organic matter,
including microorganisms, it oxidizes this material and is in
turn itself reduced
• Chlorine gas is rapidly hydrolyzed in water to form
hypochlorous acid, by the reaction

Cl2 + H2O HOCl + H+ + Cl-

Chlorine Chemistry
• The hypochlorous acid itself ionizes further to the
hypochlorous ion

HOCl OCl- + H+

• At normal temperatures, the hydrolysis of chlorine is

complete in a matter of seconds
• Both HOCL and OCl- are effective disinfectants and
are called free available chlorine in water
Chlorine Chemistry
• Free available chlorine kills pathogenic bacteria and thus
disinfects the water
• Many water plant operators prefer to maintain a residual of
chlorine in the water
• Residual chlorine means, some chlorine remains in the
water once the chlorine reacts with the available organics
Chlorine Chemistry
• Why? because if organic matter like bacteria enters the
distribution system, there is sufficient chlorine present to
eliminate this potential health hazard
• Tasting chlorine in drinking water indicates that the water
has maintained its chlorine residual
Disadvantages of Chlorine disinfection
• Chlorine may have secondary effects
• It is thought that it combines with trace amounts of
organic compounds in the water to produce chlorinated
organic compounds that may be carcinogenic or have
other adverse health effects
• Some studies have shown that there is an association
between bladder and rectal cancer with drinking
chlorinated water
Disinfection by Ozonation
• Disinfection of water by bubbling ozone through water is
called ozonation
• It avoids the risk of side effects arising from chlorination
• Ozone disinfection does not leave a residual in the water
• A number of municipalities also add fluorine to drinking
water to prevent tooth decay in children and young
adults
Finished water
• From the clear well (step 6 in the figure) the water is
pumped to the distribution system, a closed network of
pipes, all under pressure.
• Users (People) tap into these pipes to obtain potable water.
• Similarly, commercial and industrial facilities use the clean
water for a variety of applications.
Sludge Disposal
• EPA has divided sludge disposal standards into three classifications:
• "A" Sludge - sludge that has been completely disinfected and has low metal
concentrations.
• "B" Sludge - sludge having been treated to a point where the level of
pathogens equals that typically achieved by 30 days of anaerobic digestion.
• "C" Sludge - sludge that has not been treated in any way.

• Actually, the regulations do not even mention "C" sludge because it is

illegal to dispose of such sludges in any manner.
• The most likely disposal of "A" sludge is land disposal.
• In fact, it is an excellent fertilizer and soil conditioner, and many
farms, golf courses, and other large land areas will gladly accept it.
Sludge Disposal (Contd-)
• The disposal of "B" sludges is more problematical.
• There are severe restrictions on the placement of such sludges on
pasture land or farm land. These lands should not be used for 30 days
after application.
• The most likely disposal method for "B" sludges is by dedicated land--
that is, land dedicated solely to sludge disposal.
• Sludge is either sprayed on or injected into the land and allowed to
assimilate into the soil.
• The process can be repeated forever, and the soil will get better and
better.
• Communities that have available land often find this method the
most economical for their sludge disposal.
Sludge Disposal (Contd-)
• Finally, it is possible to burn sludge in sludge incinerators and produce
an ash that obviously meets all of the "A" sludge pathogen standards.
• Since the metals are concentrated, however, there may be concern
about the disposal of this ash on a farmland.
• Typically, sludge incinerator residue is placed in solid waste landfills.
Reduction in Heavy Metals Concentrations in Sludge