CHAPTER - 4

Secondary (Biological) and Tertiary

Wastewater Treatment

9/20/2023

By G/wahid 1
 Biological wastewater treatment

 Purpose:
 Introduce contact with bacteria (cells) which feed on
the organic materials in the wastewater
Principle:
Simple bacteria (cells) eat the organic material
present in the wastewater
A key factor is the operation of any biological
system is an adequate supply of oxygen
The microorganisms are responsible for
degradation of the organic matter

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 2
 Types of Biological Process for Wastewater
Treatment

•Aerobic (require oxygen for their

metabolism)
•Anaerobic (grow in absence of oxygen)
•Facultative (can multiply either in
absence or presence of oxygen)
•Anoxic (changes nitrate in to nitrogen gas
in the absence of oxygen, denitrification)

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 3
 Biological Growth in wastewater treatment

• Fixed/attached growth: (e.g • Suspended growth: (e.g

Trickling filter) Activated Sludge)
• Biomass layered, attached • Biomass well-mixed in
• Frequently relies on draft for suspension
aeration • High energy aeration
• Process control is empirically systems
based on organic and hydraulic • Process control follows
loading from modeling
• Biomass not typically recycled • Biomass recycled
• Low solids production, hard to • High solids production,
settle (low floc formers) easy to settle
• Lower efficiency • High efficiency
• Higher DO required • DO … 2 to 3 mg/L
• unreliable N & P removal • Reliable N & P removal
9/20/2023 By G/wahid 4
 Trickling filter (TF)
 TF is permeable media to which micro organisms
are attached and through which wastewater is
percolated
Free Air circulation (provides oxygen for the
microorganisms growth )
Natural draft
Blowers
• The organic material present in the wastewater is
metabolized by the biomass attached to the medium
• The biological slime grows in thickness as the
organic matter abstracted from the flowing
wastewater is synthesized into new cellular material
9/20/2023 By G/wahid 5
 Trickling Filter (TF)- sectional view

rotating distributor arms TF consists:

•Filter medium: rocks, plastic, or
other material.
Packing •The water is collected at the
media bottom of the filter for further
treatment.
•A rotating arm that sprays
wastewater over a filter medium.
Underdrain •Attached growth process in which
microorganisms responsible for
Wastewater treatment are attached to an inert
packing material
•The effluent is collected through
underdrain system
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9/20/2023 By G/wahid 7
9/20/2023 By G/wahid 8
 Cont…
• Distribution system
• Provides uniform hydraulic loading on the filter surface
• Rotational speed is usually 1 rev/10 min
• Under drain system
• Supports the media
• Collects the effluent
• Permits circulation of air through the bed
• Made of vitrified clay (for stone media) or simple metal
gratings (for plastic media)
• Configuration
• Trickling filters can be employed as a single unit, units in
series, or units in parallel
9/20/2023 By G/wahid 9
 Flow Diagram for Trickling Filters

Recirculation
 A portion of the TF effluent recycled through the filter

𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 (𝑄𝑟)

𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒓𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐 (𝑹) =
𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 (𝑄)

Recycle

Final
Q
clarifier

Final
Influent effluent

Primary Waste
clarifier sludge
Trickling
filter

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 10
 Recirculation

• Why is recirculation required?

• dilute toxic wastes
• increase air flow
• dilutes the strength of raw wastewater
• A common range for recirculation ratio
𝑄𝑟
( ) = 0.3 − 0.5
𝑄𝑑

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 11
 Single stage

a. PC TF SC

b. PC TF SC

c. PC TF SC

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 12
 Two stage

PC TF TF SC

PC TF SC TF SC

PC TF SC TF SC

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 13
 Merits and Demerits of trickling filters
Merits Demerits
• High loading rate hence • High head loss
requiring lesser land areas and
smaller quantities of filter • Cost of construction of
media trickling filters is high.
• They can remove about 75% of • Cannot treat raw sewage,
BOD and about 80% of and primary
suspended solids. sedimentation is a must.
• Not require any skilled
supervision. • Fly reproduction
• Flexible in operation, withstand • Odour
the application of variety of • Ponding trouble
sewages having different
concentrations and
compositions
• They are self-cleaning
 Design of Trickling Filters
• Design of the filter size is based upon
1) Organic loading rate
2) Hydraulic loading rate
1)Organic (BOD) loading rate:
•The mass application rate of organic matter per unit volume of
reactor expressed as kg of BOD/m3/d
•Typically, 0.320 - 0.640 kg/m3/d for single-stage filters
•Typically, 0.640 -0.960 kg/m3/d for two-stage filters
Example
Influent BOD =200mg/L, influent flow = 1.8 ML/d, diameter
of the filter is 16 m & the depth of the filter is 2m.
Calculate the organic loading rate?

9/20/2023
 Cont…
2. Hydraulic loading rate(m3 wastewater/m2.d)
•Total influent flow = the raw WW + recirculated
flow
•Typically, 9.4 m3/m2/d
•Maximum, 28 m3/m2/d
Example
Influent flow = 8.5ML/d, the recirculation
ratio is 2:1. Diameter of the filter is 16 m &
the depth of the filter is 2m.
Calculate the hydraulic loading rate and
decide the number units of trickling filter to
be provided based on the design criteria?
9/20/2023 By G/wahid 16
 Efficiency of a conventional filter plant

• National Research Council:

• Where,  = Efficiency of the filter and its secondary

clarifier, in terms of percentage of
applied BOD removed
u = Organic loading in kg/ha-m/day applied
to the filter (called unit organic loading)

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 17
 Efficiency of High Rate Filters

• NRC (national research council) formula

100
E1  single stage
w1
1  0.4432
VF

where:
E1 = BOD removal efficiency for first-stage filter at 20oC,
%
w1 = BOD load applied, kg/day
V = volume of filter media, m3
F = recirculation factor

9/20/2023
 Efficiency of High Rate Filters

100
• NRC formula E 
2
0.4432 w2 Second stage
1
1  E VF
1

Where:
E2 = BOD removal efficiency for second-stage filter
at 20oC, %
E1 = fraction of BOD removal in the first-stage filter
w2 = BOD load applied, kg/day
V = volume of filter media, m3
F = recirculation factor

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 19
 Efficiency of High Rate Filters

• NRC formula
1 R
F 
(1  R / 10) 2
where:
F = recirculation factor
R = recycle ratio(volume of sewage circulated to volume of raw sewage)
• The effect of temperature on the BOD removal efficiency

ET  E20 (1.035)T 20

where:
ET = BOD removal efficiency at ToC, %
E20 = BOD removal efficiency at 20oC, %
Example: (Stone media TF design)

Conventional TF
i. Design suitable dimensions of circular trickling filter
units for treating 5 million liters of sewage per day.
The BOD of sewage is 150mg/l.

ii. Design suitable dimensions for its rotary distribution

system, as well as the under-drainage system.

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 21
 Stone media TF design
Solution
• Total BOD present in sewage to be treated per day

• Assuming the value of organic loading is 1500kg/ha.m/day

[i.e. between 900 to 2200kg/ha.m/day]
• The volume of filtering-media required

• Assuming the effective depth of filter as 2m, the surface

area of the filter required

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 22
 Stone media TF design

Solution
• Using a circular trickling filter of diameter 40m,
• The number of units required

Check for Hydraulic loading

• Assuming the value of hydraulic loading say as 25 ML per hectare per day
[22 to 44ML/ha/day]
• Surface area required

• The surface area chosen is 2500m2 which is greater than 2000m2, and hence
safe.

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 23
 Example: (Stone media TF design)

Calculate the BOD loading, hydraulic loading,

BOD removal efficiency, and effluent BOD
concentration of a single-stage trickling filter
based on the following data:
Design assumptions:
• Influent flow =1530 m3/d
• Recirculation ratio = 0.5
• Primary effluent BOD = 130 mg/L
• Diameter of filter = 18m
• Depth of media = 2.1m
• Water temperature = 18oC

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 24
Stone media TF design

Solution
(1) BOD loading rate (kg/m3/d)
• BOD load = BOD Conc. * Influent flow
= 130 mg/L x 1530 m3/d =198.9 kg/d
– Volume of filter = surface area of filter * depth
= π (18 m * 18m)/4 * 2.1 m
= 533 m3
– BOD loading rate = BOD load / volume of filter
= 0.37 kg/m3/d

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 25
 Stone media TF design

Solution

(2) Hydraulic loading rate (m3/m2/d)

• Total flow to the media = influent + recirculation flow
= 1530 m3/d + (1530 m3/d * 0.5)
• Surface area of filter = π (18 m * 18m)/4 = 254 m3
• Hydraulic loading rate = Total flow to the media / area of filter
= 9.04 m3/m2/d

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 26
 Stone media TF design
Solution
(3) Effluent BOD (mg/L)
• BOD removal efficiency for first-stage filter at 20oC, %

100 1 R 1  0.5
E1  F   1.36
w1 (1  R / 10) 2
(1  0.5 / 10) 2
1  0.4432
VF
100 100
E1    81.2%
w1 0.37
1  0.4432 1  0.4432
VF 1.36

E18  E20 (1.035)18 20  81.2(1.035) 2  75.7%

(100  75.7)
Effluent BOD (mg / L)  130 mg / L 
100

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 27
 Example: (Stone media TF design)

A municipal wastewater having a Primary effluent BOD of 200mg/L

is to be treated by a two-stage trickling filter. The desired effluent
quality is 25 mg/L of BOD. If both of the filter depths are to be 1.83
m and the recirculation ratio is 2:1, find the required filter
diameters.
Assume the following design assumptions:
• Influent flow = 7570 m3/d
• Recirculation ratio = 0.5
• Depth of media = 1.83 m
• Water temperature = 20oC
• BOD removal in primary sedimentation = 35%
• E1 = E2 = 0.65

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 28
 Cont.. Solution
(1) Compute the recirculation factor
1 R (1 + 0.5)
F   1.36
(1  R / 10) 2
(1  0.05) 2

(2) Compute the BOD load for the first filter

BOD load = BOD Conc. x Influent flow
= 200mg/L*(1-0.35) x 7570 m3/d =984.1kg/d
(3) Compute the volume for the first stage

100 100
E1  65  V= 388 m3
w1 984.1
1  0.4432 1  0.4432
VF V (1.36)

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 29
 Cont…

(4) Compute the diameter of the first filter

A= V/depth = 388 m3/1.83m = 212 m2
Diameter = 16.4 m
(5) Compute the BOD load for the second filter
BOD load to the second filter
= (1- E1) x BOD load to the first filter
= (1- 0.65) x 984.1kg BOD/d
=344.435kg BOD/d

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 30
Cont…

(6) Compute the volume for the first stage

100 100
E2  65 
0.4432 w2 0.4432 344.435
1 1
1  E1 VF 1  0.65 V (2.08)
V= 1096 m3

(7) Compute the diameter of the second filter

A= V/depth = 1096 m3/1.83m = 599 m2
Diameter = 27.6 m

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 31
 Cont…

(8) Compute the BOD loading rate to each filter

V1=388m3
V2= 1096 m3
BOD load 1=984.1kg/d
E1+E2=65%
(9) Compute the hydraulic loading to each filter
Qdesign= 7570 m3/d
Qr/Qdesign=0.5
A1=212 m2
A2=599 m2

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 32
 Activated Sludge
Activated sludge plant involves:
•Wastewater aeration in the presence of a
microbial suspension
•Solid-liquid separation following aeration
•Discharge of clarified effluent
•Wasting of excess biomass
•Return of biomass to the aeration tank
•BOD removal is up to 80% to 95%

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 33
 Cont…

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 34
 Design of activated sludge plant

• Aeration Period (i.e. Hydraulic Retention Time -

H.R.T)
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑘
𝐻𝑅𝑇 =
𝐷𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒
𝑄∗𝑌0
• Volumetric BOD loading =
𝑉
Where, Q = Sewage flow into the aeration tank in m3
Yo = BOD5 in mg/l (or gm/m3) of the influent
sewage
V = Aeration tank volume in m3

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 35
 Cont…

• Food (F) to Micro-organisms (M) Ratio

𝐹 Daily BOD load
• =
𝑀 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑖𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚
• 𝐹 = 𝑄 ∗ 𝑌𝑜
• 𝑀 = 𝑀𝐿𝑆𝑆 ∗ 𝑉 = 𝑋𝑡 ∗ 𝑉
𝐹 𝑄∗𝑌𝑜
• =
𝑀 𝑉∗𝑋𝑡

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 36
 Mass of suspended s𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑𝑠(𝑀𝐿𝑆𝑆)
Sludge age(qc) =
𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑𝑠 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦
 Flow chart of conventional activated sludge plant

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 38
 Example

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 39
 solution

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 Waste Stabilization Ponds
 Waste Stabilization Ponds is Large, shallow artificial
lagoons/basins in which raw sewage is treated by natural
processes involving both algae and bacteria
 The rate of treatment in WSP is slower than in conventional
wastewater treatment
 Hydraulic retention times are longer (in days)
 Cost-effective, reliable and easily-operated for treating
domestic and industrial wastewater
 Very effective in the removal of faecal coliform bacteria
 Very effective in tropical countries, due to the temperature and
duration of sunlight

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 41
Types of Waste Stabilization Ponds and Their Specific Uses

 WSP systems comprise a single sequence of;

anaerobic,
facultative
maturation ponds
 Depending on the effluent quality required in series, or several such
series in parallel
 Anaerobic and facultative ponds are designed for removal of BOD,
and maturation ponds for pathogen removal
 Its performance may be measured in terms of its removal of BOD
and faecal coliform bacteria

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 42
 Anaerobic ponds
• 2 – 5m deep
• Can receive high organic loads (100 to 350 g BOD/m3/day)
• not contain dissolved oxygen or algae
• BOD removal is achieved by sedimentation of solids, and
subsequent anaerobic digestion in the resulting sludge
• Achieve about 40% removal of BOD at 10oC, and more than 60% at
20oC.
• Relatively shorter retention time of (1 - 5 days) is commonly used

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 43
 Facultative Treatment Ponds (FPs)
 Depth 1 to 2m with an aerobic zone close to the surface and a
deeper anaerobic zone
 can treat WW with BOD loading of 100 to 400 kg/ha/day at
temperatures above 20°C.
 The facultative pond serves to:
 Further treat wastewater through sedimentation and aerobic
oxidation of organic material
 Reduce odour
 Reduce some microorganisms if pH raises

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 44
 Aerobic / Maturation Ponds (MPs)
 Maturation ponds are shallower (1 to 1.5m), with 1m being optimal
 designed for pathogen removal and retaining suspended stabilized
solids
 The principal mechanisms for faecal bacterial removal in facultative
and maturation ponds
• HRT
• temperature
• high pH (> 9)
• high light intensity
 Faecal bacteria and other pathogens die off due to the high
temperature, high pH or radiation of the sun leading to solar
disinfection
 protozoan cysts and helminth eggs are also removed by
sedimentation
 The recommended hydraulic retention time is 15 to 20 days
9/20/2023 By G/wahid 45
 Cont…

Comparison of the treatment performance of different

waste stabilization ponds

BOD Pathogen
Pond HRT
Removal Removal
Anaerobic Pond 50 to 85% 1 to 5 days
Facultative Pond 80 to 95% 5 to 30 days
Maturation Pond 60 to 80% 90% 15 to 20 days

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 46
 Figure : Typical scheme of a waste stabilization system

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 47
 Advantages of WSP

Can be built and repaired with locally available materials

No external energy required for operation
Low in construction and very low operating costs
High reduction in pathogens
Can treat high-strength of wastewater to high quality
effluent
Generally reliable and well-functioning
Effluent can be reused for agriculture

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 48
 Disadvantages of WSP
Requires large open land surfaces far away from
homes and public spaces
May promote breeding of insects in the pond (e.g.
flies, mosquitoes)
De-sludging (normally every few years) and correct
disposal of the sludge needs to be guaranteed
Anaerobic ponds can cause bad odours if poorly
designed
Not always appropriate for colder climates
9/20/2023 By G/wahid 49
 Effluent Quality Requirements of WSP

• The most important effluent limits for WSP design are

as follows According to WHO:

Parameter Effluent limit

BOD 30 mg/l
Suspended solids 100 mg/l

Total N 100 mg N/l

Total ammonia 50 mg N/l
Free ammonia 5 mg N/l
Sulphide 2mg/l
pH 5.5 – 9.0
9/20/2023 By G/wahid 50
 Design Parameters
• The most important parameters for WSP design are:
 Temperature: Designed for the coolest month
 Net evaporation
 Flow: 75 to 80 percent of the water consumption
 BOD
1000 B
Li 
q

• Where Li = wastewater BOD, mg/l

B = BOD contribution, g/c/d
q = wastewater flow, l/c/d
• Values of B vary between 30 and 70 g/c/d

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 Desludging and Sludge Disposal

• Anaerobic ponds required desludged when they are one third

full of sludge (by volume).
• This occurred every n years where n is given by
v
n 
3 ps

• Where v = volume of anaerobic pond, m3

p = population served
s = sludge accumulation rate, m3/capita year

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 52
 Design of Anaerobic Ponds

• volumetric BOD loading (v , g/m3/d), which is given by

LiQ
v 
V
• Where Li = influent BOD, mg/l
Q = flow, m3/d
V = anaerobic pond volume, m3
The mean hydraulic retention time in the pond ( , d) is determined
from: V
q  HRT 
Q

Retention times in anaerobic ponds < 1 day should not be used.

If the above equation gives a value of HRT< 1 day, a value of 1 day
should be used and the corresponding value of V recalculated from
the above equation.

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 Design of Facultative Ponds

• Design: based on surface loading rate s

(BOD/ha/day)

Arthur (1983):
10 LiQ
s 
Af

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 54
 Design of Maturation Ponds
i. Faecal Coliform Removal
• The faecal coliform removal can be modeled by first order kinetics in
a completely mixed reactor.
Ne  Ni /(1  kT * HRT )

Where Ne = number of FC per 100 ml of effluent

Ni = number of FC per 100 ml of influent
kT = first order rate constant for FC removal, d-
HRT = hydraulic retention time, d

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 55
 Cont…
• For a series of anaerobic, facultative and maturation
ponds, the above equation becomes:
Ni
Ne 
(1  kT * HRTanearobic ) * (1  kT * HRT facultativ e ) * (1  kT * HRTmaturation ,n ) n

Where:
Ne = number of feacal coliform per 100 ml effluent
Ni = number of feacal coliform per 100 ml influent
kT = first order temperature dependent rate (day-1)
n = number of maturation ponds (each pond the
same
kT  2.6(1.19)T 20
hydraulic retention rate (KT)

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 56
 Cont…
ii. Helminth Egg Removal
• Analysis of egg removal data from ponds (Ayres et al.1992) has
yielded the following relationship which is equally valid for
anaerobic, facultative and maturation ponds:

Where R = percentage egg removal

θ = retention time, d

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 (Assigment-1 ) WSP
• Data:
• Site characteristics and conditions
• Town of 20,000 population
• Consumption of 150l/c/day and wastage of 85%
• No significant infiltration into sewer system
• Average BOD production of 45g BOD/c/day
• Measured influent concentration of 4*108 FC/100ml
• Clay bottom (hydraulic conductivity 10-7m/s)
• Climate of the area (Latitude = ± 16°S)
Maximum monthly temperature 33°c (September)
Minimum monthly temperature 27°c (June/July)
Total annual rainfall 1143mm
Maximum monthly rainfall 206mm (November)
Minimum monthly rainfall 15mm (August)

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• Requirements
• Sludge remove in anaerobic ponds only once every two years
• Design each pond with a freeboard of 0.5m
• The treated effluent must have a BOD concentration below 20mg/l
and should be reusable for agricultural purposes
• Task:
• Design a conventional WSP system (anaerobic + facultative +
maturation ponds).
• Provide for each pond the dimensions (L, W and D), the volume,
surface area and the residence time.
• Calculate Cin and Cout from each pond.

9/20/2023 By G/wahid 59