Water reuse

Waste water treatment

Objectives of waste water treatment

Domestic waste water is found in all cities and is a menance if not treated. We still have a large
population in the tropics, ie Africa and Asia who do not have access to piped drinking water, and also
do not have access to sanitation facilities.

Water reuse

In some countries now, one of the objectives of sewerage treatment is to produce sewerage final
effluent which after disposal into the environment (dilution and self Purification) will be suitable for
abstraction for treatment to produce potable water supply.

Importance of water reuse

Of great importance is the availability of usable water.

- Sea water is saline and therefore not potable. Desalination is expensive

- Non- uniform distribution of the population and water supply ie demand and supply are not
geographically proximate

Criteria for sewerage treatment

Sewerage contains a mixture of suspended and dissolved materials. The strength and quality of
waste water is described by content of :

- Suspended solids
- BOD

We need to have treatment that produces effluent with a quality superior to it legal consent.
Normally have an operating target (half its legal consent)

Composition of Sewerage

- Approximately 1000 mg/l are impurities of which 2/3 are organics. It contains 99.9% water
- Of the impurities, approx. 50% is dissolved while 50% is suspended solids

Organic components:

- Nitrogeneous compounds sa proteins and urea

- Carbohydrates sa sugars starches, cellulose
- Fats and cooking oil and grease
- Soaps and detergents

Inorganics component

- Chloride
 - Metallic salts
- Road Grut

Sources of toxic wastes

- Domestic waters – ammonical nitrogen approx. 50 mg/l and sulphide 50mg/l

- Storm water – toxicity associated with heavy metals, Zn and Pb
- Agricultural waters – will contain fertilizers, pest control products including pesticides
- Industrial wastes – wide variety dependent on industry

Community waste water treatment

Community waste water (sewerage) consists of toilet waste and other waste waters in the domestic
environment. There is a distinction between black and grey waste waters. For community waste
water works, the domestic wastes combines both industrial and other wastes. Ultimately, the
treated waste water is discharged into the environment, ie land or water body. It is important to
limit or eliminate the discharge of contaminants in the public sewer system and ultimately into the
environment.

The major components of community waste water, derived from both domestic and commercial
sources are:

- Human wastes
- Solid and dissolved forms of food wastes, soaps and detergents
- Soil residues

Refer to water quality regulations, 2006

Typical properties of untreated waste water (sewage)

BOD 250 mg L-1

COD 500 mg L-1

Total solids 750 mg L-1

Suspended solids 250 mg L-1

Total phosphorus 8 mg L-1

Total Nitrogen 40 mg L-1

pH 6.8-7.0

There will be fluctuations in flow and contaminant concentration levels during the 24 h.

The levels of the contaminants in the final treated effluent should comply to the value for each of
the parameter as given in the regulations.

How does each of the parameter affect the aquatic life?

Objectives of water treatment

The objectives of a waste water treatment are:

 - To avoid pestilence and nuisance (disease and odour)
- To protect the sources of potable water supply
- To destroy or remove disease causing organisms from the water returned into the water
ways. Quantities of these agents in final sewerage effluent is much less than in the
untreated sewerage.

During wwt the disease causing organisms may be destroyed or concentrated in the sludge’s
produced and offensive materials may be concentrated in the sludge or biodegraded. From the
wwtp the pollutants are much less than in the untreated sewerage and their dilution in the receiving
water far greater. Also the receiving water has a certain capacity for self-purification.

A newer objective for waste water treatment works is the indirect re-use of the water after
treatment.

Waste water treatment

BOD, SS, and TP are of greatest concern as they may all in different ways upset the normal balance
of aquatic life. The natural levels of dissolved oxygen in water are sufficient to oxidise small amounts
of animal and plant wastes through aerobic microbial reactions. This is a self-purification process,
producing carbon dioxide which is used for photosynthesis.

Four stages of treatment:

- Preliminary treatment
- Primary sedimentation
- Secondary (biological ) treatment
- Tertiary treatment

Schematic diagram

Raw waste water ( preliminary treatment)

[BOD 200ppm;NH4+ 30ppm;PO43- 25ppm]

Screening
BOD200ppm, NH + 3-
4 20ppm,PO4 25ppm

Sedimentation Undissolved and settlable solids grease

and scum removed

M
a
i
n
p
r
o
 Primary Sludge Effluent for Secondary treatment

Sludge thickening or drying

Activated sludge (Aerobic digestion)

Air CO2

Anaerobic digestion
Secondary Sedimentation

Dissolved finely suspended organics

removed

Effluent to receiving water

BOD 25 ppm;NH4+ Flocculation to remove
incineration /Solid
20ppm;PO43- 25ppm phosphates
disposal

Ammonia stripping tower

Removal of organics

Chlorination

Disposal into a waterway

Waste water that is recovered from domestic or industrial sources is returned to the natural
environment should be subjected to the requirements as specified in the regulations. For discharge
into the hydrosphere, consider:

- should not contain dangerous levels of toxic chemicals or organisms

- should not supply excessive quantities of oxidizable, usually organic, compounds

- should not be a source of nutrients which would support microbial growth.

Water to be used for irrigation of productive land may contain nutrients, benign dissolved and
suspended matter

Preliminary treatment

- Removal of larger floating or suspended materials

 - Use bar screens
- Need to remove small stones and grit which can damage pumps
- Do sedimentation

Primary sedimentation

Use of circular or rectangular tank equipped with mechanical sludge scrapping device

Can have horizontal flow or vertical flow tanks

Removal of particles during sedimentation controlled by:

i) Settling characteristics of particles (density, size, ability to flocculate)

ii) Retention time in the tank (2-6 h)
iii) Surface loading
iv) Weir overflow rate

Surface loading rate = volume of sewerage entering tank per day (m3d-1) /

Surface area of tank (m3)

Tank depth is typically 2-4 m

Primary sedimentation removes about 55% of suspended solids. Reduces BOD by 35%.

Removal of floating scum and added to sludge.

Now suspended solids level goes to 150 mg/l and BOD down to approx. 200mg/l

Secondary (Biological ) treatment

Two types

- Percolating filter (also called trickling or biological filters)

- Activated sludge

Percolating filters

Consist of small circular or rectangular beds (earlier made from broken rock, gravel. Now plastic)
with size 50-100mm. tank of upto 2.0 metres deep depending on loading.

Settled sewerage trickles through the interstices of the medium which has a large surface area on
which a microbial film can develop. This gelatinous film containing bacteria fungi, protozoa and algae
on the upper surface that causes oxidation of the BOD.
The percolating filter is a continuous mixed microbial film reactor.

The settled sewerage is sprayed on top of the percolating filter

Activated sludge process

Majority of biological solids are removed during secondary sedimentation. A portion of the sludge is
returned to the aeration tank. In this way there is continuous inoculation of the reactor with
microorganisms.

Channels in the aeration tank are long and deep with diffusers at the bottom. Retention time in the
aerator is 3-6 hrs. through aeration, the dissolved oxygen is maintained at 1-2 mg/l. the activated
sludge process may have 4 phases:

- Clarification by flocculation of suspended or colloidal matter

- Oxidation of carbonaceous matter
- Oxidation of nitrogeneous matter
- Auto-digestion of the activated sludge

Occurrence of these 4 phases is dependent on increasing sludge age. In this way, the recycling of
activated sludge is critical to stabilize the bacterial activity of the oxidation tank.

Nitrification

Used for the removal of nitrogen

Conversion of ammonia to nitrate

Uses eutrophic bacteria of genera Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter

Nitrification in percolated filters or activated sludge processes

NH4 + + 3/2 O2 nitrosomonas NO2- + H+ + H2O

NO2- + ½ O2 nitrobactor NO3-

Sludge treatment and disposal

Before treatment of sludge, it contains 1-7% water, and is putrescible and offensive. Sludge is a
byproduct of secondary sedimentation of raw sewerage and a byproduct of secondary aerobic
treatment of settled sewerage. The two sludges are combined during storage treatment.

The aim of sewerage treatment is to make it easier and cheaper to dispose and minimise any
nuisance or adverse effects on the environment. Treatment of sludge is influenced by the final
disposal options:

- if it will be disposed to sea, it can be pumped directly with little treatment.

 - If not close to the treatment facility, then because of transportation cost, sludge thickening
is done to reduce water content before transportation
- If sludge is to be disposed on land, then dewatering to remove water to reduce
transportation cost.

Sewerage treatment

- Thickening by stirring or floatation

- Digestion anaerobically or aerobically
- Composting with domestic refuse
- Dewatering. This is done through:
o On drying beds
o In filter press
o Vacuum filtration
o Centrifugation
o Heat drying
o Incineration

Anaerobic digestion of sludge

Organic matter in the sewerage sludge is converted biologically to gas containing 70% methane and
30% carbon dioxide. Process is done in an air tight reactor.

Methane production is 1m3 for every 3kg of BOD digested

Operated in two ways:

- 35 °C described as ‘mesophilic’
- 55 °C described as ‘thermophilic’

These terms describe temperature preferences of bacteria during digestion.

2[CH2O] CH4(g) + CO2 (g)

Sludge after this digestion process has less pathogenic bacteria and product has less odour and can
now be dewatered

Dewatering

Achieves reduction in transportation costs and improves physical properties making it easier to
handle. The options are:

- Allow to dry out normally

- Use mechanical methods (pressure filtration or vacuum filtration ) to force out the water

In order to use mechanical methods, use conditions to improve the dewaterability.

- Aluminium chlorohydrate and ferrous sulphate

- Organic polymers also called polyelectrolytes

The tertiary system of WWTP include

- Filtration through a microscreen or sand filter

- Precipitation after chemical additions
 - Adsorption onto granular activated charcoal, ion exchange, reverse osmosis
- Disinfection by chlorination

Improvements in treatment

Moving Bed Bioreactor (MBBR)

Use of floating media

Micro-organisms attach on the floating media forming a fixed film

Once submerged inside the bioreactor, the floating media operates as non-clogging media. The
floating media moves freely due to either stirring or aeration.

The media optimises growth (biomass) and provides shelter and protection of the biomass and
makes the WWTP extremely robust and reliable

Membrane Bio-reactor (MBR)

Process that combines membrane filtration process and activated sludge process.

No requirement for secondary filtration

Membrane unit is submerged in tank with high solids MLSS (high concentration of micro organisms)
solids separated using the suction through the membrane

Advantages

- Space requirement
- High quality effluent
- Energy saving