Biotechnology in Waste

management
1. Liquid waste management
2. Solid waste Management
1. Liquid waste management
 SEWAGE TREATMENT [Wastewater treatment]
What is Sewage?
Sewage is waste water or waste liquid that comes from a variety of sources
including:
 all the waste water from houses, that has been used for washing, cleaning as
well as toilet wastes.
 Wastewater can also come from agricultural and industrial sources
 rain water flowing in to streets (drainage or run off water) along with various
pollutants, go down street gutters

.
 Thus, sewage could contain dissolved chemicals, solid particles, pollutants such
as faecal material, oils and greases, detergents and soaps, animal and vegetable
matter, pesticides and fertilizers.
 And such waste water(sewage) poses many harmful effects such as
 water-borne diseases.
 Since it contains many nutrients for plants, algae and microorganisms, if it
enters in to water bodies it can cause Eutrophication which is the growth of
abundant algae and other aquatic plants in the water.
 The organic matter also attracts aerobic bacteria to accumulate so as to
oxidize the organic matter, and this in turn depletes the dissolved oxygen
in the water which is a big problem for aquatic animals such as fish.
 Untreated sewage produces offensive odor.
 Thus, sewage should not be allowed to run in to rivers or to the sea before it
has been treated, and treating sewage helps to:
 remove any pathogenic microorganisms and the chemicals in it before it is
released as effluent
 promote health concern and public hygiene.
 remove pollutants from waste water the water can be reused or released in to water
bodies safely
 preserve aquatic life and wildlife habitat.
 promote recreation and quality of life.
The process of sewage treatment has three major stages;
1. Primary treatment
2. 2. Secondary treatment.
3. 3. Tertiary treatment
1. Primary Treatment (non-biological)
 A physical process that uses settling tanks (or clarifiers), to remove floating
and suspended solids from sewage through two processes: filtration and
sedimentation. First, floating matter is removed through sequential
filtration with small pore filter progressively. The filtrate is kept in large
open settling tanks where grit (sand, silt, small pebbles) settles down-
sedimentation.
 The sediment is called primary sludge while the supernatant is called
effluent. The primary sludge traps a lot of microbes and debris.
 It is subjected to composting or land fill where anaerobic digestion removes
the organic matter.
Skimming
And scum or oily suspension that may form on top is also skimmed off the
top, and the partially treated wastewater moves on to the secondary treatment
level.
2. Secondary Treatment
 Unlike the primary treatment, the secondary treatment is a biological process
that involves microbial digestion (microbial oxidation) of dissolved organic
compounds in the effluent.
 And the process uses aerobic bacteria and other microorganisms to digest or
oxidize the remaining dissolved chemical pollutants.
 This is accomplished by forcefully mixing the wastewater with aerobic
microorganism (mainly bacteria) and oxygen.
 N.B.
 Thus sewage treatment is essential for reducing harms done by it. Whenever
untreated sewage is disposed into natural waters such as streams, ponds, lakes,
etc., the normal amount of dissolved oxygen present in water, gets quickly
utilised by microorganisms as a result of oxidation of organic matter present in
sewage.
 Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is increased. BOD represents the amount
of dissolved oxygen that would be consumed if all the organic matter in one
litre of water were oxidised by microorganism (at 20°C).
 It is an indicator of water quality. Thus, high value of Biochemical Oxygen
Demand (BOD) means the water is highly polluted by organic matter.
 Low value of BOD means the water is either normal or less polluted by
organic matter.
 Secondary treatment removes about 85 to 90 percent of BOD and suspended solid,
and about 90 to 99 percent of coliform bacteria. and can safely be allowed to run
in to rivers or seas
There are two major methods of secondary treatment,
1. The percolating filter method / Trickling filter method
2. The Activated Sludge system
1. The percolating filter method / Trickling filter method
 Here after primary treatment the remaining waste water is allowed to
trickle through a bed of stones each of which is covered in a layer of
microorganisms (bacteria, fungi & protozoa).
 As the sewage trickles (flow in a small stream) through the bed of stones,
the microorganisms digest or oxidize the organic matter and absorb the
products. Thus, by the time the liquid reaches the bottom of the filter bed,
the polluting organic matter has all been removed.
2. The Activated Sludge system
 In activated sludge system, the primary effluent is taken to aeration tanks
where activated sludge (sludge containing a mixture of aerobic bacteria and
other microorganisms) is added and also oxygen is blown through the
mixture.
 The microorganisms in the added activated sludge oxidize a lot of
organic matter and converting it into microbial biomass (using the
organic matter for their own growth) and as the BOD of the waste
matter is reduced to 10-15% of raw sewage, it is passed into settling
tank.
The sediment of settling tank is called activated sludge. A part of it is used as
inoculum in aeration tank, and the is rich in nutrients, and thus is not simply
wasted, and

 It is applied directly to land as fertilizer, or

 Used as fuel after drying, or
 Digested anaerobically- the sludge is put in a closed tank where anaerobic
bacteria such as methanogens act on it and produce biogas
3. Tertiary treatment
 Finally, the treated sewage effluent (secondary effluent) undergoes the tertiary
treatment, and the purpose of this last treatment is to kill or destroy harmful
(pathogenic) microorganisms so that the water can be safely reused or released
in to water bodies.
 The tertiary treatment is done by adding chemicals such as chlorine or by
treating the water using radiation.
Flow chart: Summary of sewage treatment
2. Solid waste Management
2. Solid waste management
 Solid waste is increasingly becoming a serious concern.
 Densely populated cities produce huge pile of solid waste each
day.
• Biodegradable organic solid waste
 food remains,
 manure,
 municipal waste,
 Agricultural solid waste,
How can we safely manage solid wastes?
A)Composting
B)Landfill
C)Incineration
A)
Compostin
g
 Aerobic microbe driven process (carried out by
microorganisms in the presence of oxygen) that
converts solid waste or solid organic matter in
to a stable, sanitary, humus-like material that
has been considerably reduced in bulk and can
be safely returned to the environment
 Composting can be seen as a form of

bioremediation known as biodegradation that

converts organic solid waste in to humic soil

that can be used as soil fertilizer and also

reduces the burden on landfills.

 During composting, the microorganisms

consume oxygen (O2 ) while feeding on organic

 In the controlled composting, first operators grind/
shred or chop the solid waste which is then acted up
on by microbes (bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes,
protozoa)
 In the natural composting, the raw organic solid waste
is broken down into smaller particles by earth worms,
nematods, mites, sawbugs, springtails, ants, beetles)
The decomposition process can be divided in to 2
phases:
1. Active phase
 Temperature increases 55 to 70OC. this high
temperature hygienizes the material from pathogens
also helps to eliminate weed seeds and break down
phytotoxic compounds
 Thermophilic bacteria take the role(>41OC )
 Normally this phase goes on for several weeks. And
during this time, water and oxygen should be
2. Curing stages
 Last is the curing stage, where compost cools and matures.
 Curing is the process of allowing compost that has completed the hot
phase of composting to finish the composting process at ambient
temperature( temperature drops to 37OC)
 During curing, organic materials continue to decompose and are converted
in to biologically stable humic substances by mesophilic Bactria.
 The curing phase is critical , and a long curing phase is needed if the
compost is unfinished or immature.
 The curing period can be one month or one year.
The end product of composting (the compost)
 Can be used as land fill
 Applied in agricultural land to enhance fertility of the soil
 Some final products specially from household solid wastes from
vegetation can be used for commercial production of the mushroom
known as Agaricus boisporus
B) Landfill
 Land fill(also known as rubbish dump or
garbage dump) is another method of solid
waste management practice where solid
waste is buried in a large pit
 Modern landfills are well-engineered and managed facilities for
the disposal of solid waste.
 They are also designed to protect the environment from
contaminants, which may be present in the waste stream.
 Landfills cannot be built in environmentally-sensitive areas, and
they are placed using on-site environmental monitoring systems
Operators of well-run landfills for non-hazardous waste meet predefined specifications by
applying techniques to

 confine waste to as small an area as possible

 compact waste to reduce volume

 They can also cover waste (usually daily) with layers of soil or other types of material
such as woodchips and fine particles.
 These monitoring systems check for any sign of groundwater
contamination and for landfill gas, as well as provide additional
safeguards.
 Today’s landfills must meet stringent design, operation and
closure requirements established under law.
 Unless they are stabilized, landfills may undergo severe
shaking or soil liquefaction of the ground during an earthquake.

 Once full, the area over a landfill site may be reclaimed for
other uses.
Landfill leachate
 One problem of landfill is that it produces leachate which is a liquid waste material that
drains from the buried solid waste.
 The leachate from a landfill varies widely in composition depending on the age of the
landfill and the type of waste that it contains.
 It usually contains both dissolved and suspended material. The generation of
leachate is caused principally by precipitation percolating through waste deposited
in a landfill.
 Since such waste fluid can contaminate ground water, natural and synthetic liners
or bottom liners are used as both a collection device and as a means for isolating
leachate within the fill to protect the soil and groundwater below.
C) Incineration
 Waste incineration is the burning of garbage and the
process uses special incinerators that burn waste materials
to ash, heat and flue gas
Waste incineration process involves the following steps:
 Waste preparation: Oversized items are removed and
certain recyclables like metals are recovered.
 Combustion: Waste is burned in an oxygenated single
combustion chamber.
 Energy recovery: The gases released during combustion
are cooled with water, generating steam through heat
recovery.
 Environmental control: The cooled gas is treated by
scrubbers, precipitators, and filters to remove pollutants.