Chapter

1. Introduction
Sewage is the used water supply of a community, the excrements, dirts from washing, laundry, and other wastefrom places of human habitation, together with such wastes produced from various manufacturing, and industrial processes as well as ground surface rain water as may be present. Sewage is usually regarded as extremely foul and dangerous, a conception well justified since it may contain colour, suspended solids, soluble matter, odor, and harmful bacteria, but still the fact that 99.9% of its water should not be forgotten.

1-1 Reasons for Public Sewage System With increasing population and industrial expansions the need for safe system of collecting, treatment, and disposal of sewage is becoming more and more evident. Among the specific reasons for safe sewage and waste treatment are. 1-1-1 Health Protection From the health stand point the greatest problem of pollution is its effect on water supplies, by overloading the water purification devices so that they may pass intestinal irritating organsisms. At the same time sewage pllution of swimming and bathing waters and shell-fish areas may result in epidemics of typhoid, and other intestinal toubles Carefully controlled sewage treatment plants reduces the pollution load on water strs aids in the productiot of safe drinkirg wcer, proven continmation of shell-fish beds as well as permitting bathing and other water sports. 1-1-2 Comfort Overloading the streams and water bodies with savage discharges will produce odors and discoloration, nuisances from sludge deposits as well as interferring with bathing facilities while floating refuse on the water surface may give objectionable appearance to the water, as shown in Fig. (1-1).

1-1-3 Property The discharge of sewage into water bodies affects their usefnlness by changing the character of the water. In addition sewage continated water may cause damage to boats. The vater carriage system lends itself readily as a metxcd which ueets the principal requirements of safe sanitary system. In such a system,, liquid wastes are carried out of houses and factories

into a piping system to a cou point where it is scientifically treated. Such wastes, being highly diluted with water will freely flow in the pipes according to the general rules of hydraulics. 1-2 Sources of Sewage The water finding its way into sewerage system consists principally of water from cue or more of the following sources:

1-2-1 House Wastes This is generally called domestic wastes, it can be divided into:

a- Bathroom wastes including human wastes, paper, fibrous material as well as soap.

b- Kitchen wastes including waste food, soap, grease, sugar, sand , and frequntly quantities of garbage. c- Laundry wastes including soap, dirts arid starch.

Fig. (1-1) Engineering Measures to Prevent Water-Borne Disease 1-2-2 Storm Sewage i.e. rain water including aceria1 washed out by rain from roofs and streets. Such material

contains relatively little organic natter arid settles rapidly cating some difficulties in sewers with flat grades arid some parts of the sewage treatment plant.

1-2-3 Industrial Wastes Ranging from cooling water containing little suspended solids to slaughtery house and distillery wastes with high concentrations of both organic arid inorganic m.atter. Industrial wastes include, oil, grease, sand, dirts, from garages, filling stations arid factories in addition to floor washing and score wastes.

1-2-4 Infltration Water This is the ground water that may find its way into the sewerage piping system through leakage into faulty joints or relatively porous bodies of sewer pipes.

1-2-5 Garbage This is discharged to certain extent into severs as evidenced by examination of the screens at sewage treatment plants. With the introduction of house hold graiaders which are attached to the sinks the quantity of garbage intc the sewerage syst is expected to gradually increase. 1-3 Composition of Characterstics of Sewage The average yearly used water production is never constant but some variations in the quality and composition of sewage samples is expected depending on the following factors:

1. .3. 1 Age of Sewage Fresh sewage is grayish in color with se fecal matter grease, paper and vegetable floating on its surface. Its odor is sty but not offensive.

If sewage is allowed still, in contact with air, for twenty four hours settable solid particles in suspension will readily settle but the supernatant Liquid is still turbid and en offensive odor is given off as a result of purification of organic matter present in sewage.

Again if sewage is allowed still for several weeks, the liquid becomes clearer, while the odor disappear since the organic sediments are no longer in a state of purification.

Fig. (1-2) Activities and pollutant Sources Potentially 1.3.2 Time of Collection The strength of sewage varies fr season to season, fr day, as well as fr hour to hour on the se day, depending an the habits of the people and house hold activities. Type of food consumed in different reasons, as well as changes in industrial operations may influence the composition of sewage from season to season, while laundry work changes the character of sewage during the week. In one day, the strongest sewage is during the morning but may be received several hours later at the trteatment plant, while night sewage is mch weaker than day sewage, as shown in Fig. (1-2).

1-3-2 Existence of Air in Contact with Sewage Fresh sewage contains oxygen which is rapidly consumed in the activity of existing aercbic bacteria, if this oxygen is exhausted. Aeorbic bacteria will die and sewage becomes scale and dark in color, and araerobic bacteria will get active, decomposing organic matter into ammonia and ocher gases. Such sewage is called septic sewage, which causes damages to sewers due to corrosion by sulferic acid

On the other hand, if sewage is in continuous contact with the acosphere, it will absorb oxygen from it and such septic condition will not prevail, simple decopositioa of organic acter present in sewage will only tak.e place.

Fig. (1-3) Hourly Variation in flow and strength of municipal wastewater

1-3-4 Treatment of Sewage

High temperatures greatly speeds up the decomposition and disintegration of sewage solids, resulting in stale dark in colour sewage with more finally divided substances present in suspension. 1-3-5 Mechanical Factors

Factors such as pumping will break up the course solids into finer particles.

1.3.6 Quality and Quantity of infiltration and rainwater

Infiltration water and rainwater that ay find its way into the sewer pipes, will greatly affect the amount and concentration of both suspended and soluble solids in the sewage.

1.4 Solid Matters in Sewage

Solid substances which are left behind as a residue upon evaporation of a sewage sample may be divided into two large groups:

1-4-1 Suspended Solids

Susspended solids including all floating material whether on the surface or in the body of sewage. These suspended solids in turn can be divided into two portions, the first of which will settle readily upon standing quisceucly, while the other portion does not settle in a reason-able short time. The quantity of each of these portions depe4 upon:

a- Character of Sewage: If sewage is scale disintegration and decomposition are greater than in fresh sewage resulting in a more finely divided substances that are too difficult to remove by settling.

b- Presence of Trade Wastes:

Such wastes may disperse or coagulate finely divided matter originally present in sewage thus affecting its rate of settling. In general soluble alkaline material disperses acid matter cosgulate.

c- Pumping: Which breaks up mechanically the coarser solids.

1.4.2 Dissolved Solids Including all readily soluble substances such as salts from water supply, soluble material in urine, meat and vegetable extact as well as acids and alkalities from industries.

The quantity of dissolved solids varies from two thirds to quarters of the total solids while the suspended solids iron te balance, depending on the composition of sewage. In treaent works a grea porDicu of suspended solids is roved while a large portion of the soluble matter passes through the treatment works unchanged, the balance being oxidized stabilized. 1.4.3 Mineral and Organic Solids in Sewage

Again the total solid contents of sewage can be divided into other two large groups namely, organic and inorganic or mineral solids. In general about half of the solid matter in sewage is inorganic and the other half is organic. At the same time two thirds of the inorganic solid content is in solution and half of the organic solid content is in solution while the balance of each group is in suspension depending on the character of sewage. The following cable shows the physical conditions of principal constituents of a sewage sample, the numbers are percentages of total solid contents: Organic -10 Settleable solids -15 Total solids-100 Mineral -5 Suspended solids 30 Orgainic -10 Non-Settleable-15 Mineral -5 Orgainc -30 Dissolved solids-70 Mineral -40

Fig. (1-4) Sewer Corrosion to (H2S) Oxidation 1-5 Organic Matter in Sewage The character of organic contents is of utmost important since its decomposition is the major source of nuisances. The principal constiuenta of organic matter are nitrogen, oxygen carbon and hydrogen beside some minor elements such as sulfur and phosphorus.ln general, there are two kinds of decomposition namely:

1.5.1 Purification

i.e. anaerobic decomposition is completed by anaerobic bacteria which is highly active in the absence of oxygen. The end products of such decomposition is methane, amonia, hydrogen sulphide, and carbon dioxide. Such anaerobic decomposition takes place in septic tanks, imhoff tanks of sludge digestion tanks in the sewage treatment works. In such tanks the dissolved oxygen is often quickly depleted since sewage is not in contact with fresh air.

1.5.2 Oxidation

i.e. aerobic decomposition which is completed through the activity of aerobic bacteria, the end products of such decomposition is carbon dioxide, nitrates, sulphates and other in offensive matter. Such aerobic decomposition takes place in both filters and activated sludge tanks in sewage treatment works since sewage is brought continuously in contact with fresh supplies of air.

1.6 Nitrogen Cycle

Since nitrogen composes the main part of organic contents. Study of the cycle of such element in nature will assist in interpreting the behaviour of decomposing sewage. In fact the conditions on which the compounds of such elements are present in a sewage sp1e can be considered as a yardstick to show the degree of de composition the sewage sample has undergone.

In its simplest form, as shown in Fig. (114) , (1/5), the cycle of nitrogen goes in the following steps: a- Nitrogenecus organic matter decomposes to amouia through the activity of anarobc bacteria. b- Aerobic bacteria, through its activity will oxide the amonia into nitrites and finally to nitrates serve as a food for plants c- Nitrogen taken up by plants is converted in the plant, to plant proteins, to be eaten by animals or die. By death the plant protein. becomes organic matter again.

d- If plant is eaten by animals, the animal protein after death becomes organic matter again. Ac the same time the riicrogeneous wastes of animal life are organic matter.

Fig. (1-5) Cycle of Nitrogen, Carbon and Sulphur in Anaerobic Decomposition

1.7 Micro-Organisms in Sewage

Beside the mineral and organic contents, sewage contains a great variety of microscopic organisms as well as bacteria in great numbers, essential agents in stabilizing organic matter yet; some of them are disease producing organisms. The conditions of organic matter as found in sewage depends upon the activity of differentkinds of bacteria present in sewage.

Anaerobicbacceria responsible for pucrficatiou i.e. reducing organic matter into smaller for while aerobic bacteria is responsible for the oxidation and stabilization of organic matter previously reduced by anaerobic bacteria to simpler farms.

1.8 Biochemical Oxygen Demand

This is the amount of oxygen absorbed by bacteria in the process of decomposing and stabilizing the organic matter present in a sewage sample, in order to standardize such tests, it is made under specific conditions which are 5 days incubation period at 20 C. The magnitude of organic matter in the tested sample versus time at different temperatures ar shown in. Fig. (1/6), (1/7).

Fig. (1-6) Progress of B.O.D at 9, 20, & 30 for Average Domestic Sewage

Fig. (1-7) The B.O.D curve (a) Normal Curve for Oxidation of Organic Matter, (b) The Influence Nitrification