Final Yr B Arch - Environmental Services

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Sewage Disposal

Sewage and its contents:

Sewage may contain liquid and semi solid substances from residential institutional
and commercial buildings. The may contain outgo from WCs, Urinals, Bathrooms,
washbasins and kitchen sinks etc. It may also contain rainwater, storm water and
subsoil water.
It is usually 99% liquid.
In larger cities these drains are very large in size, as they have to carry large
volumes. These drains may sometimes carry large amount of gritty material such
as sand, grit, stone chips, ash, pieces of glass and metals etc. It may also contain
organic substances like fecal pieces, vegetable waste, fruit peals, plant and animal
bodies along with cotton and rags. It may also contain such inert materials as
plastics, ash etc. All these materials may be in dissolved, suspended or colloidal
state. The materials present are carbohydrates, fatty, and nitrogenous in nature
and are high on carbon oxygen and hydrogen and sometimes contain nitrogen
and Sulphur. These also contain large amount of proteins and related chemicals.
These decompose at various intervals to produce ammonia, CO2 and other
gasses harmful to life. This decomposition takes place due to presence of
bacteria. Growth of bacteria takes place under warm conditions (21 to 27 o)
centigrade and in alkaline conditions.
Mineral matters contain sand, gravel, grit, street wash, clay, debris, and soap,
chemicals and industrial waste. The Aerobic bacteria need free oxygen and the
Un-aerobic bacteria survive and act in conditions of darkness and absence of free
oxygen. The reaction of Un-aerobic bacteria is known as hydrolysis as hydrogen
and oxygen are separated and are combined with carbon, nitrogen and sulphur to
form such unhealthy obnoxious materials as Methane (CH 4), CO2, N2, Ammonia
(NH3), hydrogen sulphide (H2S) etc. Since this process starts immediately after the
sewage starts running down the drain, it has a bad smell.
These chemicals further decompose to support plant life and in turn support
animal life. These are known as cycles of carbon, Nitrogen and Sulpher.
Fundamentals of Sewage Disposal.
Sewage must be disposed of in a manner in which no nuisance will be caused to
the natural environment.
If untreated sewage is let into the stream of a river it may turn foul for lack of
oxygen, may produce unsightly floating layers of grease, and objectionable
deposits on the riverbed. It may also cause the growth of decease causing
bacteria. Hence all the sewage must be treated before it can be let into the stream
for A) Dilution or can be let for B) Land treatment.
The process of sewage treatment is in parts and stages.
Screening: In this process, the floating large objects that come with the sewage
are separated with help of Screens. In these, there can be screens of various
sizes for removing objects of various sizes These are of size 125 to 15 mm.
Screens can be cleaned with manual cleaning systems or can have mechanical
cleaning systems.. This is done to protect the pumps in the sewage treatment
plant from getting damaged.
The contents of screening are rags, papers, animal plant bodies and parts etc.
The screened material is objectionable, foul and wet hence must be disposed off
as quickly as possible. It will be disposed of either as 1) fertilizer, 2) will be ground
and let into the sewage 3) will be added to Municipal garbage, 4) Incinerated after
de-watering or 5) will be buried and used for land fill.
Grit Chambers: The object of providing grit chambers is to separate material such
as grit, gravel etc. These may damage pumps, get deposited in siphons, and may
get deposited in areas where the sewage is let into water-body. Grit chambers are
enlarged basins where the sewage is made to flow at a slower pace. The heavy
materials like sand, grit, gravel, metals, glass, seeds, bones etc. settle down at the
bottom of the chambers and are removed by manual or mechanical methods.
These are wet, and may get fowl as it also contains some amount of
biodegradable material. Grit may be used for land filling and for covering the
screening. It can be used for pathways. If used as additive to garden soil it can
give good returns.
Skimming: Skimming is adopted for removing floating matter from the sewage.
These contain grease, oil, wood, cork, fruit skins, vegetable refuge etc. The tank is
designed to allow these materials to top. The remaining sewage flows to the next
stage of purification.
The material removed at the stage of skimming is generally biodegradable and is
either buried, or is burnt.
Sedimentation: Sedimentation is adopted to remove suspended particles from
sewage. After removal of screen, grit and skimming, the sewage consists of fine
suspended particles and water with dissolved elements. The suspended matter
settles down after a time in a brown black paste form and is known as Sludge. The
liquid that is left contains large amount of water and dissolved material. This liquid
is known as effluent.
The process of deposition of sludge can be done by two methods. 1) Plain
sedimentation 2) Chemical sedimentation
Plain sedimentation: This occurs when the speed of sewage is reduced and is
allowed to rest in a sedimentation tank. Here the particles of larger in size will
settle down, as sewage is kept stranded for a period of1.5 to 3 hours.
The entry and exits must be designed in such a way that sewage does not get
agitated and the flow from inlet and outlet is uniform.
The bottom of the tank is made sloping for ease of cleaning.
Chemical precipitation of sludge is done in case there are large amount of very
fine particles. Chemicals like alum are added to help these particles to coagulate.
To speed up the process of coagulation, the water is slowly churned in
Flocculation chambers with help of flash mixers. This makes the particles to come
close to each other and get attached to each other. These then become heavy and
tend to settle down.
After flocculation the liquid is led into the clarifiers where the suspended solids and
flocks settle down.
Removal of very fine suspended particles can be done with help of Filters.
Sludge digestion and disposal.
The undigested sludge is gray yellow in color, has objectionable odor. It retains
water. It is putrescible and has large moisture content. During the process of
digestion 70 % of the organic matter in sludge gets converted to gaseous or other
volatile material.
The digestion of sludge is brought about by un-aerobic bacteria. Sludge gets
digested and the weight gets reduced considerably. It becomes inoffensive. It
readily looses water after digestion. Pathogenic organisms get destroyed. Gasses
like CO and CH4 are formed. Combustible gasses like CH 4 can be recovered. The
residue is good fertilizer. The digested sludge is jet black in color, has no
unpleasant odor and has porous structure.
Sludge digestion happens in three stages. 1) Disintegration of sludge and acid
formation lasting for about 14 days 2) Digestion of organic acids reduction in acidic
nature of the sludge lasting for about 14 days and 3) Disintegration of more
resistant materials and increase in alkalinity lasting for about 120 days. This stage
is very slow.
The process can be conducted in a favorable manner under controlled conditions
These are depends on 1) Sludge seeding (adding digested sludge to fresh sludge
to speed up the process), 2) Temperature (26 o to 35Oc(40 days of digestion period)
or 52O c (7 to 10 days of digestion period), 3) mechanical agitation (mixing
digested and fresh sludge to increase the rate of digestion), 4) controlling pH value
(excess of acid mars the activity of bacteria that thrive in alkaline environment,
alkalis may be added), 5) reaction (The reaction between the digested sludge and
fresh sludge must be controlled.)
Disposal of Sludge
Digested sludge is alkaline in nature. Hence it may be washed with water to
reduce alkalinity.
Sludge digestion tanks of various sizes are constructed. As a result of digestion
the volume of sludge is reduced considerably. It also makes the sludge drainable.
It is therefore 1) Dried in air on sludge drying beds, 2) Coagulation of sludge is
carried out with chemicals like alum, ferric chloride with lime. 3) Vacuum filters are
used for removing water. 4) Drying sludge by draining with help of press. 5)
Centrifuging to separate liquids from the sludge. 6) Heating 7) Sludge is heavier
than water. It can be treated with biological acidic fermentation of sludge for
increasing the concentration and floated.
Use and final disposal of sludge can be as Manure. When mixed with earth it
improves the quality and productivity of soil. The artificial fertilizers impoverish the
land by killing the bacteria and earthworms. These systems are essential for
healthy growth of Plants. These systems get strengthened due to sludge. Sludge
can also be used for composting biodegradable garbage. The sludge in this case
should be in moist condition and should have adequate bacteria. Fresh sludge, if
dried can also be used for composting. Sludge can be also incinerated to produce
manure. The concentrate of B 12 vitamin extracted from sludge products can be
used for animal feed. Acetic acid and other acids are formed during the stage of
acidic fermentation and may be recovered.
If sludge in not utilized, it must be disposed off either by letting into water, or on
land wherever possible. Sludge can be let on ground in trenches and shall be
mixed with earth. It can also be used for landfill. Sludge may be burnt in
incinerator or furnaces. Sludge may be treated in lagoons
Sludge can be utilized for production of gas. The sludge losses gas continuously
in the process of digestion. This gas can be recovered. Large quantities of
methane (CH4) is produced (60 to 80 % of total gas produced.) in this process.
Treatment of effluent: After removing the settlable solids or sludge a large
amount of floating non- settlable and dissolved organic substances are left in the
effluent. These must be treated. These are stabilized with help of aerobic bacteria.
This are filtered and converted into humus with help of aerobic bacteria. The final
effluent after removal of humus can be let into waterway without any threat to the
environment.
The process can also be done with help of activated sludge process. In this type
of treatment, the primary effluent and micro-organisms are mixed and are aerated.
This allows the growth of aerobic bacteria that decompose and stabilize the
materials. The necessary bacteria are obtained by aerobic treatment of sludge in
which the sludge turns reddish brown. It is then mixed with the effluent for the
treatment of the effluent.
The effluent may be chlorinated for dis-infection and reducing bacteria.

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Sewage treatment by dilution and land methods

Disposal by dilution
Disposal by dilution will depend on the capacity of a water-body to take the load of
the pollutants. Any water-body has a capacity for self-purification. When any foul
sewage is added to a water-body, it will need oxygen to oxidize and stabilize the
sewage. This is due to the aerobic bacteria that use the oxygen for stabilizing the
sewage thru' oxidation. This is known as biological oxygen demand (B. O. D.) of
the sewage and it is expressed as milligrams per liter (Mg/l). If adequate oxygen is
not available, the un-aerobic bacteria will start growing in the water-body and this
will turn the water-body septic and foul smelling.
When some amount of impurities gets added, the oxygen level of the water-body
goes down as the oxygen gets used for oxidation. The used oxygen is replenished
automatically by the water-body. This capacity depends on temperature as cool
water has better capacity to replenish oxygen. This capacity increases with
increase in barometric pressure.
Hence the amount of sewage and level of impurities in sewage that are
permissible will depend on the bio oxygen demand of sewage and the self
purifying capacity of water-body.
Sea has tremendous capacity to recycle sewage. The rivers and other water-
bodies have some amount of capacity to take sewage hence the sewage must
undergo primary treatment of screening, gritting, skimming and sludge digestion
before at can be let into the water body. If the water body cannot take the sewage
after primary treatment due to very high B. O. D. it must undergo treatment for
stabilization. This can be done with help of processes like activated Sludge
process.
The factors to be considered for ease of dilution are 1) Freshness of sewage 2)
absence of floating matter and settle-able solids 3) mixing or diffusion 4) high
amount of dissolved oxygen 5) swift current of water to remove the sewage to
area of unlimited dilution 6) non putrefying conditions of solids 7) absence of still
water to avoid settling of sludge.
Various water bodies considered for dilution are 1) Ocean: Has unlimited capacity.
The sewage must be carried to deep seas at list a few kilometers away. The
current in the sea should be such as not to wash the sewage to the shore. Water
in the sea though unlimited in quantity has a lower capacity to recycle sewage on
account of turbidity, higher specific gravity and lower oxygen content. Sewage is
discharged through pipelines or through vassals. 2) Creeks: The creeks may
contain no river water in summer hence it is difficult to dispose of sewage without
stabilizing the same. 3) Streams and rivers: The flow varies through the year
being less in summer. The biological activity is more, but the solubility of oxygen is
less in summer due to temperature. This increases the difficulty. 4) Estuaries: The
dilution is more in this case as the water flows from the river as well as from the
sea upwards into the river. 5) Lakes: The sewage outfall at the lake must be
located in such a way as to facilitate drawing water from the lake for use by the
society. Hence generally the outfall is far away from the city. 6) Ground waters:
When sewage is passing through permeable strata it gets purified by filtration.
Disposal on land
Land has good capacity to purify sewage as it contains large amount of oxygen.
This capacity is different for different soils. It depends on factors like
porosity, which allows for infiltration and retention of oxygen. The porous
soils are permeable. The permeability decreases from sand to loam to clay
to tight clay. Permeable soils also have large amount of voids for oxygen.
This oxygen from pores, along with the oxygen available in ground water
due to capillary action, together act on sewage to stabilize the organic
compounds. Drainage and ventilation of soil is essential. Carbon-di-oxide
must be removed and replaced by oxygen. If the soil does not get adequate
ventilation, it may turn septic due to growth of un-aerobic bacteria. This
also happens in case of pond of sewage when oxygen supply to ground
stops.
The growth of organic bacteria needs certain chemicals like nitrogen and sulphure.
The inorganic substances that are present in the soil provide these
chemicals.
Advantages of application of treated sewage.
When treated sewage is applied to the land, the bacteria will work on the minerals
in land and make them soluble. Water-holding capacity of soil will also be
increased. There will be enough supply of plant food in terms of nitrogen. The soil
becomes rich in plant food as the sewage contains 1 to 13 gms of nitrogen, 0.5 to
5 gms of Phosphate, 0.2 to 7 gms of Potash and 20 to 55 gms of organic solids
per capita. These can directly be utilized by plants. The organic matter contains
humus that produces more of humus. Minerals add to the quality of soil. The
Micro-organisms and life in the sewage improve the quality of soil.
Methods of disposal
The treated sewage can be used by various methods for irrigation of fields. The
sewage can be applied to the land in such a way that the sewage gets purified
and the organic substances get stabilized and are used by the plant forms. The
water that comes after treatment can be utilized for recharging of the waterways.
These methods are most suitable where rainfall is scanty, climate is dry, wind
direction is favorable, and soil is porous. The sewage can be let into the land by
ridge and furrows method, surface irrigation or flood irrigation.
In all these methods agricultural open jointed drains are provided under ground
level so as to drain the soil well so that ventilation of soil can be maintained. It also
helps in making the soil free of sewage sickness. It also allows collecting the
treated and stabilized sewage that can be let into the waterways.
In sub surface irrigation methods, the sewage is let into the soil below surface
level. Sewage moves up due to capillary action.
In methods of sprinkling, sewage is sprinkled over land by sprinklers.
Filtration by land also can be done wherein the sewage is treated with land as
media of treatment, so that ultimately the sewage can be let into the waterway
without causing any harm. In this method, the fields are applied with sewage and
are drained with under-drains of open jointed pipes.
Lagooning: Lagoons are made for stabilizing sewage. There are two types. 1)
aerobic lagoons 2) Un-aerobic lagoons.
The aerobic lagoons work due to aerobic bacteria. These need oxygen for survival
and working. They work on the bio substances to stabilize them and in the process
produce carbon di oxide. The oxygen required for this process is provided by blue
green algae that get formed due to sunlight. The algae consume CO 2 produced by
the bacteria and supply oxygen. This is known as symbiosis. The digested
stabilized sewage is rich in algae, bacteria and oxygen which when applied to
farmlands, make good plant food and nourish the land.
Un aerobic lagoons work with help of un-aerobic bacteria. In this, molecules of the
same substance perform oxidation and reduction between themselves to get
converted into stable substances. These methods produce gases that may cause
nuisance of bad odor in the area.