CDB 3082

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING LAB IV

LABORATORY 1

Waste Water Sampling and Characterization

-Solid Determination-
Group #:
Name Student I.D.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

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Laboratory Description
The experiment is an alternative method in the mode of self-learning, which is assigned for each group.
Students are encouraged to use all resources available to ensure complete understanding on the
experiment assigned. Following are the objectives of the experiment, the expected outputs for
submission and the laboratory safety aspects.
Laboratory Objectives
1. To ensure students have hands-on training on an analysis method.
2. To ensure students are able to interpret, analyse, evaluate and give relevant recommendations
for their projects.
3. To encourage students to share the knowledge gained from the doing the laboratory analysis for
others by doing a presentation.
4. To encourage students to ask questions to the presenter in order to enhance their knowledge.
Laboratory Output
1. A written report to be submitted in one week time. The report should include:
a. Introduction
b. Literature review
c. Methodology
d. Results and discussion
e. Conclusion and recommendation
2. A short report to be submitted in the next day of experiment. The report should include:
a. Data collection
b. Results calculation
c. Answers of questions
Laboratory Safety
1. NO food and drink.
2. NO sandals or open-toe or heels shoes.
3. Hygiene: at times you will work with sewage. Be aware that handling your pens, calculator,
packs, etc. with contaminated gloves will contaminate those items. Putting pens in your mouth
that may have been on the bench or handled with gloves could be hazardous.
4. Spills: Wipe up all spills immediately, wash down and dry the bench. Please ask for assistance if
chemicals are spilled.
5. Broken Glass: Be careful not to break glass, but if you do ask for assistance. DO NOT PUT
BROKEN GLASS INTO THE REGULAR GARBAGE CONTAINER. If you cut yourself, no matter how
minor, please get help.
6. Clean-up: You must leave your workstation as you found it – clean and dry. All glassware must
be rinsed well (at least 5 times with tap water) and put on paper towels at your station or on
drying racks. Remember to empty and rinse burettes as well.

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SOLIDS DETERMINATION

Descriptions:
A common wastewater treatment plant test is total suspended solid (TSS) determination. You
will have to design an experimental step to determine TSS, analyze for meeting the standard
requirement and recommend the treatment plant for the samples provided during the lab.
Warning: You will be handling sewage samples which may contain pathogenic bacteria. Use
pipette bulbs, wipe up all spills and wash with disinfectant, keep hands and pencils away from
your mouth and wash hands frequently.

Objectives:
1. To become familiar with wastewater treatment plant tests.
2. To illustrate some difficulties in performing these tests.
3. To measure wastewater treatment plant efficiency in removing residue.

Materials:
1. Imhoff cones
2. Oven
3. Muffle furnace
4. Desiccators
5. Weighing balance
6. Evaporating dish
7. Tin dishes
8. Graduated cylinders (500 mL)
9. Distilled water bottles
10. Stirring rods
11. 47 mm glass fibre filters and aluminium dish
12. Vacuum pump
13. Filter holder (funnel, clamp and base)
14. Filtering flask
15. Flat tip tweezer

Samples:
1. Sewage from UTP campus
2. Water from the lake
3. Aeration tank wastewater (made in the lab)
Experiments:
Experiment A: Settleable solids
1. Mix all individual samples thoroughly and fill individually marked Imhoff cones to the 1
litre mark.

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2. Settle for 45 minutes, gently dislodge any solids that have clung to the sides using a
stirring rod, settle for 15 minutes longer, and record the volume of settleable solids. If
large pockets of liquid form between the particles of settled matter, subtract an
estimated volume from the measured volume of matter. Do not include and surface
floating material as settled solids.
Experiment B: Total Solids and Total Volatile Solids and Fixed Solids
1. Obtain the tare (empty) weights of properly prepared porcelain evaporating dish (ie.
ones that have been washed, dried, pre-fired and desiccated –done for you, prior to
session)
2. Mix samples thoroughly. Transfer approximately 500 mL of samples (for Part B and C) of
each sample into beakers and then, immediately stir each beaker. Measure 25 mL of
samples using graduated cylinders. Quickly record the exact volume and pour each
sample into a dish. Using very small amount of distilled water, rinse the cylinder, adding
rinsings to the dish.
[Note: It may be harder to wash out solids if you allow them to settle before pouring into the
dish – so be quick]
3. Make sure you have recorded all pertinent details: Label the dishes with sample sources.
Put the dishes in the 103 -105C oven for drying overnight. Do not write on the crucibles
as high temperature during the next steps will burn writing off.
4. After drying, the dishes will be transferred to a dessicator. Obtain the gross weights of
the dishes [Note: the dishes should be at room temperature before weighing.] Calculate
the total solids in mg/L values.
5. The dishes containing the dried total solids can now be placed in a muffle furnace. The
samples are fired at 550C for one hour. The furnace will then be allowed to cool
significantly before dishes are removed to a dessicator. Once the dishes are at room
temperature they can be re-weighed. Calculate the fixed and volatile solids in terms of
mg/L.
Experiment C: Suspended Solids – Total and Volatile
1. Obtain the tare weights of three aluminium dishes each containing a glass fibre filter.
2. Assemble filtering apparatus, position the filter and begin suction. Wet filter with a small
volume of distilled water to seat it.
3. Using samples poured for Part B (for consistency), stir the beaker contents and then
rapidly (so that it does not settle) measure 50 mL of influent , 10 ml of aeration tank
wastewater and 75 mL for effluent. [Hint: pour out small portions (say 10 mL for
influent, 5 mL for aeration tank wastewater and 25 mL for the effluent) of well mixed

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 sample and filter entire portion before pouring another portion; when filtering slows
significantly do not pour another portion. Record the total volume filtered.] Rinse the
graduated cylinder with small amounts of distilled water and add to filter.
4. Carefully remove filter from filtration apparatus and transfer it back to the aluminium
dish. Pinch sides of dish in a bit to protect the filter from oven drafts. Place the
aluminium dish into the 103C oven to dry for at least one hour (leave drying overnight).
5. Transfer dish to dessicator, cool and weigh. Calculate the total suspended solids in terms
of mg/L.
6. The aluminium dish and filter holding the suspended solids (which you just weighed)
must now be fired in a muffle furnace at 550C for at least 15 minutes (or until constant
weight). After firing cool the dishes completely before re-weighing them to determine
the loss on ignition or volatile suspended solids in terms of mg/L.
7. From the above determinations it is now possible to obtain a value for the dissolved
suspended solids.
Calculations and questions:
Part I: Calculate the percent solids reduction through the treatment plant.

Settleable matter Total solids

Volatile suspended solids Fixed solids

Suspended solids Volatile suspended solids

Fixed suspended solids Dissolved solids

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Part II: Answer the following questions
1. What major types of solids are removed in primary treatment and secondary treatment
respectively?

2. Why must residue samples be brought to ambient temperature before weighing?

3. Using your data and assuming that the flowrate going into the treatment plant is
10 x 106 L/day, how many kg/day of suspended solids are in the raw influent?

4. Assuming that the wastewater treatment plant have a primary sedimentation tank. If 60% of
the raw influent TSS is removed during primary sedimentation, find the volume of primary
sludge produced. Assume that the specific gravity of fixed solids is 2.5 and volatile solids is
1.0.

5. A raw sewage goes through an anaerobic digestion process, where the volatile solids are
reduced from 65% to 40%. If all of the volatile solids reduced is given off as gas and if the
specific gravity of the volatile solids is 1.3 and fixed solids is 2.5, what is the percentage
reduction in solids volume?

~Good Luck~

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