SEV301

Water Engineering Design

T1 2019

Week 11 – Wastewater Treatment III

Lecturer: Nicholas Milne
N.Milne@deakin.edu.au
 Tertiary Treatment
• Tertiary treatment is effectively a polishing step
• After biological treatment there are generally low
levels of solids and organics, but there are some
small levels of impurities that can be of concern:
– Nitrogen as ammonia or nitrate
– Phosphorus
– Refractory organics/colour
– Salts
• Also generally include disinfection within tertiary
treatment
PHOSPHORUS PRECIPITATION

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 Precipitation
• Phosphates can have a significant
environmental impact, particularly for
discharge to inland watercourses
• While biological treatment can be designed to
achieve phosphorus reduction, precipitation is
often seen as easier to control
• Three main processes used for precipitation:
– Lime precipitation
– Aluminium precipitation
– Iron precipitation
 Lime precipitation
• Based around a pH shift to greater than 10,
requires the buffering capacity of the water to be
overcome
• Occurs via the reaction:
10Ca2+ + 6PO3−
4 + OH −
→ Ca10 PO4 6 OH 2
• As the reaction requires a pH shift, it is not a
stoichiometric relationship
• Generally need lime at 1.4 to 1.5 times the
alkalinity as CaCO3.
• After precipitation, stabilisation is required
• As the pH shift is a requirement lime precipitation
cannot be used in a co-precipitation technique
 Alum and Ferric Precipitation
• Aluminium and ferric-based precipitation reactions are
similar in that they don’t rely on a pH shift
• Aluminium:
Al3+ + H𝑛𝑛 PO3−𝑛𝑛
4 → AlPO 4 + 𝑛𝑛H +

• Ferric:
Fe3+ + H𝑛𝑛 PO3−𝑛𝑛
4 → FePO 4 + 𝑛𝑛H +

• Stoichiometrically 1 mole of Al or Fe will precipitate 1

mole of P, but the chemistry is generally more
complicated
• Generally the requirements are more than 1 mole of
Al/Fe and needs to be determined experimentally
 Location of Chemical Dosing
• Dosing can occur throughout the treatment process
• Is most efficient on inorganic phosphate
• Organic phosphorus is less likely to precipitate, but may undergo
more complex reactions and achieve some removal
• In primary sedimentation systems, chemical addition can be
used to encourage precipitation and also enhance flocculation
• In secondary treatment, the process is called co-precipitation
and is only suitable for Al and Fe. It requires the pH to be slightly
acidic at 6.5 to 7.0. An overdose of the metal can shift pH and
cause a toxicity to the biological process
• After secondary treatment is somewhat more common as the
organic phosphorus is generally in an inorganic form making
precipitation simpler. The process can also be mixed with
filtration to provide greater degree of solids removal
DEPTH FILTRATION
 Depth Filtration
• While it is commonly used in potable water
treatment, wastewater treatment plants are turning
towards this process as a means to prepare water for
disinfection and desalination processes
• The process is the same from a theoretical
standpoint, but we typically design deeper filters for
longer run times
• In wastewater, due to the higher solids loading, there
is a tendency to look at more interesting designs,
particularly continuous backwashing
 Design Criteria
Media depth Effective size Filtration Rate
Filter Type
(m) (mm) (L.m-2.min-1)
0.3-0.36 0.45-0.65
Shallow – Sand 80-240 (120)
(0.33) (0.45)
0.3-0.5 0.8-1.5
Shallow – Anthracite 80-240 (120)
(0.4) (1.3)
0.5-0.75 0.4-0.8
Conventional – Sand 80-240 (120)
(0.6) (0.65)
0.6-0.9 0.8-2.0
Conventional – Anthracite 80-400 (160)
(0.75) (1.3)
0.9-1.8 2-3
Deep Bed – Sand 80-400 (200)
(1.2) (2.5)
0.9-2.1 2-4
Deep Bed – Anthracite 80-400 (200)
(1.5) (2.7)
0.36-0.9 0.8-2.0
Anthracite
(0.72) (1.3)
Dual Media 80-400 (200)
0.18-0.36 0.4-0.8
Sand
(0.36) (0.65)
Continuous Backwash Filtration
• Proprietary system
• Filtration mode is up-flow
while the media gradually
flows down
• Towards the base of the filter,
water is added through a hood
for maximum distribution
• In the conical base, filter media
is directed towards a central
backwash pipe.
• Compressed air is used to lift
the sand through the pipe and
scours the filter media
• Carefully designed reject
compartment carries backwash
and filtered particles over the
weir while media settles in the
filtration system
 Two Stage Filtration
• Tends to be used for
phosphorus removal
• Is similar to dual media
filtration in that the first
stage has a larger particle
size while the second
stage is finer
• The backwash from the
second filter is recycled to
the first unit
• Tends to allow a TP
concentration of less than
0.02 mg.L-1
AMMONIA STRIPPING
 Ammonia Stripping
• While biological oxidation of ammonia to nitrate is
achievable, there can be issues with sludge age
requirements and control
• At the appropriate pH (>7) ammonia is volatile and
can be removed via an air stripping method
• The approach is similar to VOC removal, however the
effectiveness is lower as ammonia has a lower
Henry’s constant (approx. 0.75)
• This means ammonia stripping towers tend to be
quite large to ensure adequate removal
 Design Criteria
Parameter VOC removal Ammonia removal

Liquid Loading Rate (L.m-2.min-1) 600-1800 40-80

Air-to-Liquid Ratio 20-60:1 2000-6000:1

Stripping Factor 1.5-5.0 1.5-5.0

Air Pressure Drop (Pa/m) 100-400 100-400

Height to diameter <10:1 <10:1

Packing Depth (m)
1-6 2-6
if greater redistribute
Safety Factor 20-50% 20-50%

Wastewater pH 5.5-8.5 10.8-11.5

ION EXCHANGE FOR
AMMONIA
 Ammonia IEX
• Another technique for ammonia removal is ion
exchange
• Probably not as advanced or common as air stripping
• Uses natural materials called zeolites, rather than
polymer beads
• Design is similar to water treatment plants, just make
sure the solids are reduced prior to entering the
tower
DISINFECTION
 Chlorination
• Disinfection generally in waste water treatment is slightly
more complex than in drinking water
• The more polluted water source results a greater number
of side reactions for disinfectants
• This is particularly true of chlorination
• Remember the chlorine decay reaction is dependent on
the presence of organic materials:
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
= −𝐾𝐾𝑏𝑏 𝐶𝐶
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏
𝑏𝑏
𝐾𝐾𝑏𝑏 = 𝑎𝑎 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 exp −
𝑇𝑇
• Chlorination though is also impacted by the presence of
solids and ammonia
 Breakpoint Chlorination
• Initial addition of chlorine in the
presence of ammonia results in an
increase in residual, but not free
chlorine:
NH4+ + HOCl → NH2 Cl + H2 O + H +
NH2 Cl + HOCl → NHCl2 + H2 O
• As the reaction progress, the
residual actually decreases:
NH4+ + 1.5HOCl
→ 0.5N2 + 1.5H2 O + 2.5H +
+ 1.5Cl−
• Eventually, all the ammonia is
converted to nitrogen, this is
called the breakpoint, only after
this point do we see a free
chlorine residual
 Breakpoint Chlorination
• The reactions prior to the
breakpoint become problematic
for a number of reasons:
Increase in TDS – Combined chlorine residual is far less
Chemical Addition effective
per NH3/NH4+
– The reactions produce a significant
quantity of acid, need to neutralize
Breakpoint with Cl2 gas 6.2:1 – There is an overall increase in salinity,
becomes important in reuse
• When considering LRVs with
Breakpoint with NaOCl 7.1:1
breakpoint chlorination it is
important to recognise that the
Breakpoint with Cl2 gas, dose is dependent on the initial
12.2:1
neutralized with CaO free chlorine consumption by
Breakpoint with Cl2 gas, ammonia and organics
14.8:1
neutralized with NaOH • We typically ignore the combined
chlorine residual and focus on the
free chlorine residual during
design and operation
Breakpoint Chlorination

Ammonia and ON
Ammonia
 Chlorination
• The tables I gave you are specific to drinking water
and, despite being from Nova Scotia, are ultimately
from the US EPA and recognised throughout
Australia
• They are derived from a number of different models:
– For Giardia – Martin Equation:
𝐶𝐶𝑇𝑇𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 = 0.2828 × pH 2.69 × 𝐶𝐶 0.15 × LRV × 0.933𝑇𝑇−5

– For bacteria – Modified Collins Model:

−𝑛𝑛
𝑁𝑁 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶
=
𝑁𝑁0 𝑏𝑏
n is 2.8 and b is 4.0 for coliforms in secondary effluent, and
2.8 and 3.0 for faecal coliforms in secondary effluent
 Disinfection By-Products
• DBPs are more a concern for waste water,
particularly where water recycling is practiced,
because there is a higher concentration of pre-
cursors
• The focus is typically on trihalomethanes (THMs),
haloacetic acids (HAA) and nitrosamines such as
NDMA
• There is dual-pronged focus to reducing DBPs –
reducing the presence of pre-cursors and reducing
the chlorine dose
 Dechlorination
• The level of chlorination provided is sometimes excessive
and can be potentially hazardous when discharged
• Dechlorination is used to reduce the total chlorine
residual to acceptable levels
• Activated carbon:
C + Cl2 + 2H2 O → 4HCl + CO2
C + 2NH2 Cl + 2H2 O → CO2 + 2NH4+ + 2Cl−
C + 4NHCl2 + 2H2 O → CO2 + 2N2 + 8H + + 2Cl−
• Metabisulphite:
Na2 S2 O5 + Cl2 + 3H2 O → 2NaHSO4 + 4HCl
Na2 S2 O5 + 2NH2 Cl + 3H2 O → Na2 SO4 + H2 SO4 + 2Cl− + 2NH4+
Design
 Baffles
• The hydraulic
performance of a
chlorine contact chamber
can be improved by the
addition of baffles at the
beginning of each run
• The baffle is similar to a
stilling wall with
openings representing
between 6 and 10 % of
the cross sectional area
• The head losses for each
baffle are given by:
2
1 𝑄𝑄
ℎ𝐿𝐿 =
2𝑔𝑔 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶
 UV Disinfection
• The process is similar to disinfection of potable water
except the design tends to focus on banks of lamps
submerged in open channels rather than pressurised
reactors

• Doses can be found from tables, but there is an

equation that was proposed for sewage that also
accounts for the bacteria shielded by solids:
𝑁𝑁𝑃𝑃 0
𝑁𝑁 𝑡𝑡 = 𝑁𝑁𝐷𝐷 0 𝑒𝑒 −𝑘𝑘 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 + 1 − 𝑒𝑒 −𝑘𝑘 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶
𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘
SLUDGE MANAGEMENT

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 Sources
• Screenings – very coarse solids, disposed to landfill
• Grit – coarse solids, largely inorganic, disposed to
landfill
• Primary sludge – settled solids, predominantly organic,
extremely offensive odour, readily digestable
• Activated sludge – settled solids, including biomass,
fine organic and inorganic components, earthy odour,
readily digestable
• Trickle filter sludge – scoured solids, including biomass,
can contain worms and larvae, readily digestable
 Sources

Treatment Process SGs SGsl Solids (%)

Primary 1.4 1.02 4-8

Activated sludge 1.25 1.005 0.8-2
Trickling filter sludge 1.45 1.025 2-4
Primary with iron 1.6 1.04 0.5-3
Primary with lime (low) 1.9 1.04 2-8
Primary with lime (high) 2.2 1.05 4-15
 SLUDGE THICKENING

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wastewatertreatment.com/
 Sludge Thickening
• Sludge thickening is generally used to increase
the organic “strength” of the sludge prior to
digestion
• Gravity thickening is common and is
effectively similar to the process in drinking
water plants
• Design criteria vary based on the sludge
source – the characteristics of sludge are
dependent on where it is sourced
 Thickener - Design Criteria

Influent Solids
Treatment Thickened Solids Effluent
Solids Loading
Process Solids (%) capture (%) Solids (mg.L-1)
(%) (kg.m-2.d-1)
Primary 1-7 5-10 90-150 85-98 300-1000
Activated sludge 0.2-1.5 2-4 10-40 60-85 200-1000
Trickling filter
1-4 2-6 35-50 80-92 200-1000
sludge
Combined
0.5-2 4-6 25-80 85-92 300-800
primary and AS
Adapted From Qasim and Metcalf and Eddy (Table 14-19)
 Dissolved Air Flotation
• DAF relies on the dissolving under pressure in water
such that when the pressure is released, small bubbles
form that float light particles
• The sludge is primarily collected from the top of the
unit via a skimmer
• The process works best on less dense, organic type
materials such as from the activated sludge process
• Important design criteria include the air to solids ratio
and the SVI (generally only suitable for SVI < 200)
• Often also add a polymer to aid in the thickening
process
Dissolved Air Flotation
 DAF - Design Criteria

Solids Hydraulic
Treatment Air/Solid Solids Effluent
Loading Loading
Process Ratio capture (%) Solids (mg.L-1)
(kg.m-2.d-1) (m .m .d )
3 -2 -1

Primary 0.04-0.07 90-200 90-250 80-95 100-600

Activated sludge 0.03-0.05 50-90 60-180 80-95 100-600
Trickling filter
0.02-0.05 50-120 90-250 90-98 100-600
sludge
Combined
0.02-0.05 60-150 90-250 90-95 100-600
primary and AS
ANAEROBIC DIGESTION

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 Sludge Stabilization
• Sludges from wastewater treatment processes
tend to capture pathogenic bacteria and organic
solids that easily putrefy
• If the sludge is due to be incinerated then this
isn’t a problem, but is the sludge is to be put to a
meaningful end use some stabilization is required
• Stabilization can take the forms of:
– Anaerobic digestion
– Aerobic digestion
– Chemical stabilization
– Thermal stabilization
 Chemical Stabilization
• Chemical stabilization focuses
on two approaches: oxidation
via chlorine, peroxide or ozone
(similar to disinfection) or
increasing the pH using lime Lime Dose – Lime Dose –
Sludge Source Range Typical
• Both result in microbial kills and (kg.(kg solids)-1) (kg.(kg solids)-1)
reduce the putrefaction that
occurs within the sludge, Primary 0.06-0.17 0.12
however the effect is
temporary, particularly for
oxidation WAS 0.21-0.43 0.30
• Regrowth and odour generation
can be minimised for lime Primary + WAS 0.15-0.35 0.24
stabilization as long as the pH is
maintained above 12
Digested 0.15-0.30 0.25
• Requires significant chemical
demand
 Thermal Stabilization
• The thermal process is used both for stabilization and
conditioning
• Sludge is heated to 140-250 °C at a pressure of 2760
kPa for 30 min
• The stabilization consists of three simultaneous
processes:
– Sterilization
– Deodorization
– Coagulation
• Ultimately the final sludge is safe and easily
dewaterable
• Costs are significant due to the pressure and heating
requirements of the process, tends to restrict the use
of the approach
 Aerobic Digestion
• Aerobic digestion is Parameter Design Range
effectively an extension
θc (d) 10-15
of the activated sludge
Volume allowance
process (m3/capita)
0.085-0.113

• Sludge is aerated for an VS loading (kg.m-3.d-1) 0.384-1.6

extended period (10 to Air requirement - WAS
0.02-0.035
20 days) to facilitate the (m3.m-3.min-1)
breakdown of organic Air requirement –
Primary >0.06
matter (m3.m-3.min-1)
• The process is simple to Minimum DO (mg.L-1) 1-2
operate, requires low Temperature (°C) >15
capital investment, but VSS reduction (%) 35-50
has high running costs
Aerobic Digestion
 Anaerobic Digestion
• Anaerobic digestion is the breakdown of organic
material via anaerobic and facultative bacteria in the
absence of oxygen
• Consists of three main steps:
– Hydrolysis – conversion of long chained organics to
glucose, amino acids and fatty acids
– Acidogenesis – conversion of organics to short chained
organic acids
– Methanogenesis – conversion of organic acids to methane
• The kinetics are controlled by the methane producing
bacteria and these dictate environmental conditions
• Ultimately pH needs to be maintained above 6 and
temperature is maintained in the range of 27 to 43 °C
• Overall a reduction in VS of 40 to 60% is expected
 Anaerobic Digestion
• Three general types of
digestors:
– Standard-rate – consists of
intermittent sludge feed
and no heating. The sludge
separates over time
resulting in a supernatant
and sludge. Digestion
period is long (30 to 60
days)
– High-rate – generally
heated and completely
mixed system with a
shorter detention time (10
to 20 days). Sludge feed is
more consistent
– Two-stage – a combination
of the standard and high-
rate
 Design Criteria
Parameter Standard-rate High-rate
θc (d) 30-60 10-20
Sludge loading (kg VS.m-3.d-1) 0.64-1.60 2.40-6.41
Volume criteria - Primary (m3/capita) 0.03-0.04 0.02-0.03
Volume criteria – Primary + WAS
0.06-0.08 0.02-0.04
(m3/capita)
Volume criteria – Primary + Trickling
0.06-0.14 0.02-0.04
(m3/capita)

Operating T (°C) θc,min (d) θc,des (d)

18 11 28

Metcalf & Eddy 24 8 20

Table 14-26 30 6 14
35 4 10
40 4 10
 Sizing
• The design process is a little more unusual –
sizing is based around four different
approaches:
– Digestion period (Dt) or SRT
– Volumetric loading
– Population
– Observed volume reduction
• Observed volume reduction equation:
2
𝑉𝑉 = 𝑄𝑄𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 − 𝑄𝑄𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 − 𝑄𝑄𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐷𝐷𝑡𝑡
3
 Methane Production
• Anaerobic digestion results in the production of methane
• The volume of methane produced is dependent on the
chemistry and can be estimated in a number of ways
• One is based on the production of solids:
𝑌𝑌𝑌𝑌𝑆𝑆0
𝑃𝑃𝑥𝑥 =
1 + 𝑘𝑘𝑑𝑑 𝜃𝜃𝑐𝑐
𝑉𝑉 = 0.35 𝐸𝐸𝑆𝑆0 − 1.42𝑃𝑃𝑥𝑥
Y is the yield coefficient (0.04 to 0.1 g VSS.g bCOD-1), E is the
efficiency (0.6 to 0.9), kd is the decay coefficient (0.02 to 0.04
d-1)
• Alternatively, methane production can be estimated by:
– 0.5 to 0.75 m3.kg-1 of volatile solids loading
– 0.75 to 1.12 m3.kg-1 of volatile solids reduced
– 0.03 to 0.04 m3.person-1.d-1
• Methane is only a part of what is produced, typically 66%
 Volatile Solids Loading Factor
Sludge
θc = 10 d θc = 12 d θc = 15 d θc = 20 d
concentration (%)
2 1.4 1.2 0.95 0.7
3 2.1 1.8 1.4 1.1
4 2.9 2.4 1.9 1.4
5 3.6 3.0 2.4 1.8
6 4.3 3.6 2.9 2.1
7 5.0 4.2 3.3 2.5
8 5.7 4.8 3.8 2.9

Units for VS loading are kg.m-3.d-1

Adapted from Table 14-28 Metcalf & Eddy

 Methane Production
• The covers in a digestor are designed to collect produced gases
• It is important that they prevent the ingress of oxygen into the
digestor – sludge gases are explosive at concentrations of 5 to 20% in
air
• Two main cover categories:
– Fixed – inexpensive, designed to maintain a constant level in the tank
(can be a problem with periodic withdrawals)
– Floating – expensive, float on the surface of the water and can move
with the water surface
 Heating Requirements
• High-rate digestors typically need to be heated to the
mesophilic range, about 35 °C
• We can determine the heating requirements for the
incoming stream based on basic thermodynamics:
𝐻𝐻𝑅𝑅 = 𝑄𝑄𝐶𝐶𝑝𝑝 𝑇𝑇2 − 𝑇𝑇1
Where Cp is the heat capacity of the sludge, generally
assumed as 4200 J.kg-1.K-1
• While this is the largest component of heat required,
we should also account for the loss of heat from the
digestor:
𝐻𝐻𝐿𝐿 = 𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈 𝑇𝑇2 − 𝑇𝑇1
Where U is the heat transfer coefficient
DEWATERING

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 Final Dewatering
• The dewatering options for wastewater
treatment are similar to drinking water
production
• Non-mechanical:
– Sand Drying
• Mechanical:
– Centrifugation
– Belt filter press
– Vacuum filtration
 Belt Filter Press
• Very common technique for
dewatering
• Four main zones:
– Polyelectrolyte addition –
conditioning of the sludge to
improve dewaterability (2 to
5 g/kg sludge)
– Gravity drainage – flat or
slightly inclined belt with
gravity filtration
– Low pressure – area where
the belts come together to
form a filter cake that will
withstand high shear
– High pressure – rollers and
varying movement of the
upper and lower belt
 Design Criteria

Parameter Design Range

Solids in feed sludge (% dry weight) 3-10
Solids in feed cake (% dry weight) 20-40
Polymer for conditioning (% of dry solids) 0.2-0.5
TSS in filtrate (mg/L) 100-1000
Solids capture (%) 90-95
Sludge dewatering rate (kg/(m belt width).h) 200-700
Hydraulic throughput (L/(m belt width).s) 2-8
 Design Criteria
Feed Polymer
Solids Loading Cake Solids
Sludge Type Solids Dose
(kg.(m belt width)-1.h-1) (%)
(%) (g.kg-1)
Raw – Primary 3-10 360-680 1-5 28-44
Raw – WAS 0.5-4 45-230 1-10 20-35
Raw – Primary +
3-6 180-590 1-10 20-35
WAS
An Digested –
3-10 360-590 1-5 25-36
Primary
An Digested – WAS 3-4 40-135 2-10 12-22
An Digested –
3-9 180-680 2-8 18-44
Primary + WAS