Sewage

Treatment
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Introduction
The bulk of the biodegradable pollutants that can
be released into the environment is made up of:
1. Domestic wastes
2. Institutional liquid waste
3. Industrial wastes
4. Agricultural wastes

Two Phases Of Water

Pollution
Chemical pollution
Physical pollution

Chemicals Pollution
Pesticides and fertilizers that contain nitrates and
phosphates are a source of chemicals that cause
water pollution. These chemicals seep into the
groundwater and mix with runoff moving to lakes
and rivers.
Chemical pollution is mainly industrial, with the
release of acids, alkali and toxic compounds, which
can poison the living organism in the waterways.

Physical Pollution
Physical pollution is the release of contaminants
into the waterway of materials that can change the
waters physical conditions, as the warm water
which it is used for cooling in the industries.

There are two forms:

1.liquid ,
2. solid.
Their sources:
1.private houses.
2.commercial buildings,
3.institutions like schools and hospitals.

Domestic wastes
Composition:

99.9% of water by weight,

Dissolved organic material
Suspended solids
Micro-organisms (pathogens) and other
components.

75% of solids and 40% of the dissolved material are

organic.
Organic materials

Inorganic materials

Sodium

Fats

Calcium

Proteins

Magnesium

Carbohydrates

Chlorine

Detergents

Sulphates
Bicarbonates
Nitrates
Ammonia
Traces of heavy metals
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Two methods to detect the quality of the sewage:

BOD5: biological oxygen demand in five days
(expressed by mg/L or g/m at 25 c for 5 days).
COD: chemical oxygen demand using an oxidizing
agent.

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Its objective is to produce an environmentallysafe fluid waste stream (or treated effluent) and a
solid waste (or treated sludge) suitable for
disposal or reuse (usually as farm fertilizer).

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The quality of the treated waste released from the

treatment system depends on:
the volume and condition of the receiving water ,
its ability to dilute the waste.

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Sewage collection and treatment is typically subject

to local, state and federal regulations and
standards. Industrial sources of wastewater often
require specialized treatment processes.

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Sewage treatment
stages

Sewage treatment generally involves four stages:

1. primary treatment
2. secondary treatment and
3. tertiary treatment.
In addition to these three, some scientists adds the
preliminary stage to them obtaining by this four
stages.

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The preliminary stage

Preliminary stage removes materials that can be
easily collected like large debris by using screens
and grit channels.

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The influent sewage water is screened to remove

all large objects like cans, rags, sticks, plastic
packets etc. carried in the sewage stream.
Pre-treatment may include a sand or grit channel
where the velocity of the incoming wastewater is
adjusted to allow the settlement of large debris. For
small sanitary sewer systems, the grit chambers
may not be necessary, but grit removal is desirable
at larger plants

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Primary treatment stage

Primary treatment consists of temporarily holding the
sewage in a quiescent basin where heavy solids can
settle to the bottom while oil, grease and lighter
solids float to the surface.
The settled and floating materials are removed and
the remaining liquid may be discharged or subjected
to secondary treatment.

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Secondary treatment
stage
Secondary treatment removes
suspended biological matter.

dissolved

and

Secondary treatment is typically performed by

micro-organisms in a managed habitat.

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Secondary treatment
stage
Secondary treatment may require a separation
process to remove the micro-organisms from the
treated water prior to discharge or tertiary
treatment.
Secondary treatment systems are classified as
fixed-film or suspended-growth systems or
ponds and lagoons .

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1. Fixed-film or attached growth systems

include trickling filters, Moving Bed Biofilm
Reactors (MBBR), or rotating biological contactors,
where the biomass grows on media and the sewage
passes over its surface.

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Trickling Filters
It is used in the secondary
treatment. A trickling filter
consists of a fixed bed of
rocks,
lava,
gravel,
polyurethane foam, sphagnum
peat moss, ceramic, or plastic
media over which sewage or
other
wastewater
flows
downward and causes a layer
of microbial slime (biofilm) to
grow, covering the bed of
media.

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Trickling Filters
Aerobic
conditions
are
maintained by splashing,
diffusion, and either by
forced air flowing through
the bed or natural convection
of air if the filter medium is
porous.

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Trickling Filters

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Rotating biological contactors

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2. Suspended-growth systems include activated

sludge, where the biomass is mixed with the sewage
and can be operated in a smaller space than fixedfilm systems that treat the same amount of water.

However, fixed-film systems are more able to cope

with drastic changes in the amount of biological
material and can provide higher removal rates for
organic material and suspended solids than
suspended growth systems.

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Suspended Film Systems:

Stir
and
suspend
microorganisms
in
wastewater
Settled out as a sludge
Pumped back into the
incoming wastewater
Ex: Activated sludge

Settle sewage from

primary sedimentation

Settlement
Efflue
nt
Flow

Air

Sludg
e
recycl
ed

Sludg
e
Waste
Sludg

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Aeration
and rapid
mixing

Settling
collects sludge
on bottom

From primary process

To tertiary process

air
diffuser

Secondary process

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 In general, activated sludge like plants

encompass a variety of mechanisms and
processes that offer dissolved oxygen to promote
the growth of microorganisms that substantially
removes organic material.

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Activated sludge:
mixed community of microorganisms,
Both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria may exist,
Biological floc is formed,

 The basic process is given below:

sewage + microorganisms + oxygen =
growth of microorganisms (biomass) +
Carbon dioxide.
The result will be

A nearly solid
free water that
can be
discharged back
into the river

Or

It can undergo
further
treatment
(tertiary
treatment) if
the pollution
level in it can
still causes
some risks.

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Settle sewage from

primary sedimentation

Settlement
Efflue
nt
Flow

Air

Sludg
e
recycl
ed

Sludg
e
Waste
Sludg

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Physical components of activated

sludge process
Aeration tank
oxygen is introduced into the system

 Aeration source
ensure that adequate oxygen is fed into the
tank
provided pure oxygen or compressed air

 Secondary clarifiers
Activated-sludge solids separate from the
surrounding wastewater

 Activated sludge
outflow line
Pump activated
sludge back to the
aeration tank
Effluent outflow line
discharged effluent
into bay or tertiary
treatment plant

Sludge treatment and disposal

This treatment and disposal are applied by several
ways that include:

Reduction in
sludge
production

Disposal of
excess
sludge

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Disposal of the excess sludge can be applied by:

3.
Compost
ing

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3. Ponds And Lagoons

A pond is a body of standing water, either natural
or man-made, that is usually smaller than a lake.

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The enclosed body of water behind a barrier reef or

barrier islands or enclosed by an atoll reef is called
a lagoon.

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Ponds And Lagoons

Stabilization ponds or lagoons are also known as
Oxidation Ponds.
They are used for simple secondary treatment of
sewage effluents.
Within an oxidation pond, heterotrophic bacteria
degrade organic matter in the sewage which results
in production of cellular material and minerals.

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The production of these minerals supports the

growth of algae in the oxidation pond. Growth of
algal populations allows further decomposition of
the organic matter by producing oxygen. The
production of this oxygen replenishes the oxygen
used by the heterotrophic bacteria.

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Disadvantages of Oxidation ponds

Oxidation ponds tend to be inefficient
Require large holding capacities
The degradation is relatively slow
The effluents containing the oxidized products
need to be periodically removed from the ponds.

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Tertiary treatment
stage
Tertiary treatment: removing of phosphate, nitrate, and
pathogenic micro-organisms to produce potable water
and to prevent eutrophication.
Involving chemical precipitation, disinfection with
chlorine, filtration through sand filters, and the use of
maturation ponds.
N.B: The purpose of disinfection in the treatment of
waste water is to substantially reduce the number of
microorganisms in the water to be discharged back
into the environment.
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Tertiary treatment stage

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Preliminary
treatment

Primary
treatment

Secondary
treatment

Tertiary
treatment

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