Common Effluent Treatment Plant

Performance & Improvement; Issues and Opportunities

Seminar on
Technology Solution for Environment Upgradation

Forest & Environmental Department

Government of Gujarat
Gandhinagar

July 07, 2012

Dr. S. R. Wate,
Director

CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute

Nagpur
ISO 9001-2008
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 Small & Medium Scale Enterprises

• In India, Small & Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) contribute

significantly to global economy but face stiff environmental regulations.

• Quantity of wastewater generated from SMEs may not be large, but

unfortunately it aggregates to be a major pollution contributor.

• MoEF issued a notification in January, 1991 to ensure compliance of

Environmental Standards in polluting industries.

• MoEF formulated 15 point programme for priority action to promote and

setup Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) in clusters of small
scale industrial units across the country.

• CETP is listed among 54 polluting industries.

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Problems in SMEs

SMEs do not have wastewater treatment facilities due to the following

reasons:

• Huge capital investment for installation of effluent management

systems.

• High operation & maintenance expenditure such as skilled

manpower, energy, chemicals and laboratory.

• Land availability constraint.

• Lack of awareness and understanding the seriousness of the

environmental issues.

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Common effluent treatment plant (CETP)
• CETP is concept of treating effluents by means of a collective effort mainly for a
cluster of SMEs units.

• Concept is similar to the Municipal Corporation of cities and towns treating sewage
of all the individual houses.

Objectives of CETP
The major objectives of CETP while protecting the environment include,
• Achieving ‘economy of scale’ in waste treatment, thereby reducing cost of
pollution abatement for individual industry.
• Minimizing problem of lack of technical assistance and trained personnel.
• Solving the problem of lack of space in the individual industry as centralized
facility can be planned in advance to ensure that adequate space is available.
• Homogenization of wastewater for heterogeneous industrial cluster.
• Reducing the problems of monitoring by the regulatory bodies.
• Organizing the disposal of treated effluent & sludge.
• Improving the possibilities of recycle/reuse.
• Improving public image & employer morale.
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 STATEWISE OPERATIONAL CETPS IN INDIA*
Sr. no. State No. of CETP Flow, MLD
1. Andhra Pradesh 3 12.75
2. Delhi 15 133.2
3. Gujarat 28** 500.35
4. Himachal Pradesh 4 1.1
5. Haryana 1 1.3
6. Karnataka 9@ -
7. Madhya Pradesh 3 0.9
8. Maharashtra 23# 173.35
9. Punjab 4 57.7
10. Rajasthan 2 71.15
11. Tamil Nadu 36 44.4
12 Uttar Pradesh 2 70
Total 130 1066.20
Source: *Central Pollution Control Board Report on Performance Status of Common Effluent Treatment
Plants in India, October 2005.
**Gujarat Pollution Control Board, 2010 .
@Karnataka Pollution Control Board, 2012.
#Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, 2012.

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 Approach for designing CETP
• Quantity of wastewater generated.

• Characterization of wastewater.

• Inlet feed water quality.

• Wastewater treatability and

treatment option.

• Low foot print.

• Mode of disposal of treated

effluent.

• Disposal of sludge.

• Recycle/reuse of treated water.

• Modular process, scalable and

flexible.

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What SMEs look for in wastewater management

• Maximum reduction in the effluent quantity generation.

• Environmental compliance.

• Generation of reusable water, if possible revenue generation.

• Minimum operating cost.

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 SETTING UP CEPTS WHAT EXPERTS NEED TO LOOK INTO - SELECTION CRITERIA
 Life cycle cost
This includes installation costs and operation costs, which are usually capitalized over the life
of the project to provide a common basis for comparing different options.

 Cost-effectiveness
Expressed as a unit cost to provide a basis for comparing different options (Rs./m3). For
example, economies of scale often reduce the unit cost of treating wastewater but are not
necessarily cost-effective if wastewater flows are not high enough to allow the technology to
perform optimally.

 Reliability
Measure of how well a system performs in relation to expectations without breakdowns or
failure to treat wastewater to meet water quality objectives. Reliability also is associated with
simplicity of operation and ease of maintenance. Reliable systems that require highly skilled
operators and careful maintenance would be less appropriate.

 Simplicity
• Simplicity of operation and ease of maintenance. This is highly desirable for
CETPs designed for SMEs.
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• Contd…
 Performance
This is usually measured in terms of percent removal or may be expressed as typical treated
effluent concentrations required to meet water quality objectives by a particular treatment
option or combination of options.

 Ability to meet water quality objectives

This is a primary screening criterion. Any system that is not able to meet water quality
objectives does not need to be considered any further.

 Adaptability to change in influent quality

This is a very important criterion for CETPs designed for SMEs because wastewater quality
tends to be more variable than for conventional municipal wastewater treatment.

 Performance dependent on pretreatment

This may or may not be a significant consideration. All other things being equal, however,
options that can meet water quality objectives without pretreatment would be favored.

 Adaptability to varying flow rate.

This is an important criterion for CETPs designed for SMEs, if the industries involved have
highly varying flow rates. Contd…

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 Adaptability to upgrading
This may or may not be a significant consideration for CETPs designed for SMEs,
depending on local conditions.

 Ease and availability of major equipment

This is a primary consideration in the design. If the equipment is not available locally or
regionally, or is not available at a price that is reasonable due to high transportation
costs, the option can be excluded from further consideration.

 Post installation service/chemical delivery

Generally, systems that minimize post installation service for CETPs are desirable. If
chemicals are used, it is critical that they be readily available.

 Personnel skill level

Generally, options that require low personnel skill levels are preferred for CETP in
SMEs to options that require a high skill level. This generally goes along with simplicity
of operation and ease of maintenance.

Contd…

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 Energy utilization
Generally, options that require no or low energy are preferred for CETPs designed for
SMEs to those that are energy intensive.

 Residue production and cost of disposal

This is a major consideration for CETPs in design. Sludges are sufficiently contaminated
that they are not suitable for land application. In this situation, options that minimize
sludge production are desirable.

 Potential for effluent use/reuse

High potential for effluent use or reuse would be a favorable characteristic for CETPs
designed for SMEs.

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Selection of technology based on influent quality for CETP

Wastewater Wastewater quality Treatment options

characteristics
Low TDS and low BOD Low organic Chemical treatment
Low TDS and high BOD Organic effluent Anaerobic + aerobic treatment
Low TDS and high COD Highly organic Chemical oxidation by hydrogen peroxide or
ozone or sodium hypochlorite
Chemical + biological treatment
Refractory Chemical oxidation + biological treatment
High TDS Inorganic salts Solar evaporation
Forced evaporation (after separation of
volatile organic matter)
Membrane separation
High TDS and high COD Highly organic effluent Incineration (based on calorific value)
+Secure landfill of incineration ash
Waste is not easily Thermal Decomposition
biodegradable but toxic Chemical oxidation (hydrogen peroxide,
ozone, etc.)
Evaporation + Secured landfill
Waste is not toxic but Chemical treatment (recovery, precipitation
mostly etc.)
inorganic salts Evaporation + secured landfill of evaporated
residue
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 Sustainability criteria for assessment of treatment technologies
Functional
Performance Expressed in removal of BOD/COD, heavy metals, organic micro-pollutants,
pathogens and nutrients.
Adaptability Possibility for implementation on different scales, increasing/decreasing capacity,
anticipated changes in legislation, etc.
Durability Lifetime of installation.
Flexibility Sensitivity of the process in terms of toxic substances, shock loads, seasonal
effects, etc.
Maintenance Frequency, costs and time needed for maintenance.
required
Reliability Sensitivity of the process in terms of repairs and maintenance.
Economic
Affordability Costs in relation to national/regional budget. Foreign exchange required in relation
to national/regional foreign exchange requirements.
Costs Net present value of the investment costs (specified for land, materials, equipment
and labour), maintenance costs.
Cost Performance relative to costs.
effectiveness
Labour Number of employees needed for operation and maintenance.
Willingness to The amount of money spent by users in relation to their total budget for improvised
pay treatment.
Contd…
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Resource utilization
Energy Energy used, produced and ‘lost’ during installation, operation of the
wastewater treatment system. Energy ‘lost’ indicates the amount of energy
no longer available due to emissions on waste disposal. Eg. sustainable
energy sources.
Functional
Land area The total land area required. The feasibility of integrating the wastewater
treatment system (partly) in green areas
Nutrients Amount of nutrients suitable for reuse.
Organic matter Amount of organic matter recycled through sludge reuse. Amount of
organic matter recycled through biogas production.
Social
Institutional Effort needed to control and enforce existing regulations. Indication of
requirements embedding of technology in policymaking.
Cultural
Acceptance Indication of the cultural changes and impacts: convenience and
compatibility with local ethics.
Expertise Number of engineers needed for installation and operation. Indication
whether a system can be designed and built or can be repaired, replicated
and improved locally (in the country) or only by specialized manufacturers.
Stimulating Possibilities for technical stimulation of sustainable behavior and
sustainable participation by the end user.
behavior
Contd… 14
 Inlet effluent quality and discharge Standards for CETP
Parameters Inlet effluent quality Parameters Discharge Effluent Standards into ISW
pH 5.5-9.0
pH 5.5 - 9.0
SS 100
Temperature (oC) 45.0
TDS 2100
Oil and grease 20.0
COD 250
Cyanide 2.0
BOD (3d, 27°C) 30
Ammoniacal-N 50.0
Oil & Grease 10
Phenolic compounds 5.0
Chlorides 600
Hexavalent Chromium 2.0
Sulphates 1000
Total chromium 2.0 Phosphates 5
Copper 3.0 Ammoniacal-N 50
Nickel 3.0 Fluoride 2.0
Zinc 15.0 Arsenic 0.2
Lead 1.0 Cyanide 0.2

Arsenic 0.2 Mercury 0.01

Mercury 0.01 Iron 3

Cadmium 1.0 Manganese 2

Chromium 2
Selenium 0.05
Copper 3
Fluoride 15.0
Zinc 5
Boron 2.0
Nickel 3
All values are expressed in mg/l, except pH and Lead 0.1
temperature.
Source: Selenium 0.05
The gazette of India: Extraordinary- Part II- Sec.3 (i) pp10 All values are expressed in mg/l, except pH
Dt. 27th Feb 1991 15
ISW-Inland Surface Waters.
 Performance of CETPs
CETP :GETP, Palsana (Textile industry) CETP :Tirupur (Textile industry)
Discharge Discharge
Equalized Secondary Equalized Secondary
Parameter Standard into Parameter Standard into
effluent effluent effluent effluent
ISW ISW
pH 7.8-8 7.9-8.2 6.5-9.5 pH 7.1-8.6 8.2-8.6 6.5-9.5
SS 88-140 12-22 100 SS 120-675 26-62 100
COD 678-832 84-100 100 COD 550-950 270-475 250
BOD 272-310 26-30 30 BOD 210-342 92-210 30
TDS 1632-2036 1604-2036 2100 TDS 6010-6644 6534-6840 2100
CETP: Punjab (Electroplating industry) CETP:Ankaleshwar (Heterogeneous effluent
Dye & dye intermediates, Pharm., textiles
Discharge Parameter Discharge
Equalized Secondary Equalized
Parameter Standard into Tertiary effluent Standard into
effluent effluent effluent
ISW ISW
pH 2.1 7.5 6.5-9.5 pH 0.38-0.56 7.7-7.88 5.5-9.0
SS 36-48 26 100 SS 1776-1864 100-132 100

COD 368-376 224 250 COD 5107-8373 382-395 250

BOD 48-52 24 30 BOD 2200-2400 40-50 30

TDS 12720-12820 12684 2100 TDS 68200-68830 7532-11836 2100

All values are expressed in mg/l, except pH; Contd…

ISW-Inland Surface Waters.

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 CETP:Jeedimetla (Heterogeneous effluent, CETP;Ranipet (Tannery effluent)
pharmaceuticals & textiles etc)
Discharge Discharge
Equalized Tertiary Equalized Tertiary
Standard into Parameter Standard into
Parameter effluent effluent effluent effluent
ISW ISW
pH 8.8-8.3 7.9-8.0 5.5-9.0 pH 7.7-8.2 6.6-6.7 5.5-9.0
SS 752-848 86-96 100 SS 2015-2459 45-50 100
COD 10200-14400 876-960 250 COD 7480-9898 122-130 250
BOD 4050-5380 68-88 30 BOD 2545-3068 10-12 30
TDS 35368-39218 15063-16800 2100 TDS 19856-2115 13209-13245 2100
All values are expressed in mg/l, except pH.
ISW-Inland Surface Waters.

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Performance of primary, secondary and tertiary treatment
Performance Treatment option Efficiency (%)
High Chemical precipitationbio-oxidationchemical BOD : 84-93
precipitationsand filtration activated carbon COD : 80-90
adsorption SS : 77-98
Chemical precipitationbio-oxidationsand
filtrationdual media filtration
Chemical precipitation (3 stage)media
filtrationactivated carbon adsorption
Ozonationbio-oxidationsand filtrationactivated
carbon adsorption.
Moderate Electro-coagulationbio-oxidationchemical BOD : 68-79
precipitationsand filtrationactivated carbon COD : 60-73
adsorption. SS : 64-78
Low Bio-oxidationsand filtrationdual media
BOD : 56-70
filtrationactivated carbon adsorption
COD : 48-65
Chemical precipitationsand filtrationactivated
SS : 52-74
carbon adsorption
Catalytic oxidation BOD : 24-25
COD : 21-23
SS : 56-60
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Permeate recovery in 2-4 stage of reverse osmosis system

RO IV 85 97
Stages of reverse osmosis

RO III 84 92

RO II 65 80

40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Permeate recovery, %

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Ranking of technology options
 Selection of an appropriate treatment option for optimum performance
with due consideration to investments requires comparison of different
options with respect to certain criteria.

 Parameter governing selection of wastewater treatment options

 Capital cost
 O&M costs
 Treatment performance
 Water recovery
 Treatment time
 Foot print
 Sludge production
 Reject generation.

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ISSUES & CONSTRAINTS IN CETP OPERATIONS

• Consistency in compliance to the prescribed standards by the

CETPs.

• Existing treatment schemes are unable to handle ever-increasing

hydraulic load, new pollutants, stringent regulatory norms.

• Improper technological combination for wastewater treatment is

discouraging water reuse and recycling.

• Poor management of treatment units.

• No separate treatment units to deal with hazardous and toxic

effluents.

• Dismal percentage of water reuse practice in industries.

• Lack of access to capital investments and working capitals.

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AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT IN CETPS
Reduce pollutant loads discharged into the receiving aquatic environment through adoption of recent
developments in the areas of effluent management systems.

Development programmes for water and chemicals recovery through adoption of advanced oxidation
and membrane filtration process.

Utilization of sludge/solids as raw material for construction activities after ascertaining its properties.

Induction of energy efficient technologies particularly in oxygen transfer in activated sludge process
(diffused aeration systems), gas transfer, solids separation and thermal decomposition .

Replacement of major energy intensive electrical components with high efficiency motors for aerators,
blowers, pumps and centrifuges eg variable-frequency drives.

Installation of SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) based systems for better operational
and management control of the CETPs.

Combined heat and power (CHP) or cogeneration as an option to reduce solids and generate
energy/power (eg. turbines, micro-turbines, internal combustion/reciprocating engines, steam
engines/turbines, and fuel cells). 22
OPPORTUNITIES IN CETPS

• Development and optimization of new methods and process configurations for resource
effective wastewater treatment.

• Development of equipment for wastewater treatment and separation technology .

• Development of new methods process configurations for water production from wastewater.

• Development of low cost and wastewater specific membranes for water reuse/reclamation.

• Improvements in membrane performance including the development of lower pressure

membranes (e.g. reduce fouling, increase flux, improve rejection, increase integrity,
increased longevity,etc.).

• Concentrate/reject treatment and disposal strategies for zero liquid discharge schemes.

Contd…

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• Development of energy efficient advanced oxidation for organic and recalcitrant
compounds in wastewater.

• Alternative disinfection systems for wastewater including ozone, UV, chlorine dioxide and
gaseous/liquid chlorine.

• Improvements and cost reductions in thermal processes for chemicals and energy recovery
such as evaporation and plasma incineration.

• Development of treatment options/packages for country specific wastewaters.

• Delineation of treatment option/schemes to reduce energy consumption and hazardous

wastes disposal.

• Development of instrumentation package for automation of the treatment package and

bringing down cost of components.

• Strategies to speed up the development and adoption of new technologies.

• Develop best management practice for industrial customers.

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Conclusion
• A worldwide trend toward acceptance of the concept of reuse is currently
observable, as water shortages have intensified. This should aim at increasing
in the use of multiple water reuse practices.
• New technologies offering significantly higher removal rates are being
designed and implemented. Membrane technologies, which were formerly
restricted to water desalination applications, are now being tested for the
production of high quality water for indirect potable reuse, and are expected to
become the predominant treatment technologies in the near future.
• In the field of sludge reclamation and reuse technologies, increased attention
is being devoted to the production of sludge that is clean, has less volume
and can be safely reused. Developments in this area have been slower than in
the field of wastewater treatment, but a number of new technologies have
emerged, including high-solids centrifuges, plasma incinerators. Sludge land
filling and incineration continue to decrease due to stricter regulations and
increased public awareness. The current trend should be in the direction of
more reuse opportunities. Volume reduction with a view to decreased disposal
requirements is also an ongoing concern.

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