Waste Water
Treatment
Group : 16
AZMEERA ANIL
ARCHANA K S
ANSHUL KULHARI
AKSHAI A
What is waste water
treatment?
Wastewater treatment involves removing
contaminants and pollutants from used water before it's
released back into the environment. It includes various
processes like filtration, biological treatment, and
disinfection to make water safe for reuse or return to
natural bodies of water.
Why waste water treatment
is important?
Wastewater treatment is important because it safeguards the environment, protects
public health by preventing waterborne diseases, conserves valuable resources,
allows for water reuse, ensures compliance with regulations, contributes to
community well-being, and creates economic opportunities through job creation and
infrastructure development. Overall, it plays a vital role in maintaining a clean, safe,
and sustainable living environment.
Levels of waste water
treatment
❖ Primary treatment (physical separation of solids).
❖ Secondary treatment (biological breakdown of organic matter).
❖ Tertiary treatment (advanced processes like filtration or chemical
treatment).
Primary Treatment
Primary treatment is the initial stage of wastewater
treatment
● It focuses on the physical removal of large, solid
materials and the preliminary separation of settleable
organic and inorganic solids.
● The primary treatment process aims to reduce the
overall pollutant load in the wastewater before it
undergoes further treatment.
Key components of primary treatment
1)Screening: Wastewater passes through screens
to remove large debris like sticks, rags, and plastics.
2) Grit Chamber: Heavy inorganic materials like
sand and gravel settle out in the grit chamber.
3)Primary Clarifiers: Solids settle in the primary clarifiers,
forming a sludge layer that can be removed
Secondary Treatment
● Secondary treatment is a process used in
wastewater treatment to remove the organic matter
that remains after primary treatment.
● This process focuses on the biological breakdown
of organic pollutants through the use of
microorganisms
Key Components of Secondary
Treatment
Secondary treatment typically involves the following components:
❖ Aeration tanks: These provide oxygen to support the
growth of aerobic bacteria, which break down organic matter.
❖ Clarifiers: These separate the treated wastewater from the
activated sludge, allowing settled solids to be removed.
❖ Effluent Discharge: The clarified water, now significantly cleaner than in the
influent, is discharged or can proceed to further treatment stages if higher water
quality standards are required.
Tertiary Treatment
Tertiary wastewater treatment is the final stage in the wastewater
treatment process, aiming to further purify water after primary and
secondary treatments. It often involves advanced filtration, nutrient
removal, and disinfection to meet specific water quality standards.
Advanced Filtration Processes
•Microfiltration and ultrafiltration: Utilize membranes with
small pore sizes to remove suspended solids, bacteria, and
some viruses
• Reverse osmosis: Employ high-pressure to separate
water and dissolved solutes, effectively removing
contaminants
Treatment of wastewater
❖ Aerobic treatment by activated sludge system
● Wastewater undergoes aerobic treatment in an aerated tank, where bacteria
aggregate in 0.1 mm flocs.
● Dissolved organic matter reacts with oxygen, resulting in the formation of
new biomass, carbon dioxide, nitrate, and phosphate.
Dissolved organic matter + O2 → new biomass + CO2 + HNO3 + H3PO4
● Settling T After several hours to days, the mixed liquor containing flocs flows
to a settling tank, where gravity separates flocs from clean effluent.
● To ensure proper settling, floc concentration in the aerated tank
should not exceed 4 g/l.
● The settled flocs, or sludge, are partially reintroduced into the
aerated tank, and some are wasted.
● Tanks are designed with 100 liters of mixed liquor for each
inhabitant equivalent, considering an average BOD5 production
of 30 g per day.
● Advantages: The activated sludge process offers a significant
advantage with good effluent quality, characterized by low BOD5
(<20 mg/l) and minimal nutrient residuals (<15 mgN/l).
Process flow diagram of an activated
sludge plant with biological nitrogen
removal
The first tank is anoxic (oxygen free), microorganisms use nitrates to oxidise the organic matter
to carbon dioxide and ammonium, thereby reducing nitrate to N2 (denitrification). In the
subsequent aerated tank, residual organic matter is oxidised with O2 as electron acceptor.
Simultaneously, ammonium is oxidised to nitrate (nitrification), which is then recycled to the
anoxic tank. The microorganisms are separated from the clean effluent in the settling tank.
Anaerobic treatment of
wastewater
Anaerobic wastewater treatment is a type of biological treatment
where anaerobic microorganisms are used to break down and
remove organic contaminants from wastewater.
While anaerobic treatment systems may take a variety of forms,
they generally include some form of bioreactor or repository
capable of maintaining the oxygen-free environment needed to
support the process of anaerobic digestion.
● anaerobic digestion is now an established-performance high rate
wastewater treatment technology
● anaerobic reactors treating wastewaters are upflow anaerobic
sludge blanket,or UASB, reactors
The major advantages of anaerobic wastewater treatment over
aerobic treatment are:
❏ the small sludge production
❏ the low energy consumption,
❏ no aeration is required
❏ the small floor area for activated sludge plants
The major disadvantage of anaerobic digestion is
●Only negligible portions of the nutrients (N, P) are removed,
due to the small excess sludge production.
● It is therefore necessary to apply a post treatment step in
order to remove these nutrients further
The anaerobic process may require long retention times, especially
in cold climates, as anaerobic bacteria are uneffective below 15° C.
PH must be controlled along with monitoring of volatile fatty acids.
Benefits of Wastewater
Treatment
➢ Reduces the impact of pollutants on ecosystems and aquaticlife.
➢ Minimizes the spread of waterborne diseases, safeguarding community health.
➢ Allows for the reuse of treated water for non-potable purposes, conserving
freshwater resources.
➢ Ensures adherence to water quality standards and regulatory requirements.
➢ Enables the extraction of valuable materials from wastewater, promoting
sustainability.
Conclusion
•Wastewater treatment is essential for maintaining clean water
and a healthy environment
• It plays a crucial role in protecting public health and preserving
natural resources
By removing contaminants from wastewater, we can reduce the risk of
water pollution and the spread of waterborne diseases.
