Republic of the Philippines

DR. EMILIO B. ESPINOSA, SR. MEMORIAL STATE COLLEGE

OF AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY
(Masbate State College)
www.debesmscat.edu.ph
Mandaon, Masbate

Module
1
Wastewater Management

ChE 423- Industrial Waste Management and Control

Compiled and Edited by:

Engr. Fatima V. Buayaban

 Wastewater Management

I. Overview:

Since ancient times, people have realized the importance of water—for navigation, drinking,
recreation, and religious rituals. However, most of the emphasis has been on quantity rather than quality.
Where consideration of quality does occur, these discussions have pertained mainly to the aesthetic properties
of water. Does it taste good? Is it clear and uncolored? As early as 4000 BCE, the Greeks and southeastern
Indians recognized the importance of water treatment for controlling taste and odor. Such methods as filtration
of water through charcoal, irradiation by sunlight, and boiling are mentioned in ancient Greek and Sanskrit
documents. As early as 1500 BCE, the ancient Egyptians used alum to clarify water (U.S. EPA, 2000). In
1685, the Italian physician Lucas Antonius Portius described a multiple sand filtration method, involving three
pairs of sand filters. Water was first strained through a perforated plate. From there, it entered a settling tank.
Once large particles were allowed to settle, the water flowed through the filters, which were operated in series.
A mixture of sand and pebbles was used to produce good quality water. Around 1703, the French scientist La
Hire offered a proposal to the French Academy of Sciences suggesting that every household should have a
sand filter to treat rainwater (Jesperson, 2007). By the early 1800s, Europeans had begun to use slow sand
filtration for municipal water treatment (U.S. EPA, 2000). By the later 1800s, western scientists had made the
connection between certain diseases and specific bacteria. With Koch’s discovery of disease transmission,
during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, scientists and engineers focused their concern regarding water
quality on turbidity and the presence of microorganisms in public water supplies. As a result, the design of
most drinking-water treatment systems used slow sand filtration to reduce turbidity and to remove the
microorganisms that caused typhoid, dysentery, and cholera. Filtration is fairly effective at reducing turbidity
and removing bacteria, but the disinfection of public water supplies was the predominant reason for a
reduction in the number of waterborne disease outbreaks. In 1893, ozone was first used as a disinfectant in
Oudshoom, Holland. In 1897, chlorine was used to disinfect water mains after a typhoid outbreak in England
(CRC for Water Quality and Treatment, 2007). In 1908, chlorine was first used in the United States to
disinfect drinking water in Jersey City, New Jersey (U.S. EPA, 2000). As shown in Figure 10–1, the treatment
of drinking water in Philadelphia resulted in a significant decrease in the number of deaths due to typhoid.
Until 1902, the City of Philadelphia did not filter its water. In 1912, Philadelphia began to chlorinate its water.
As a result of disinfection, it is estimated that, in the United States, the rate of deaths due to typhoid and
paratyphoid fever decreased from 31.3 (in 1900) to 7.6 (in 1920) per 100,000 people. By 1953, as more public
water supplies began to disinfect their water, the rate dropped to less than 0.05 per 100,000 people, and has
remained steady since then (Peterson and Calderon, 2003). Today, public drinking water systems provide
drinking water to 90% of U.S. residents. In the United States, 158,000 water systems are classified as public.
Of these, approximately 53,000 community water systems serve 282 million people. In the United States,
public systems are defined as those systems serving at least 25 persons per day for greater than 60 days out of
the year. Community water systems supply water to the same population year-round and include, for example,
cities, townships, subdivisions, and trailer parks. Nontransient noncommunity systems are those that regularly
supply to at least 25 of the same people at least 6 months per year but not year-round. These include schools,
factories, office buildings, and hospitals that have their own water supply. Transient noncommunity systems
provide water in locations, such as restaurants, motels, campgrounds, and service stations, where people do
not remain for long periods of time. Some 19,174 nontransient noncommunity water systems serve 6.06
million people, while 14.2 million people are served by 86,210 transient noncommunity water systems (U.S.
EPA, 2006). In the United States and in most developed countries, residents can be confident that their health
will not be jeopardized because of poor quality water. In the period 1971 through 1996, fewer than 55
waterborne disease outbreaks occurred in the United States each year (Levy et al., 1998).
Unfortunately, in many developing nations, clean water is the exception rather than the rule. As
former U.S.effectiveor Russel F. Train remarked, Something like 40 percent of the human race does not have
adequate access to safe water. Waterborne diseases are estimated to kill more than 25,000 people daily.
Schistosomiasis and filariasis, the world’s largest causes of blindness, affect—according to one estimate—
some 450 million people in more than 70 nations. There are, economist Barbara Ward has said, cities in the
developing world where 60 percent of the children born die of infantile gastritis before the age of five. (Train,
1976) Sadly, the last 30 years has not been kind to the people of many developing countries. While many
developed countries and organizations from these countries have committed their technological and financial
resources to creating access to safe and adequate drinking water, more than a billion people—almost one-fifth
of the world’s population—still lack access to safe drinking water. We hope that you and future generations
can make a difference and help achieve safe drinking water for all.
Topic Duration: Week 1

II. Learning Objectives:

 Current issues on wastewater
 Determine different waste water
 Know different sources of pollutants
 Treatment of wastewater
 Define oxygen sag curve
Key Points
 Environmental Regulations
 Characteristics of Domestic Wastewater
 Wastewater Treatment
 Oxygen sag curve
III. Content Focus

A. Environmental Regulations
RA 9275
This Act provides for the abatement and control of pollution from land based sources and lays down
water quality standards and regulations. The Act shall apply to water quality management in all water bodies:
fresh, brackish, and marine waters.
B. Characteristic of Domestic Wastewater
Physical Characteristics
Fresh, aerobic, domestic wastewater has been said to have the odor of kerosene or freshly turned
earth. Aged, septic sewage is considerably more offensive to the olfactory sense. Fresh sewage is typically
gray in color. Septic sewage is black. This color results from the precipitation of iron sulfide.
Wastewater temperatures normally range between 10 and 20◦ C. In general, the temperature of the
wastewater will be higher than that of the water supply because of the addition of warm water from
households and heating within the plumbing system of the structure. One cubic meter of wastewater weighs
approximately 1,000,000 g and will contain about 500 g of solids. One-half of the solids will be dissolved
solids such as calcium, sodium, and soluble organic compounds. The remaining 250 g will be insoluble. The
insoluble fraction consists of about 125 g of material that will settle out of the liquid fraction in 30 min under
quiescent conditions (these are called settleable solids). The remaining 125 g will remain in suspension for a
very long time (these are called suspended solids). The result is that wastewater is highly turbid.
Chemical Characteristics
Because the number of chemical compounds found in wastewater is almost limitless, we normally
restrict our consideration to a few general classes. These classes often are better known by the name of the test
used to measure them than by what is included in the class. The biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) test is a
case in point. Another closely related test is the chemical oxygen demand (COD) test.
 The COD test is used to determine the oxygen equivalent of the organic matter that can be oxidized
by a strong chemical oxidizing agent (potassium dichromate) in an acid medium. The COD of a waste, in
general, will be greater than the BOD5 because more compounds can be oxidized chemically than can be
oxidized biologically. BOD5 is typically less than ultimate BOD, which is less than COD, except for totally
biodegradable waste. The COD test can be conducted in about an hour. If it can be correlated with BOD5, it
can be used to aid in the operation and control of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP).
Total Kjeldahl* nitrogen (TKN) is a measure of the total organic and ammonia nitrogen in the
wastewater. TKN gives a measure of the availability of nitrogen for building cells, as well as the potential
nitrogenous oxygen demand that will have to be satisfied. Phosphorus may appear in many forms in
wastewater, among which are the orthophosphates, polyphosphates, and organic phosphate. For our purpose,
we will lump all of these together under the heading “total phosphorus (as P).” Three typical compositions of
untreated domestic wastewater are summarized in Table 11–1. The pH for all these wastes will be in the range
of 6.5 to 8.5, with a majority being slightly on the alkaline side of 7.0.

Characteristics of Industrial Wastewater

C. Wastewater Treatment

Primary Treatment
This treatment removes material that will either float or readily settle out by gravity. It includes
physical process such as screening, comminution, grit removal, and sedimentation. Screens are made of long,
closely spaced, narrow metal bars. They block floating debris such as wood, rags, and other bulky objects that
could clog pipes or pumps. In modern plants the screens are cleaned mechanically, and the material is
promptly disposed of by burial on the plant grounds. A comminutor may be used to grind and shred debris
that passes through the screens. The shredded material is removed later by sedimentation or flotation
processes.
 Grit chambers are long narrow tanks that are designed to slow down the flow so that solids such
as sand, coffee grounds, and eggshells will settle out of the water. Grit causes excessive wear and tear on
pumps and other plant equipment. Its removal is particularly important in cities with combined sewer systems,
which carry a good deal of silt, sand, and gravel that wash off streets or land during a storm.

Suspended solids that pass-through screens and grit chambers are removed from the sewage in
sedimentation tanks. These tanks, also called primary clarifiers, provide about two hours of detention time for
gravity settling to take place. As the sewage flows through them slowly, the solids gradually sink to the
bottom. The settled solids—known as raw or primary sludge—are moved along the tank bottom by
mechanical scrapers. Sludge is collected in a hopper, where it is pumped out for removal. Mechanical surface-
skimming devices remove grease and other floating materials.

Secondary Treatment
Secondary treatment removes the soluble organic matter that escapes primary treatment. It also
removes more of the suspended solids. Removal is usually accomplished by biological processes in which
microbes consume the organic impurities as food, converting them into carbon dioxide, water, and energy for
their own growth and reproduction. The sewage treatment plant provides a suitable environment, albeit of
steel and concrete, for this natural biological process. Removal of soluble organic matter at the treatment plant
helps to protect the dissolved oxygen balance of a receiving stream, river, or lake.

There are three basic biological treatment methods: the trickling filter, the activated sludge process,
and the oxidation pond. A fourth, less common method is the rotating biological contactor .
1. Trickling Filter- A trickling filter is simply a tank filled with a deep bed of stones.
Settled sewage is sprayed continuously over the top of the stones and trickles to the
bottom, where it is collected for further treatment. As the wastewater trickles down,
bacteria gather and multiply on the stones. The steady flow of sewage over these
growths allows the microbes to absorb the dissolved organics, thus lowering the
biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) of the sewage. Air circulating upward through
the spaces among the stones provides sufficient oxygen for the metabolic processes.
Settling tanks, called secondary clarifiers, follow the trickling filters. These clarifiers
remove microbes that are washed off the rocks by the flow of wastewater. Two or
more trickling filters may be connected in series, and sewage can be recirculated in
order to increase treatment efficiencies.
2. Activated Sludge- The activated sludge treatment system consists of an aeration tank
followed by a secondary clarifier. Settled sewage, mixed with fresh sludge that is
recirculated from the secondary clarifier, is introduced into the aeration tank.
Compressed air is then injected into the mixture through porous diffusers located at
the bottom of the tank. As it bubbles to the surface, the diffused air provides oxygen
and a rapid mixing action. Air can also be added by the churning action of
mechanical propeller-like mixers located at the tank surface.

3. Oxidation pond- Oxidation ponds, also called lagoons or stabilization ponds, are
large, shallow ponds designed to treat wastewater through the interaction of sunlight,
bacteria, and algae. Algae grow using energy from the sun and carbon dioxide and
inorganic compounds released by bacteria in water. During the process
of photosynthesis, the algae release oxygen needed by aerobic bacteria. Mechanical
aerators are sometimes installed to supply yet more oxygen, thereby reducing the
required size of the pond. Sludge deposits in the pond must eventually be removed by
dredging. Algae remaining in the pond effluent can be removed by filtration or by a
combination of chemical treatment and settling.

4. Rotating biological contactor- In this treatment system a series of large plastic disks
mounted on a horizontal shaft are partially submerged in primary effluent. As the
shaft rotates, the disks are exposed alternately to air and wastewater, allowing a layer
of bacteria to grow on the disks and to metabolize the organics in the wastewater.

Tertiary Treatment

When the intended receiving water is very vulnerable to the effects of pollution, secondary effluent may be
treated further by several tertiary processes.

1. Effluent polishing- For the removal of additional suspended solids and BOD from
secondary effluent, effluent polishing is an effective treatment. It is most often
accomplished using granular media filters, much like the filters used to purify
drinking water. Polishing filters are usually built as prefabricated units, with tanks
placed directly above the filters for storing backwash water. Effluent polishing of
 wastewater may also be achieved using microstrainers of the type used in treating
municipal water supplies.

2. Removal of Plant Nutrients- When treatment standards require the removal of

plant nutrients from the sewage, it is often done as a tertiary step. Phosphorus in
wastewater is usually present in the form of organic compounds and phosphates that
can easily be removed by chemical precipitation. This process, however, increases the
volume and weight of sludge. Nitrogen, another important plant nutrient, is present in
sewage in the form of ammonia and nitrates. Ammonia is toxic to fish, and it also
exerts an oxygen demand in receiving waters as it is converted to nitrates. Nitrates,
like phosphates, promote the growth of algae and the eutrophication of lakes. A
method called nitrification-denitrification can be used to remove the nitrates. It is a
two-step biological process in which ammonia nitrogen is first converted into nitrates
by microorganisms. The nitrates are further metabolized by another species of
bacteria, forming nitrogen gas that escapes into the air. This process requires the
construction of more aeration and settling tanks and significantly increases the cost of
treatment. A physicochemical process called ammonia stripping may be used to
remove ammonia from sewage. Chemicals are added to convert ammonium ions into
ammonia gas. The sewage is then cascaded down through a tower, allowing the gas to
come out of solution and escape into the air. Stripping is less expensive than
nitrification-denitrification, but it does not work very efficiently in cold weather.

3. Land Treatment- In some locations, secondary effluent can be applied directly to

the ground and a polished effluent obtained by natural processes as
the wastewater flows over vegetation and percolates through the soil. There are three
types of land treatment: slow-rate, rapid infiltration, and overland flow.
In the slow-rate, or irrigation, method, effluent is applied onto the land by ridge-and-
furrow spreading (in ditches) or by sprinkler systems. Most of the water and nutrients
are absorbed by the roots of growing vegetation. In the rapid infiltration method, the
wastewater is stored in large ponds called recharge basins. Most of it percolates to
the groundwater, and very little is absorbed by vegetation. For this method to work,
soils must be highly permeable. In overland flow, wastewater is sprayed onto an
inclined vegetated terrace and slowly flows to a collection ditch. Purification is
achieved by physical, chemical, and biological processes, and the collected water is
usually discharged into a nearby stream.

D. Oxygen Sag Curve

An oxygen sag curve is a crucial concept in environmental science and ecology, particularly
in the study of aquatic ecosystems. It graphically represents the changes in dissolved oxygen levels
in a body of water, typically a river or stream, following the addition of organic pollutants. In a
running polluted stream exposed to the atmosphere, the deoxygenation as well as there-oxygenation
goes hand in hand. If de-oxygenation is more rapid than the reoxygenation, an oxygen deficit results.
(Note; if the D.O content becomes zero, anaerobic conditions will no longer be maintained, and
putrefaction will set in) The amount of resultant oxygen deficit can be obtained by algebraically
adding the deoxygenation and re-oxygenation curves. The resultant curve so obtained is called the
oxygen sag curve or the oxygen deficit curve. From this curve the oxygen deficit (D) and oxygen
balance (i.e 100-D) percent in a steam after a certain lapse of time, can be found out. It can also be
seen that when the de-oxygenation rate exceeds the reoxygenation rate, the oxygen sag curve shows
increasing deficit of oxygen, but when both the rate becomes equal, the critical point is reached, and
then finally when the rate of deoxygenation falls below that of re-oxygenation, the oxygen deficit
goes on decreasing till becoming zero.

IV. Self-Check
1. One by-product of wastewater treatment is the sludge. Define sludge and give at least three ways for sludge
treatment and disposal.
2. Read RA9275 and create a reaction paper.

V. References
 (Britannica). (n.d.). chemical-kinetics. Retrieved February 09, 2024, from
https://www.britannica.com/technology/wastewater-treatment/

https://supritina.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/m10_l13-oxygen-sag-curve.pdf
Davies, M. L. et.at. Principles of Environmental Engineering and Science (Third Ed.). McGraw-Hill
Company 2014