SEWAGE TREATMENT

PLANT
INTRODUCTION
Sewage treatment is a multistage process designed to treat sewage
and protect natural water bodies. It refers to the process of
removing contaminants, microorganisms and other types of
pollutants from wastewater. Wastewater here refers to the water
that ranges from domestic to liquid industrial waste.
IMPORTANCE AND OBJECTIVES
• The principal objective of sewage treatment is generally to allow
human effluents to be disposed of without danger to human health
or unacceptable damage to the natural environment.
• Proper wastewater treatment is a necessity to avoid illnesses and
potential deaths due to water-borne diseases
 TYPES OF SEWAGE

Domestic Sewage Industrial Sewage Stormwater drainage

Water from houses, Used water from The runoff from
apartments also manufacturing and precipitation collected
commonly known as chemical processes. in pipes or open
sanitary sewage. channels.
PRINCIPAL POLLUTANTS
• Pathogenic organisms
• Oxygen demanding wastes
• Plant nutrients
• Synthetic organic chemicals
• Inorganic chemicals
• Microplastics
• Sediments
• Oil
 The sewage treatment process is
brought about by procedures namely
Unit Operation Unit Processes
• Unit operation is a basic step in a • Unit process is a process in which
process that involves application of changes that take place in the
physical forces and no other material are brought by the addition
external forces are required. Hence of chemicals or microbial activities.
the removal of contaminants Hence the removal of contaminants
happen through physical processes. is brought by these processes
 WASTEWATER TREATMENT
PROCEDURE
It involves three stages namely
• Promary treatment
• Secondary treatment
• Tertiary treatment
PRIMARY TREATMENT
• Primary treatment removes material that will either float or
readily settle out by gravity . It includes the physical processes of
screening, comminution, grit removal, and sedimentation.
• The settled and floating materials are removed and remaining
liquid is subjected to discharge or secondary treatment.
• Primary treatment removes about 60% of total suspended solids
and about 35% of BOD.
 BAR
SCREENING
Bar screening happens
with screens that are
made of long, closely
spaced, narrow metal
bars. They block floating
debris such as wood
rags and other bulky
objects.
GRIT REMOVAL
PROCESS
Great Chambers a long
narrow tanks that are
designed to slow down
the flow so that solids
such as sand etc. will
settle out of the water.
SECONDARY TREATMENT
• In secondary treatment, waste is further treated for the removal of
colloidal and soluble organic matter present in wastewater.
• Biological conversion of organic material into Biomass that can be
subsequently removed by sedimentation occurs in secondary
treatment.
BIOLOGICAL UNITS AND TYPE OF GROWTH
PROCESSES

• Biological units rely mainly on microorganisms to breakdown and

remove organic matter from sewage

ATTACHED GROWTH SYSTEM SUSPENDED GROWTH SYSTEM

•The microorganisms get attached to a •The microorganisms responsible for

medium, and start decomposing the organic decomposition of organic matter are
matter thereby multiplying and forming a maintained in suspension in the medium.
‘slime layer’ over the medium surface.
•Requires continuous maintenance.
•Easier to maintain.
•Recycling of settled biomass is required.
•Employed when available space is limited.
TRICKLING FILTER
• It employs Attached growth system.

• It is an Aerobic treatment system that uses micro-organisms attached

to a medium to oxidize and remove organic matter from wastewater.
OPERATION OF A TRICKLING FILTER
• As waste water trickles down through the media, a layer of micro-
organisms get attached to the medium forming a layer called slime
layer.
• About 0.1 -0.2 mm of the bio film is Aerobic i.e has free oxygen
avaliable.The rest in Anaerobic .
• As waste water flows over this attached microbial system,organic
matter is rapidly metabolised , multiplying the number of micro-
organisms, thereby increasing the thickness of the biofilm.
• The efficiency of the filter depends on whether the biofilm thickness
is in the optimum range or not.
Formation of Slime layer in a Trickling filter. Actual process of a Trickling Filter.
• When the sludge layer is too thick, the layer at Medium- Bio film interface
starts Anaerobic decomposition.

• This results in release of foul smelling gases and this state is called
“Ponding” of the trickling filter.

• To avoid ponding, the thickness of the sludge layer must be kept in check.

• This can be done by “Sloughing”, where the discharge is increased so that

velocity of inflow is more , thereby decreasing the thickness of the
biofilm.
TYPES OF TRICKLING FILTERS
• Standard Rate Trickling Filters(SRTF).
No provision for recirculation .

• High Rate Trickling Filters(HRTF).

Recirculation is provided.

1. Single stage HRTF.

2. Double Stage HRTF.

EFFICIENCY OF A TRICKLING
FILTER.
ROTATING BIOLOGICAL
CONTACTORS
• Rotating biological contactors (RBC), also called rotating biological
filters, are fixed-bed reactors consisting of stacks of rotating disks
mounted on a horizontal shaft.
• They are partially submerged and rotated as wastewater flows through.
• They are used in conventional wastewater treatment plants as
secondary treatment after primary sedimentation of domestic grey- or
blackwater, or any other biodegradable effluent.
• The microbial community is alternately exposed to the atmosphere
and the wastewater, allowing both aeration and assimilation of
dissolved organic pollutants and nutrients for their degradation.
ROTATING BIOLOGICAL CONTACTOR SIDE AND FRONT VIEW OF RBC
ADVANTAGES
DISADVANTAGES
•High contact time and high effluent quality • Continuous electricity supply
(both BOD and nutrients) required (but uses less energy than
trickling filters or activated sludge
processes for comparable
•High process stability, resistant to shock
degradation rates)
hydraulic or organic loading
• Contact media not available at local
•Short contact periods are required because market
of the large active surface • High investment as well as
operation and maintenance costs
•Low space requirement • Must be protected against sunlight,
•Well drainable excess sludge collected in wind and rain (especially against
clarifier freezing in cold climates)
•Process is relatively silent compared to
• Odour problems may occur
dosing pumps for aeration
• Requires permanent skilled
•No risk of channelling technical labour for operation and
•Low sludge production maintenance
Suspended growth process

Wastewater treatment process in which the microorganisms and

bacteria treating the wastes are suspended in the wastewater
being treated. 
TYPES OF BIOLOGICAL REACTORS IN SUSPENDED
GROWTH PROCESS

• BATCH REACTORS
• PLUG FLOW REACTORS
• COMPLETELY MIXED REACTORS
BATCH REACTORS

• In such type of reactor flow is

neither entering nor leaving the
reactor
• Water is filled in tank and
withdrawn after some time and
this cycle is repeated.
Inside BATCH REACTORS growth of micro
organisms
PLUG FLOW REACTORS

• In this type of reactor sewage is

passed through the reactor with
little or no longitudinal mixing .
• This type of flow is can be
maintained in long open tanks
COMPLETELY MIXED REACTORS

• In these reactors, thorough mixing

occurs continuously.
ACTIVATED SLUDGE PROCESS

• ASP is an aerobic process of

suspended growth type that uses
active micro organisms in
suspension to decompose and
stabilize suspended and dissolved
organic matter.

• In ASP , a part of the settled sludge

in SST is returned to aeration tank
and oxygen is supplied externally to
maintain aerobic condition.
Operation of ASP
Based on plug flow regime
• Conventional ASP
• Tapered ASP
• Stepped ASP
Based on Completely mixed regime
• Completely mixed ASP
• Extended aeration process
• Sequential batch reactor
CONVENTIONAL
ASP

• Influent wastewater and recycled sludge

enters the head of the tank
• Rate of oxygen supply or aeration is
uniform throughout the length of the
tank.
TAPERED ASP
• Influent wastewater is entered at the
head of the tank and oxygen is supplied
at a high rate in the initial zone and is
reduced towards the end zone .
• This is better than conventional ASP
because the conventional process leads
to either oxygen deficiency in the initial
zone or wasteful application in the end
zone .
STEPPED
AERATION
PROCESS

• Sewage is introduced at more than 1

point along length of the tank
• Recirculated sludge is introduced at the
inlet
• Aeration is done uniformly along length
of then tank.
Based on Completely mixed regime
• Completely Mixed ASP
• Extended aeration process
• Sequential batch reactor
Completely mixed
ASP
Based on completely mixed regime
wastewater is distributed along with return
sludge uniformly from one side of the tank
and effluent is collected from the other.
Extended aeration
process
In this process long aeration tank is provided
due to which organic matter gets
decomposed thoroughly yielding a high
efficiency of decomposition .
Primary and secondary sedimentation tanks
are not required as the sludge directly enters
this tank.
Sequential Batch
reactor
• It is adopted for small discharges and
involves a single completely mixed
reactor in which all the steps of ASP
occurs.
OPERATIONAL TROUBLES IN ASP
• Sludge Bulking -
It refers to sludge having increased volume due to large quantity of water in it.
It is formed due to growth of filamentous microorganisms as a result of sludge
age.
• Blanket rising -
ASP is designed for satisfaction of carbonaceous BOD but if
some nitrification takes place due to high sludge age , oxygen start getting
consumed to satisfy NBOD.