Secondary

Treatment (ASP
and
modification)
MODULE 6
 Wastewater
Treatment
Secondary Treatment
Wastewater Treatment
Secondary Treatment

Secondary treatment is a biological process

Utilizes bacteria and algae to metabolize
organic matter in the wastewater
Wastewater Treatment
Secondary Treatment

 the trickling filter does not “filter” the water

 water runs over a plastic media and
organisms clinging to the media remove
organic matter from the water
 Wastewater
Treatment
 From secondary treatment on the trickling filter water
flows to the final clarifiers for further removal of
sludge.
 Thefinal clarifiers are another set of primary
sedimentation tanks.
Wastewater Treatment

The final clarifiers

remove additional
sludge and
further reduce
suspended solids
and B.O.D.
Underlying principles of microbial
ecology
 Every organism has a unique range of capabilities, some of
which might be useful in an engineered process
 Every organism has a unique range of conditions under which it
will grow or at least survive
 Environmental systems are likely to be characterized by relatively
few dominant species and a large number of low-abundance
species
 Open environments permit the growth of heterogeneous
communities
 wastes typically are heterogeneous mixtures of organic and
inorganic compounds

thereforea diverse community of microorganisms can be

expected in a given environmental system, each species
Factors influencing microbial communities
 Environmental conditions govern which organisms dominate
(which organisms are selected)
 Major energy and carbon sources
 Dissolved oxygen concentration
 Aerobes, Micro-aerophiles, Facultatives, Anaerobes
 Concentration of other electron acceptors (e.g., NO3-, SO42-, Fe3+)
 pH (e.g., acidophiles)
 Temperature (psychrophiles, mesophiles, thermophiles)
 Salinity
 Availability of nutrients (e.g., sorbed to a surface or within
a non-aqueous matrix vs. dissolved in water)
i8uytd
Influencing microbial selection (continued)

 Biological process engineering involves control of the microbial community’s

immediate environment
 dissolved oxygen
 pH
 temperature
 reactor configuration (can control availability of major carbon sources)
Therefore we have control, to a large extent, over microbial selection.
This is the key to success in the application of biological processes to waste
treatment

 Native organisms are almost always better adapted to the local environmental
conditions than added organisms would be
 creates problems for applications of genetically engineered “superbugs” or commercial cultures
 Pure Culture : a laboratory culture containing a single species of organism
 Mixed culture: known species to the exclusion of all others, or they may be composed of
mixtures of unknown species
Putting microbial ecology into practice
 The science: which organisms do which functions?
what conditions do they require to grow and be competitive?

 The art: providing conditions to select for the microorganisms that carry out
the desired function

 The engineering
how much? how fast? how big? how good?
stoichiometry kinetics design analysis
General mechanisms of biodegradation
 Growth-related
metabolism
compound is electron donor
compound is electron acceptor

 Metabolism not related to growth of the organism

if such activity is to be sustained, then a growth
substrate has to be provided eventually
Microbial groups in wastewater treatment
 aerobic oxidation of organic compounds: mostly heterotrophic bacteria, some
fungi: aerobic catabolism of nutrients to carbon dioxide, water, and energy,
and involves an electron transport system in which molecular oxygen is the
final electron acceptor.
 anaerobic decomposition of organic compounds:

hydrogenotrophic
methanogens
complex
organic
substrate
s aceticlastic
methanogens

fermentative bacteria
archaea
Microbial groups (continued)
 Ammonia removal by nitrification (aerobic process):
ammonia-oxidizing bacteria: NH4+ + 1.5O2  NO2- + H2O + 2H+
nitrite-oxidizing bacteria: NO2- + 0.5O2  NO3-
Net: NH4+ + 2O2  NO3- + H2O + 2H+
 Denitrification (anaerobic process): facultative heterotrophic bacteria: organic
substrates + NO3-  N2
Note: nitrogen removal occurs by nitrification + denitrification
 Removal of ammonia and nitrogen by anaerobic ammonia oxidation (“anammox”):
anaerobic bacteria
NH4+ + NO2-  N2 + 2H2O

 Biological phosphorus removal: facultative heterotrophs

 under anaerobic conditions, hydrolyze stored polyphosphate to accumulate
intracellular organic polymer (e.g., polyhydroxybutyrate)
 under aerobic conditions, oxidize stored organic polymer to accumulate phosphate
as intracellular poly-phosphate
Introduction and principle of secondary
treatment
 Secondary Treatment

 Biological treatment

 activated sludge

 trickling filter

 oxidation ponds

 A disinfection step is usually included at the end of the biological treatment

 chlorination

Objective is to reduce BOD, odors and pathogens

Activated sludge process (ASP)
 ASP is a suspended growth aerobic process used to treat
effluent from PST. It comprised of an aeration tank and a secondary
clarifier.
 Detention period in aeration tank is typically maintained between 4-
8 hours. After aeration tank, the mixed liquor is sent to secondary
clarification where sludge and liquid are separated. A major
portion of the sludge is re-circulated and excess sludge is
sent to a digester.
 The excess sludge from secondary clarifier are not matured,
digestion of such sludge is essential before disposal. In anaerobic
sludge digestion, such sludge produces biogas which can be used
for power generation by gas engines. Generated power can be used
for operation of plant.
 Approx. 8 m3 of air is used for every m3 of wastewater
 Activated sludge process – most common
 Primary wastewater mixed with bacteria-rich (activated) sludge and air or
oxygen is pumped into the mixture
 Promotes bacterial growth and decomposition of organic matter
 Last step is a settling tank where sludge settles out and then the treated
wastewater moves on for tertiary treatment
 Some settled sludge is used to inoculate incoming primary effluent
 BOD removal is approximately 85%
 Microbial removal by activated sludge
80-99% removal of bacteria (sunlight, temperature, antagonistic
microorganisms, predation by ciliated protozoans, competition
from other bacteria, adsorption to sludge solids)
90-99% removal of viruses (mostly through solids settling, but
also bacterial antiviral products and predation)
Activated sludge process contd.
 Merits
 Good process flexibility
 Reliable operation
 Proven track record in all plant sizes
 Less land requirements
 Low odor emission
 Ability to withstand nominal changes in water characteristics

 Demerits
 High energy consumption
 Skilled operators needed
 Uninterrupted power supply is required
 Requires elaborate sludge digestion, drying and disposal
arrangement
 No energy production
 Secondary treatment – Trickling filters
• Trickling filters are beds of stones or corrugated plastic. The primary wastewater
is sprayed over the filter and microbes decompose organic material aerobically.

• Low pathogen removal

- Bacteria, 20-90%
- Viruses, 50-90%
- Giardia cysts, 70-90%
 Stabilization or oxidation ponds
 Oxidation ponds are a few meters deep, and up to a hectare in size.
 They are low cost with retention times of 1 to 4 weeks.
 Types: Aerobic, Aerated, Anaerobic
 Odor and mosquitoes can be a problem
 Pathogen removal:
- Bacteria, 90-99%
- Virus, 90-99%
- Protozoa, 67-99%
 Mechanisms include the long detention time (natural die-off), high pH (10-
10.5) generated by photosynthesis, predation, sunlight, temperature
 Stabilization ponds are the preferred wastewater treatment process in
developing countries due to low cost, low maintenance. This is balanced by
larger land requirement.
Kinetics of Microbial Growth
 Biochemical reaction

 Biomass concentration.
 The concentration of biomass, X (mg/L), increases as a
function of time due to conversion of food to biomass:


Where m is the specific growth rate constant (d-1). This

represents the mass of cells produced/mass of cells per
unit of time.
Monod Kinetics
 Growth rate
Growth rate constant, m , is a function of the substrate
concentration, S.
Two constants are used to describe the growth rate
m (/d) is the maximum growth rate constant (the
max
rate at which the substrate concentration is not
limiting)
 Ks
is the half-saturation constant (mg/L) (i.e.,
concentration of S when m = m max/2

 Biomass production

 Where kd represents the endogenous decay rate (d-1) (i.e.,

microorganism death rate).
 Substituting the growth rate constant:
 Substrate utilization

Where Y is the yield factor (mg of biomass produced/mg of food

consumed)
 Y range:
 Aerobic: 0.4 - 0.8 mg/mg
 Anaerobic: 0.08-0.2 mg/mg
 Food to microorganism ratio (F/M)
Represents the daily mass of food supplied
to the microbial biomass, X, in the mixed
liquor suspended solids, MLSS
Units are Kg BOD5/Kg MLSS/day
Activated Sludge Principles
 Wastewater is aerated in a tank
 Bacteria are encouraged to grow by providing
 Oxygen
 Food (BOD)
 Nutrients
 Optimum temperature
 Time

 As bacteria consume BOD, they grow and multiply

 Treated wastewater flows into secondary clarifier
 Bacterial cells settle, removed from clarifier as sludge
 Part of sludge is recycled back to activated sludge tank, to maintain
bacteria population
 Remainder of sludge is wasted
Schematic of activated sludge unit
Activated sludge process- CMR

 Biomass in + Biomass growth = Biomass out

  max S 
QX 0  V  X  k d X  (Qo  Qw ) X e  Qw X u ........ 1
 Ks  S 
 Food in –Food consumed=Food out

  max S 
Q0 S 0  V  X  (Qo  Qw ) S  Qw S      2
 Y (K s  S ) 
 Simplify the equations 1 and 2 by considering the following
assumption , we get
 Assumptions:
 Influent and effluent X is negligible compared to X at other
places in the system, Xo and Xe is approaching zero.
 So is immediately diluted to S because of complete mixing
 All reaction occur in the reactor

  max S 
Qx0  V  X  k d X  (Qo  Qw ) x 0  Qw X u
 Ks  S 

  max S 
V X  k d X  Qw X u
 Ks  S 
   max S  Qw X u
    kd      3
 Ks  S  VX

  max S 
Q0 S 0  V  X  (Qo  Qw ) S  Qw S
 Y (K s  S ) 
  max S  Qo Y
   (S o  S )      4
 (K s  S )  V X

Equate equation 3 and 4

Qw X u Qo Y
 kd  (S o  S )      5
VX V X
Very important
V X VX
HRT  MCRT  
Qo X / t Qw X u

1
1 Y
 (S o  S )  k d      6
( MCRT ) ( HRT ) X

( MCRT )Y ( S o  S )  m (S o  S )
X        7
( HRT )1  k d ( MCRT )  1  k d ( MCRT ) 

HRT = hydraulic retention time

( MCRT )QY ( S o  S )
V     8 MCRT = mean-cell-residence time
X 1  k d ( MCRT ) 
X= mixed-liquor suspended solids
(MLSS) or simply biomass conc.
K 1  k d ( MCRT ) 
S   9
MCRT Y max  k d   1
 ASP – Oxygen requirements
 Oxidation of organic matter and synthesis of new cells
 COHNS + O2 new cells+ CO2+ Other end products

 Oxygen requirement in the process – endogenous respiration

C5H7NO2 + 5O2 5CO2 + 2H2O + NH3+ energy
113 5 x 32

The ultimate BOD for one mole of cell requires 1.42 moles of oxygen

Mass of O2/d = total mass of BODu used – 1.42 x mass of organism wasted
Q ( So  S )
kgO2 / day   1.42( Xu )
1000 g / kg
Xu = mass of the microorganism wasted
Diffused aeration system
 ASP – Empirical Design Parameters
• Volumetric loading rate or BOD loading rate, VL = QSo/V ( 0.4 -0.6 kg of BOD5/
m3).

• Food-to-mass ratio or sludge loading rate (SLR) or specific substrate

utilization rate, F/M = Q(So-S)/VX = (So-S)/(HRT)X
( 0.2 -0.5 kg of BOD5/MLVSS)
( HRT ) X 1
• Mean- cell-residence times, =
MCRT  
( 4-15 h) Y (So  S ) kd

• MLSS concentration (1500- 3000 mg/L)

 Note: Typical value of parameters for the1 conventional ASP are given in parenthesis 45
• Why these parameters are important?
MCRT - effect efficiency of treatment, suitability of the sludge, oxygen
requirement, and quantity of waste-activated sludge.

• VLR or BOD LR or OLR - process efficiency, sludge production, oxygen

requirement, and solid-liquid separation.

The fundamental design constraints of activated sludge process are

• Maximum microbial growth rate – prefer to maintain in the declining
growth phase to improve the settle-ability
• Maximum oxygen transfer rate,
• Minimum hydraulic retention time,
• Mixed liquor suspended solids settleability.
1 46
 Sludge Management
(Sludge treatment and Disposal)
 Sludge
• Concentrating impurities into a solid form
containing many objectionable materials and
must be disposed of properly.

• Sludge disposal facility accounts for 40 to 60

percent of the construction cost of wastewater
– treatment plants, 50% of the operating cost
and are the cause of a disproportionate share
of operating difficulties
 Types of Bio solids

Primary sludge
Solids that settle out in the primary
settling basin

Biological or Secondary Sludge

Solids that have grown in a secondary treatment

process (fixed film or suspended growth)
 Characteristics of a sludge
• Primary settling removes the settle able fraction of the raw wastewater solids. Usually 40
to 60 % of influent solids are removed
• The quantity of solids on a dry mass basis;

• Solids escaping primary settling are either solubilized or become entrained in the
biomass during secondary treatment. Secondary sludge mainly composed of
biological solids. The quantity of which can be estimated by
Sludge Stabilization
Lime Stabilization
Lime (Ca(OH2) raises the pH and causes high
temperature to kill pathogens and restrict growth
of other microorganisms
Aerobic Digestion
Waste activated sludge placed in aeration tank and aerated.
Organisms die and are used as food by other organisms.
Result is reduction in solids.
Anaerobic Digestion
Anaerobic Digester Mechanical Plant
Egg Shaped Digesters
Conditioning
Drying Beds
Filling the drying bed with sludge
Starting the drying process
Sludge dewatering: Centrifugation
Centrifugation
Sludge dewatering: filter press
Belt Filter Press
Filter press
PLATE AND FRAME FILTER
PARTS
Gravity Belt Thickening
Composting
Sludge disposal: transport
Ultimate Disposal

Landfill

Land Application

Incineration
Sludge disposal: Land application
Sludge Incineration: Multiple Hearth
Fluidized bed sludge incineration
Radiant heat (electric)
incineration
Cyclone
Furnace
Fluidized bed incineration system
Solid-Waste Disposal -- primarily an urban problem, common methods include:
• On-site Disposal: most common in households (grinding of kitchen food waste),
disposal in sewage treatment plant
• Composting: a biochemical process, organic materials decompose to humus-like
material
• Incineration: the reduction of combustible waste to inert residue; burns at high
temperatures (900 to 1000 °C)
convert large volume of waste to small volume of ash
combustion used to supplement other fuels for power
• Open Dumps: oldest and most common way to dispose of solid waste, without regard
to safety, health, or aesthetics
• Sanitary Landfills: defined by the American Society of Civil Engineering as a
method of solid-waste disposal that functions without creating a nuisance or hazard to
public health or safety -- This is an important geological problem.
 Sanitary Landfills
Engineering principles used to:
• confine waste to smallest practical area
• reduce waste to smallest practical volume
• cover waste with layer of compacted soil (or tarps) each day (finishing cover is ~50
cm or more of compacted clay-rich soil)
Two types of sanitary landfills:
• area landfill on relatively flat site
• depression landfill in natural or artificial gullies or pits
NOTE: Compaction and subsidence will continue after site is closed; any further
development must be able to accommodate these potential problems.
Potential Hazards:
• leachate -- obnoxious, highly concentrated mineralized liquid capable of transporting
bacterial pollutants
• uncontrolled production and escape of methane gas
 Sanitary Landfills -- Site Selection
Best sites have natural conditions to ensure reasonable safety in disposal of
solid waste: little (or acceptable) pollution of groundwater and surface water.
Must consider: climate, hydrology, geology, & human conditions (or
combinations of all)
Factors controlling the feasibility of sanitary landfills:
• Topographic relief
• Location of the Groundwater table
• Amount of precipitation
• Type of soil and rock
• Location of the disposal zone in the surface-water and groundwater flow
system
NOTE: The best sites are in arid regions, above water table.
 Sanitary Landfills -- Site Selection
Arid Regions
• Relatively safe, regardless of whether burial material is permeable or impermeable, little or
no leachate.
Humid Regions
• Some leachate always produced, need to establish acceptable level of leachate production
• Need to consider local water use, local regulations, and ability of natural hydrologic
system to disperse, dilute and degrade the leachate to make harmless
• Most desirable to bury waste above water table in clay and silt soils having low
permeability
• Use substrate as a natural filtering system, even if water table is high (typical in humid
climate)
NOTE: It is very important to consider the geology of the landfill site, type of aquifer, types of
soils, etc.
Sanitary Landfills -- Site Selection
Geologic mapping is critical -- must be at least 10 meters between the base of the
landfill and the top of the water table at its shallowest point - this includes
anomalous shallow aquifers such as “perched aquifers”. An event of high
infiltration may cause the main aquifer to become hydraulically connected with the
perched aquifer.
Important factors to consider:
· Natural filtration of the subsurface - contaminants may be removed from
leachate before they reach the water table. Filtration can also occur by ion
exchange or sorption.
· Dispersion possibilities - migration will occur as a result of both physical and
chemical gradients. It is also important to determine subsurface fractures.
· Precipitation possibilities - heavy metals may precipitate out of leachate, or
will they remain suspended
On-Site Disposal -- The most common disposal method. Drains, sewers, windows,
pits and so on are all used to get rid of unwanted substances. Both hazardous and
non-hazardous wastes find their way into the environment by this route.
Composting -- The decomposition of organic matter by biological organisms. On
a household scale composting can significantly reduce the amount of garbage.
Composting can also be done on a municipal scale. For example, in 1983 the VAM
recycling and waste treatment facility in Wijster, Netherlands produced 125,000 tons
of quality compost from discarded municipal organic waste!
Land Application -- Desirable treatment for some biodegradable industrial wastes
(microbial degradation), usefulness is determined by biopersistence of the waste
Surface Impoundment -- Use excavations and natural topographic depressions,
natural soils, prone to leakage, NOT good for hazardous chemicals
USEFUL DEFINITIONS
· LEACHATE - Leachate is a combination of infiltrated precipitation and any liquids squeezed from the
waste as it naturally compacts. Leachate will percolate to the base of land disposal sites due to the
influence of gravity. Leachate can carry particulate matter, pollutants, biological contaminants and other
constituents with it. Leachate will travel through the subsurface following the same flow direction as
groundwater. Leachate is a potentially major source of pollution. As such all land based disposal facilities
must incorporate a leachate collection and disposal system into their designs. Also liners and covers must
be added so as to minimize infiltration into the waste site thereby minimizing leachate production or
escape.
· LINER - Generally there are several layers of liners at the base of a land disposal site. Layers consist of
compacted clay alternating with plastic. Leachate collection systems are placed just below the first and
second (in case the first one is breached) liner layers. The purpose of the liner is to prevent leachate from
escaping into the subsurface.
· CAP/COVER - Caps and covers are constructed (starting at the waste and working outward) of
compacted, low permeability clay. This is followed by a flexible plastic liner (theoretically impermeable).
Next comes a drainage layer designed to transport surface water away from the waste disposal site.
Finally, this is followed by a layer of earth and then some type of vegetative cover.
Deep-well Disposal -- In rock (not soil), isolated from freshwater aquifers; waste is
injected into a permeable rock layer hundreds to thousands of meters below the
surface.
Deep-well injection of oil-field brine has been important to control water pollution
in oil fields for many years.

Deep-well injection
system -- disposal in
sandstone or fractured
limestone capped by
impermeable rock and
isolated from fresh water.
Monitoring wells are a
safety precaution.
Deep-well Injection
The underground injection of
liquid wastes has been
occurring in the United States
for many decades. In general,
this technique is used to
dispose of wastes deep below
the earth's surface in well-
confined geologic formations.
Deep well injection directly
introduces liquids into a deep
aquifer in the subsurface
environment via pressurized
wells.

S. Hughes 2000
Deep-well Injection -- Disposal wells use high pressures to overcome existing lithologic and
hydrostatic forces in deep aquifers, thereby forcing the aquifer to accept waste loads.
U.S. Federal regulations recognize 5 types of disposal wells, each with their own particular
guidelines:
· CLASS I WELLS - used for disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous industrial or
municipal wastes.
· CLASS II WELLS - used for injection of oil field brines and other hydrocarbon wastes.
· CLASS III WELLS - used for solution mining processes.
· CLASS IV WELLS - those which historically disposed of radioactive wastes (this is no
longer done).
· CLASS V WELLS - used for any activity not mentioned above, such as geothermal steam
mining operations.
NOTE: A major problem with deep well injection is that it can cause earthquakes!
Deep-well Injection -- Multiple factors must be considered when selecting a
disposal well site:
• Aquifer response to injection rates, pressures, type of waste
• The location of confining structures above and below
• Site bounded vertically and laterally by confining strata
• The location of faults, fracture zones, patterns of seismicity
• The location of any old conduits between aquifer layers
• Physical and chemical character of the waste
• Pretreatment of the waste may be required in order to avoid system clogging,
corrosion of well casings or other problems
• Aquifers with low pressure head, high transmissivity, and high permeability
are preferred
Monitoring Disposal Wells -- Essential part of any disposal system; important to
know where wastes are going, how stable, how fast they migrate, especially if
waste is toxic.
How liquid waste might enter a freshwater aquifer: