Wastewater Management

Wastewater, is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic (human) influence,
Wastewater management is basically the act of monitoring the amount of wastes whether it be fecal matter or
chemicals, that go into our water resources to keep quality at acceptable levels, Management of wastewater also
includes ensuring the proper method of disposal of wastewater. Pollution in public water sources are regulated by
state and local governments example the water services boards and water service providers
The principal objective of wastewater management is generally to allow human and industrial effluents to be
disposed of without danger to human health or unacceptable damage to the natural environment.
Wastewater can be from different sources;
Domestic waste

 Human waste (feaces, used toilet paper or wipes, urine, or other bodily fluids), also known as blackwater,
usually from lavatories;
 Cesspit leakage;
 Septic tank discharge;
 Sewage treatment plant discharge;
 Washing water (personal, clothes, floors, dishes, etc.), also known as greywater or sullage;

Industrial waste

 industrial site drainage (silt, sand, alkali, oil, chemical residues);

 Industrial cooling waters (biocides, heat, slimes, silt);

 Industrial process waters;
 Organic or biodegradable waste, including waste from abattoirs, creameries, and ice cream manufacture;
 Organic or non bio-degradable/difficult-to-treat waste (pharmaceutical or pesticide manufacturing);
 Extreme pH waste (from acid/alkali manufacturing, metal plating);
 Toxic waste (metal plating, cyanide production, pesticide manufacturing, etc.);
 Solids and emulsions (paper manufacturing, foodstuffs, lubricating and hydraulic oil manufacturing, etc.);
 Agricultural drainage, direct and diffuse.
 Hydraulic fracturing

Other sources include;

 Rainfall collected on roofs, yards, hard-standings, etc. (generally clean with traces of oils and fuel);
 Groundwater infiltrated into sewage;
 Surplus manufactured liquids from domestic sources (drinks, cooking oil, pesticides, lubricating oil, paint,
cleaning liquids, etc.);
 Urban rainfall runoff from roads, carparks, roofs, sidewalks, or pavements (contains oils, animal
feces, litter, gasoline, diesel or rubber residues, soapscum, metals from vehicle exhausts, etc.);
 Seawater ingress (high volumes of salt and microbes);
 Direct ingress of river water (high volumes of micro-biota);
 Direct ingress of manmade liquids (illegal disposal of pesticides, used oils, etc.);
 Highway drainage (oil, de-icing agents, rubber residues);
 Storm drains (almost anything, including cars, shopping trolleys, trees, cattle, etc.);
 Black water (surface water contaminated by sewage);

Municipal waste
This is a general term used to refer to liquids collected in sanitary sewers or cesspools.
Sewage-subset of wastewater that is contaminated with feaces or urine, but often used to refer to any wastewater,
sewage includes domestic , municipal or industrial waste produced usually disposed off using a pipe or a sewer or a
cesspool emptier(honey sucker)
Sewerage-is the physical infrastructure, including pipes, pumps, screens, channels etc. used to convey sewage from
its origin to the point of eventual treatment or disposal. It is found in all types of sewage treatment, with the
exception of septic systems, which treat sewage on site.

The composition of wastewater varies widely. Here are some examples of what wastewater may contain;

 Water ( > 95%) which is often added during flushing to carry waste down a drain;
 Pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and parasitic worms;
 Non-pathogenic bacteria;
 Organic particles such as feces, hairs, food, vomit, paper fibers, plant material, humus, etc.;
 Soluble organic material such as urea, fruit sugars, soluble proteins, drugs, pharmaceuticals, etc.;
 Inorganic particles such as sand, grit, metal particles, ceramics, etc.;
 Soluble inorganic material such as ammonia, road-salt, sea-salt, cyanide, hydrogen
sulfide, thiocyanates, thiosulfates, etc.;
 Animals such as protozoa, insects, arthropods, small fish, etc.;
 Macro-solids such as sanitary napkins, nappies/diapers, condoms, needles, children's toys, dead animals or
plants, etc.;
 Gases such as hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, methane, etc.;
 Emulsions such as paints, adhesives, mayonnaise, hair colorants, emulsified oils, etc.;
 Toxins such as pesticides, poisons, herbicides, etc.
 Pharmaceuticals and hormones.

Wastewater quality indicators

Any oxidizable material present in a natural waterway or in an industrial wastewater will be oxidized both
by biochemical (bacterial) or chemical processes. The result is that the oxygen content of the water will be
decreased. The reaction for biochemical reactions is usually as follows;
Oxidizable material + bacteria + nutrient + O2 → CO2 + H2O + oxidized inorganics such as NO3- or SO4--

Since all natural waterways contain bacteria and nutrients, almost any waste compounds introduced into such
waterways will initiate biochemical reactions (such as shown above). Those biochemical reactions create what is
measured in the laboratory as the Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD).

Oxygen consumption by reducing chemicals such as sulfides and nitrites is typified as follows;
S-- + 2 O2 → SO4--
NO2- + ½ O2 → NO3-
Such chemicals are also liable to be broken down using strong oxidizing agents and these chemical reactions create
what is measured in the laboratory as the Chemical oxygen demand (COD). Both the BOD and COD tests are a
measure of the relative oxygen-depletion effect of a waste contaminant. Both have been widely adopted as a
measure of pollution effect. The BOD test measures the oxygen demand of biodegradable pollutants whereas the
COD test measures the oxygen demand of oxidizable pollutants.

Waste water treatment and disposal

Satisfactory disposal of wastewater, whether by surface, subsurface methods or dilution, is dependent on its
treatment prior to disposal. Adequate treatment is necessary to prevent contamination of receiving waters to a
degree which might interfere with their best or intended use.

Wastewater treatment consists of applying known technology to improve or upgrade the quality of a wastewater.
Usually wastewater treatment will involve collecting the wastewater in a central, segregated location (the
Wastewater Treatment Plant) and subjecting the wastewater to various treatment processes. Most often, since large
volumes of wastewater are involved, treatment processes are carried out on continuously flowing wastewaters
(continuous flow or "open" systems) rather than as "batch" or a series of periodic treatment processes in which
treatment is carried out on parcels or "batches" of wastewaters. While most wastewater treatment processes are
continuous flow, certain operations, such as vacuum filtration, involving as it does storage of sludge, the addition of
chemicals, filtration and removal or disposal of the treated sludge, are routinely handled as periodic batch
operations.

Wastewater treatment, however, can also be organized according to the type of technology in use.
These technologies are mainly; Physical, chemical and biological

Physical methods include processes where no gross chemical or biological changes are carried out maily solid
liquid separation.

Examples are;

1. Coarse screening; to remove larger entrained objects and sedimentation (or clarification).

2. Sedimentation; physical phenomena relating to the settling of solids by gravity are allowed to operate. Usually
this consists of simply holding a wastewater for a short period of time in a tank under quiescent conditions,
allowing the heavier solids to settle, and removing the "clarified" effluent. Usually employed at the beginning
and end of wastewater treatment operations.

3. Aeration -- that is, physically adding air, usually to provide oxygen to the wastewater.

4. Filtration. Here wastewater is passed through a filter medium to separate solids. For example using sand filters
to further remove entrained solids from a treated wastewater. Also in addition Permitting greases or oils, for
example, to float to the surface and skimming or physically removing them from the wastewaters is often
carried out as part of the overall treatment process.

Chemical treatment consists of using some chemical reaction or reactions to improve the water quality. Examples
of commonly used chemical treatment are;

1. Chlorination; where chlorine a strong oxidizing chemical, is used to kill bacteria and to slow down the rate of
decomposition of the wastewater. Bacterial kill is achieved when vital biological processes are affected by the
chlorine. Another strong oxidizing agent that has also been used as an oxidizing disinfectant is ozone.
2. Neutralization. Neutralization consists of the addition of acid or base to adjust pH levels back to neutrality.
Since lime is a base it is sometimes used in the neutralization of acid wastes.
3. Coagulation consists of the addition of a chemical that, through a chemical reaction, forms an insoluble end
product that serves to remove substances from the wastewater. Polyvalent metals are commonly used as
coagulating chemicals in wastewater treatment and typical coagulants would include lime (that can also be used
in neutralization), certain iron containing compounds (such as ferric chloride or ferric sulfate) and alum
(aluminum sulfate).

Biological treatment methods use microorganisms, mostly bacteria, in the biochemical decomposition of
wastewaters to stable end products. More microorganisms, or sludge’s, are formed and a portion of the waste is
converted to carbon dioxide, water and other end products. Generally, biological treatment methods can be divided
into aerobic and anaerobic methods, based on availability of dissolved oxygen.

The purpose of wastewater treatment is generally to remove from the wastewater enough solids to permit the
remainder to be discharged to receiving water without interfering with its best or proper use. But treatment must also
be provided for the solids and liquids which are removed as sludge. Finally, treatment to control odors, to retard
biological activity, or destroy pathogenic organisms may also be needed.

While the devices used in wastewater treatment are numerous and will probably combine physical, chemical and
biological methods, they may all be generally grouped under six methods:

I. Preliminary treatment
II. Primary treatment
III. Secondary treatment
IV. Disinfection
V. Sludge treatment
VI. Tertiary treatment

Degrees of treatment are sometimes indicated by use of the terms primary, secondary and tertiary treatment.
Tertiary treatment, properly, would be any treatment added onto or following secondary treatment.

Preliminary Treatment

Mostly preliminary treatment is used to protect pumping equipment and facilitate subsequent treatment processes.
Preliminary devices are designed to remove or cut up the larger suspended and floating solids, to remove the heavy
inorganic solids, and to remove excessive amounts of oils or greases.

The devices commonly used here are:

1. Screens -- rack, bar or fine

2. Comminuting devices -- grinders, cutters, shredders
3. Grit chambers
4. Pre-aeration tanks

At times chlorination may be used in preliminary treatment. But since chlorination may be used at all stages in
treatment, it is considered to be a method by itself. Preliminary treatment devices require careful design and
operation.

Primary Treatment
In this treatment, most of the settle able solids are separated or removed from the wastewater by the physical process
of sedimentation. When certain chemicals are used with primary sedimentation tanks, some of the colloidal solids
are also removed. Biological activity of the wastewater in primary treatment is of negligible importance.

The purpose of primary treatment is to reduce the velocity of the wastewater sufficiently to permit solids to settle
and floatable material to surface. Therefore, primary devices may consist of settling tanks, clarifiers or
sedimentation tanks. Because of variations in design, operation, and application, settling tanks can be divided into
four general groups:

1. Septic tanks
2. Two story tanks -- Imhoff and several proprietary or patented units
3. Plain sedimentation tank with mechanical sludge removal
4. Upward flow clarifiers with mechanical sludge removal

When chemicals are used, other auxiliary units are employed. These are:

1. Chemical feed units

2. Mixing devices
3. Flocculators

The results obtained by primary treatment, together with anaerobic sludge digestion as described later, are such that
they can be compared with the zone of degradation in stream self-purification. The use of chlorine with primary
treatment is discussed under the section on Preliminary Treatment.

Secondary Treatment

Secondary treatment depends primarily upon aerobic organisms which biochemically decompose the organic solids
to inorganic or stable organic solids. It is comparable to the zone of recovery in the self-purification of a stream.

The devices used in secondary treatment may be divided into four groups:

1. Trickling filters with secondary settling tanks

2. Activated sludge and modifications with final settling tanks
3. Intermittent sand filters
4. Stabilization ponds

This is a method of treatment which has been employed for many purposes in all stages in wastewater treatment, and
even prior to preliminary treatment. It involves the application of chlorine to the wastewater for the following
purposes:

1. Disinfection or destruction of pathogenic organisms

2. Prevention of wastewater decomposition --

(a) Odor control

(b) protection of plant structures

1. Aid in plant operation --

(a) Sedimentation,
(b) trickling filters
(c) activated sludge bulking
 1. Reduction or delay of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)

While chlorination has been commonly used over the years, especially for disinfection, other methods to achieve
disinfection as well as to achieve similar treatment ends are also used. Among the most common is the use of
ozone. In view of the toxicity of chlorine and chlorinated compounds for fish as well as other living forms,
ozonation may be more commonly used in the future.

Sludge Treatment

The solids removed from wastewater in both primary and secondary treatment units, together with the water
removed with them, constitute wastewater sludge. It is generally necessary to subject sludge to some treatment to
prepare or condition it for ultimate disposal. Such treatment has two objectives -- the removal of part or all of the
water in the sludge to reduce its volume, and the decomposition of the putrescible organic solids to mineral solids or
to relatively stable organic solids. This is accomplished by a combination of two or more of the following methods:

1. Thickening
2. Digestion with or without heat
3. Drying on sand bed -- open or covered
4. Conditioning with chemicals
5. Elutriation
6. Vacuum filtration
7. Heat drying
8. Incineration
9. Wet oxidation
10. Centrifuging

Tertiary and Advanced Wastewater Treatment

The terms "primary" and "secondary" treatment have been used to generally describe a degree of treatment; for
example, settling and biological wastewater treatment. Since the early 1970's "tertiary" treatment has come into use
to describe additional treatment following secondary treatment. Quite often this merely indicates the use of
intermittent sand filters for increased removal of suspended solids from the wastewater. In other cases, tertiary
treatment has been used to describe processes which remove plant nutrients, primarily nitrogen and phosphorous,
from wastewater.

Improvement and upgrading of wastewater treatment units as well as the need to minimize environmental effects has
led to the increased use of tertiary treatment.

A term that is also sometimes used to indicate treatment of a wastewater by methods other than primary or
biological (secondary) treatment is advanced treatment. This degree of treatment is usually achieved by chemical
(for example coagulation) methods as well as physical methods (flocculation, settling and activated carbon
adsorption) to produce high quality effluent water.