Environmental Pollution & Control (CHEN 504)

Water Pollution (Module 1c):

Effluent (Wastewater) Treatment Technologies

By

Dr. Bilal Sabiu

Deparment of Chemical Engineering

Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

July, 2024
Introduction
❖Effluent Treatment (ET): is a process for
treating the industrial wastewater for its
reuse or safe disposal to the environment.

❖Influent: Untreated industrial waste water.

❖Effluent: Treated industrial waste water.

❖Sludge: Solid part separated from waste

water by ET.
Reasons for Waste Water treatment
• To clean industry effluent and recycle it for further
use.
• To reduce the usage of fresh/potable water in
Industries.
• To cut expenditure on water procurement.
• To meet the Standards for emission or discharge of
environmental pollutants from various Industries
set by the Government and avoid hefty penalties.
• To safeguard environment against pollution and
contribute in sustainable development.
 Wastewater Treatment
❖Purpose in summary:
To manage water discharged
from homes, businesses, and
industries to reduce the threat
of water pollution.
Treatment Levels & Mechanisms of ET.
❖Treatment levels:
➢Preliminary
➢Primary
➢Secondary
➢Tertiary (or advanced) /Sludge (biosolids) disposal

❖Treatment mechanisms:
➢Physical
➢Chemical
➢Biological
Preliminary Treatment level
➢Purpose: Physical separation of big sized impurities like
cloth, plastics, wood logs, paper, etc and to protect pumps
and equipment from damage

❖Common physical unit operations at Preliminary level are:

• Screening: A screen with openings of uniform size is used to
remove large solids such as plastics, clothe, etc. Generally
maximum 10mm is used.

• Sedimentation: Physical water treatment process using gravity

to remove suspended solids from water.

• Clarification: Used for separation of solids from fluids

 Preliminary Treatment level

❖Pre-treatment
• Occurs in business or industry prior to
discharge
• Prevention of toxic chemicals or excess
nutrients being discharged in
wastewater
Preliminary Treatment level Cont’d….
❖Water discharged from homes,
businesses, and industry enters
sanitary sewers

❖Water from rainwater on streets

enters storm water sewers

❖Combined sewers carry both sanitary

wastes and storm water
Preliminary Treatment level Cont’d….

❖Water moves toward the

wastewater plant primarily by
gravity flow

❖Lift stations pump water from

low lying areas over hills
Wastewater Treatment
 Preliminary Treatment level Cont’d….

❖Bar Screen
- catches large
objects that have
gotten into sewer
system such as
bricks, bottles,
pieces of wood,
etc.
Preliminary Treatment level Cont’d….

❖Grit Chamber
- removes rocks, gravel, broken
glass, etc.
❖Mesh Screen
- removes diapers, combs, towels,
plastic bags, syringes, etc.
Preliminary Treatment level Cont’d….
❖ Preliminary Treatment
Preliminary Treatment level Cont’d….

❖Measurement and sampling at the

inlet structure
- a flow meter continuously records
the volume of water entering the
treatment plant
- water samples are taken for
determination of suspended solids and
B.O.D.
Preliminary Treatment level Cont’d….
❖Suspended Solids – the quantity of solid materials
floating in the water column

❖B.O.D. = Biochemical Oxygen Demand

- a measure of the amount of oxygen required to
aerobically decompose organic matter in the water

❖Measurements of Suspended Solids and B.O.D. indicate

the effectiveness of treatment processes

❖Both Suspended Solids and B.O.D. decrease as water

moves through the wastewater treatment processes
Primary Treatment Level
❖Purpose: Removal of floating and settleable materials
such as suspended solids and organic matter.
❖Methods: Both physical and chemical methods are used in
this treatment level.
❖Chemical unit processes:
▪ Chemical unit processes are always used with physical
operations and may also be used with biological treatment
processes.
▪ Chemical processes use the addition of chemicals to the
waste water to bring about changes in its quality.
▪ Example: pH control, coagulation, chemical precipitation
and oxidation
Primary Treatment Level (cont’d…)
❖pH Control:
• To adjust the pH in the treatment process to make wastewater pH
neutral.
• For acidic wastes (low pH): NaOH, Na2CO3, CaCO3 or Ca(OH)2.
• For alkali wastes (high pH): H2SO4, HCl.
❖Chemical coagulation and Flocculation:
• Coagulation refers to collecting the minute solid particles dispersed in a
liquid into a larger mass.
• Chemical coagulants like Al2(SO4)3 {also called alum} or Fe2(SO4)3are
added to wastewater to improve the attraction among fine particles so
that they come together and form larger particles called flocs.
• A chemical flocculant (usually a polyelectrolyte) enhances the
flocculation process by bringing together particles to form larger flocs ,
which settle out more quickly.
• Flocculation is aided by gentle mixing which causes the particles to
collide.
Primary Treatment Level (contd…)
❖Primary Treatment
▪ wastewater flow is slowed down and suspended solids
settle to the bottom by gravity
▪ the material that settles is called sludge or biosolids
Primary Treatment Level (contd…)
❖Primary Treatment
Primary Treatment Level (contd…)
❖Sludge from the primary sedimentation tanks is
pumped to the sludge thickener.
- more settling occurs to concentrate the sludge
prior to disposal
❖Primary treatment reduces the suspended solids
and the B.O.D. of the wastewater.
❖From the primary treatment tanks water is
pumped to the trickling filter for secondary
treatment.
❖Secondary treatment will further reduce the
suspended solids and B.O.D. of the wastewater.
Secondary Treatment Level
❖Methods: Biological and chemical processes are involved in this level.
❖Biological unit process
➢ To remove, or reduce the concentration of organic and inorganic
compounds.
➢ Biological treatment process can take many forms but all are based
around micro organisms, mainly bacteria.
❖Aerobic Processes
➢ Aerobic treatment processes take place in the presence of air (oxygen).
➢ Utilizes those micro organisms(aerobes), which use molecular/free
oxygen to assimilate organic impurities i.e. convert them into
carbondioxide, water and biomass.
❖AnaerobicProcesses
➢ The anaerobic treatment processes take place in the absence of air
(oxygen).
➢ Utilizes micro organisms (anaerobes) which do not require
air(molecular/free oxygen) to assimilate organic impurities.
➢ The final products are methane and biomass.
Wastewater Treatment
❖Secondary Treatment Level
Secondary Treatment Level Contd…
❖From secondary treatment on the trickling
filter water flows to the final clarifiers for
further removal of sludge.

❖The final clarifiers are another set of

primary sedimentation tanks.

❖From the final clarifiers the water is

discharged back to the River.
 Secondary Treatment Level Contd…

❖The final
clarifiers remove
additional
sludge and
further reduce
suspended
solids and B.O.D.
Tertiary / Advanced Treatment
❖Purpose: Final cleaning process that improves waste water
quality before it is reused, recycled or discharged to the
environment.
❖Mechanism: Removes remaining inorganic compounds, and
substances, such as the nitrogen and phosphorus. Bacteria,
viruses and parasites, which are harmful to public health, are
also removed at this stage.
❖Methods:
• Alum: Used to help remove additional phosphorus particles
and group the remaining solids together for easy removal in
the filters.
• Chlorine: contact tank disinfects the tertiary treated
wastewater by removing micro organisms in treated
wastewater including bacteria, viruses and parasites.
• Remaining chlorine is removed by adding sodium bisulphate
just before it's discharged
 Disposal of Sludge or Biosolids

▪the sludge undergoes lime

stabilization (pH is raised by
addition of lime) to kill potential
pathogens.

▪the stabilized sludge is land applied

by injection into agricultural fields.
DRIED SLUDGE
Relationship between DO,BOD, & COD
❖Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
• Fish and other aquatic animals depend on dissolved
oxygen (the oxygen present in water) to live.
• The amount of dissolved oxygen in streams is
dependent on the water temperature, the quantity of
sediment in the stream, the amount of oxygen taken
out of the system by respiring and decaying
organisms, and the amount of oxygen put back into
the system by photosynthesizing plants, stream
flow, and aeration.
• The temperature of stream water influences the
amount of dissolved oxygen present; less oxygen
dissolves in warm water than cold water.
Relationship between DO,BOD, & COD
Cont’d…
❖Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)/Chemical
Oxygen Demand (COD)
• Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is a measure of the
amount of oxygen that bacteria will consume while
decomposing organic matter under aerobic conditions.
• Chemical oxygen demand (COD) does not differentiate
between biologically available and inert organic matter, and
it is a measure of the total quantity of oxygen required to
oxidize all organic material into carbon dioxide and water.
• COD values are always greater than BOD values, but COD
measurements can be made in a few hours while BOD
measurements take five days.
 Wastewater Treatment
❖The main focus of wastewater treatment plants is to reduce
the BOD in the effluent discharged to natural waters.
❖Wastewater treatment plants are designed to function as
bacteria farms, where bacteria are fed oxygen and organic
waste. The excess bacteria grown in the system are removed
as sludge, and this “solid” waste is then disposed of on land.
❖The wastewater plant lab conducts a number of
measurements and tests on the water.

Suspended solids Temperature

B.O.D. Nitrogen
pH Phosphorus
 Wastewater Treatment
❖In addition to test performed at
the wastewater lab, an off-site
contract lab performs additional
tests

heavy metals priority pollutants

W.E.T (Whole Effluent Toxicity) tests
Flow chart for ET
Wastewater Treatment
❖Governmental Agencies
monitor wastewater treatment
plants
Environmental Protection Agencies
 EFFLUENT STANDARDS

TABLE 1. USEPA, NPDES AND EC EDR standards For Discharges

From Waste-water Treatment Plants (Source: USEPA, 1998).

Legend:
a/ National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System for secondary waste-water treatment plants.
b/ European Community Environmental Directive Requirements for waste-water discharges.
c/ Removals in relation to influent load.
d/ Limited to sensitive areas subject to eutrophication.
PERMISSIBLE STANDARDS IN INDIA
References
• USEPA, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, and L. Somlyódy and P.
Shanahan, Municipal Wastewater Treatment in Central and Eastern Europe:
Present Situation and Cost-Effective Development Strategies (Washington,D.C.:
The World Bank Group, 1998).
• United Nations (2003). Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, Waste-
water Treatment Technologies:a General Review. Distr. General E/ESCWA/SDPD/2003/6. pp 1-119.
• Presentation by: Dr. Gazala Habib, on Effluent Treatment Plant(ETP) .Department of Civil Engineering
IIT Delhi