Wastewater Treatment

WASTEWATER TREATMENT
Precious Oluwabukunmi Akinola-206313

&
Abdulbasit Ayomide Oladejo-207237
OUTLINE
What is Wastewater Treatment
Wastewater Treatment Plants
Wastewater Treatment Processes
Benefits of Wastewater Treatment
Conclusion
WHAT IS WASTEWATER TREATMENT
• Wastewater treatment is the process of converting water that is no longer needed or is

no longer suitable for use into bilge water that can be discharged back into the
environment.
• Wastewater come from various activities like ; bathing , washing , using the toilet ,
rainwater runoff, etc.
• It is full of bacteria, chemicals and other toxins (contaminants).
• This treatment aims at reducing the contaminants to acceptable levels to make the water
safe for discharge back into the environment.
WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS
• There are two wastewater treatment plants namely;
1. Chemical or physical treatment plant
2. Biological wastewater treatment plant
The biological wastewater treatment plants make use of bacteria and biological matter to
breakdown waste matter. It is ideal for treating wastewater for household and business premises.
Physical wastewater treatment plants makes use of chemical reactions well as physical
processes to treat wastewater. It is mostly used to treat wastewater from industries, factories, and
manufacturing firms. This is because most of the wastewater from these industries contains
chemicals and other toxins that can largely harm the environment.
A WATER TREATMENT PLANT
WASTEWATER TREATMENT PROCESSES
• The following is a step by step process of how wastewater is treated:
1) Wastewater collection- Collection systems are put in place by the government, home owners, business owners to ensure that wastewater is
collected and directed to a central point. This water is then directed to treatment plant(chemical or biological) using underground drainage
systems or by exhauster tracks owned and operated by business people. The transportation should be done under hygienic conditions. That is,
the pipes or tracks should be leak proof and the people offering the exhausting services wear protective clothing.
2) Odor Control- At the treatment plant, odor control is very important as wastewater contains a lot of dirty substances that cause a foul smell over
time. In order to ensure that the areas surrounding the treatment plant are free of the foul smell, odor treatment processes are initiated at the
treatment plants like; treating all odor sources with chemicals to neutralize the foul smell producing element.
3) Screening- This involves the removal of large objects for example, nappies, cotton buds, plastics, rags, sanitary items, broken bottles and tops,
diapers, face wipes, etc that may damage the equipment. Specially designed equipment is used to get rid of grit that is usually washed down into
the sewer lines by rain water. The solid wastes removed are then transported and disposed off in land fills. Failure to observe this step results in
constant machine and equipment problems.
4) Primary Treatment- This process involves the separation of macrobiotic solid matter from the wastewater. Primary treatment is done by pouring
the wastewater into big tanks for the solid matter to settle at the surface of the tanks. The solid waste(sludge) that settles at the surface of the
tanks is removed by large scraper and is pushed to the center of the cylindrical tanks and later pumped out for further treatment. The remaining
water is then pumped for secondary treatment.
5 ) Secondary Treatment(Activated Sludge Process)- This stage involves adding seed sludge to the wastewater to ensure that it is
broken down further. Air is first pumped into huge aeration tanks which mix the wastewater with the seed sludge which is basically
small amount of sludge , which fuels the growth of bacteria that use oxygen and the growth of other small microorganisms that
consume the remaining organic matter. This process leads to the production of large particles that settle down at the bottom of the
huge tanks. The wastewater passes through the large tanks for a period of 3-6 hours.
6) Bio-solids handling- The solid matter that settle out after the primary and secondary treatment stages are directed to digesters. The
digesters are heated at room temperature. The solid wastes are then treated for a month where they undergo anaerobic respiration. During
this process, methane gases are produced and there is a formation of nutrient rich bio-solids which are recycled and dewatered into local
firms.
The methane gas formed is usually used;
a) As a source of energy at the treatment plants.
b) To produce electricity in engines or to simply drive plant equipment
c) In boilers to generate heat for digesters
 7) Tertiary treatment- This stage is similar to the one used by drinking water treatment plants which clean raw
water for drinking purposes. The tertiary treatment stage has the ability to remove up to 99% of the impurities from
the wastewater. This produces effluent water that is close to drinking water quality. Unfortunately, this process tends
to be a bit expensive as it requires special equipment, well trained and highly skilled equipment operators, chemicals
and a steady energy supply. All these are not readily available.
8) Disinfection- After the primary treatment stage and the secondary treatment process, there are still some
diseases causing organisms in the remaining treated wastewater. To eliminate them, the wastewater must be
disinfected for at least 20-25 minutes in tanks that contain a mixture of chlorine and sodium hypochlorite. The
disinfection process is an integral part of the treatment process because it guards the health of the animals and the
local people who use the water for other purposes. The treated wastewater(effluent) is later released into the
environment through the local water ways.
9) Sludge Treatment- The sludge that is produced and collected during the primary and secondary treatment
processes requires concentration and thickening to enable further processing. It is put into thickening tanks that allow
it to settle down and later separates from the water. This process can take up to 24 hours. The remaining water is
collected and sent back into the environment and can be used for agricultural use.
BENEFITS OF WASTEWATER
TREATMENT
Conclusion
In summary, wastewater treatment process

is one of the most important
environmental conservation processes that
should be encouraged worldwide.
THANK YOU !

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WASTEWATER TREATMENT

Precious Oluwabukunmi Akinola-206313

• Wastewater treatment is the process of converting water that is no longer needed or is

In summary, wastewater treatment process

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