Sewage and its treatment

SEWAGE:
Sewage is the human, domestic and farm wastes. It may also include
industrial effluent, subsoil, or surface waters.
SEWAGE

WATER SOLID
99.9% 0.1%

ORGANIC INORGANIC
70% 30%

SALTS
NITROGENOUS NON-NITROGENOUS METALS
65% 5%

PROTEINS
& CARBOHYDRATES LIPIDS
AMINOACIDS
SEWAGE TREATMENT:
Sewage treatment can be defined as an artificial process in which sewage
is subjected to remove or alter its constituents to render it less offensive
or dangerous.
OBJECTIVES OF SEWAGE TREATMENT ARE:

 To convert waste and wastewater into a readily reusable resource,

 To prevent pollution of any water body to which treated or reused
water enters.
 To reduce the BOD level of sewage.
 To destroy the causative agents of waterborne diseases
TREATMENT PROCESSES:
The sewage treatment process includes three main steps. They are,
1) Primary treatment process
2) Secondary treatment process and
 SEWAGE

PRIMARY TREATMENT SECONDARY TREATMENT TERTIARY TREATMENT

SCREENING AEROBIC TREATMENTS

&
STRAINING
ACTIVATED FILTERATION LAND OXIDATION
SEDIMENTATION SLUDGE TREATMENT PONDS
PROCESS

COAGULATION 1. CONTACT BED PROCESS

& 2. INTERMITTENT SAND FILTER
FLOCCULATION 3. TRICKLING FILTER

FINAL SETTLING TANK

DISPOSAL
AN ANAEROBIC SLUDGE DIGESTION TANK

CHLORINATION
PRIMARY TREATMENT PROCESS:
It includes the removal of solid wastes floating on the sewage
and the other sedimentable wastes from the sewage. They
are removed by screening, straining, sedimentation, coagulation
and flocculation methods.
SCREENING:
It is the first step of the sewage treatment. The sewage screens of
uniform size are used for the screening. The screening of sewage
protects the operation unit from the excessive dumping of solid
wastes. There are different types of screens like,
a) Coarse screens
b) Medium screens
c) Fine screens
Coarse screens:
Course screens are used to remove the floating materials like rags, paper,
wood, etc from the sewage. The screens are made of steel bars with a
space of 50mm between the two adjacent bars.
Medium screens:
Medium screens are used for removing organic materials from the
sewage. Here the steel bars are 40mm apart from one another.
Fine screens:
Fine screens have perforations of 1.5mm to 3mm size. These screens
help in the removal of some suspended particles from the sewage.
MICROSTRAINING:
Microstrainer is a drum screen with a fine woven stainless steel mesh.
This can also be used in the final tertiary stage to produce a high quality
sewage effluent.
DRUM SCREEN
SEDIMENTATION:
 The separation of solid suspended particles from the sewage is called
sedimentation. The tank is often referred to a sedimentation tank or
settling tank. Sedimentation prevents sludge formation in the
treatment unit. Further, it reduces the BOD of sewage water.

 Different types of sedimentation tanks are available for the

clarification of water. The main types are rectangular horizontal flow
tanks, circular radical flow tanks and vertical flow tanks. When
sedimentation is used without pre-treatment, as in the case
clarification of river water, the process is called plain sedimentation.
CIRCULAR RADIAL FLOW TANK
VERTICAL RADIAL FLOW TANK
COAGULATION AND FLOCCULATION:
Many impurities in water and waste water are present as colloidal solids.
The colloidal particles in high concentration can be removed by
flocculation and in low concentration can be removed by coagulation; a
coagulant is required.
FLOCCULATION:
Flocculation is a process of gentle and continuous stirring of coagulated
water for the purpose of forming flocs through the aggregation of the
minute particles present in the water. It is thus the conditioning of water
to form flocs that can be removed by filteration. Flocculation can be
carried out in specially designed tanks where the influent liquid is
subjected to mechanical stirring. The normal retention time in
flocculation tank is 30-45 minutes. Flocculation and sedimentation may
be combined in a single unit.
FLOCCULATION TANK
COAGULATION:
 Coagulation involves the use of certain chemicals called coagulating
agents or coagulants which enable flocculation.
 The most widely used coagulant is aluminium sulphate, commonly
called
as alum. Other coagulant can also be used include ferrous sulphate
(copperas), ferric chloride and ferric sulphate (chlorinated copperas).
 Coagulant has to dispersed throughout the body of water before
flocculation occurs.
 A rapid mixing chamber with a high speed turbine can be used for
this. Floc formation will be difficult if the concentration of colloidal
matter is low.
 This can be overcome by the use of coagulant aids. These are
simple additives like clay materials which form nuclei for
precipitation of the hydroxide or polyelectrolyte. Heavy long chain
synthetic polymers can be used as coagulant aid.
SECONDARY TREATMENT PROCESS:
During the secondary treatment, the non- sedimentable wastes are
removed from the sewage. So the level of organic chemicals and of
nutrients like nitrogen & phosphorous comes down in the sewage water.
The secondary treatment is carried out by biological method.
AEROBIC TREATMENT PROCESS:
Effluents from the primary treatment process cannot be disposed off due
to their high dissolved organic content. They are subjected to various
aerobic processes which involve biological oxidation. These oxidation
processes employ microorganisms.
ACTIVATED SLUDGE PROCESS:
Activated sludge process is a highly efficient system for the aerobic
biological treatment of wastes.
• The process depends on the use of a high concentration of micro
organisms in the form of floc which is kept in suspension by agitation.
• In this process, (about 20%) of the separated sludge along with living
microorganisms is added to the incoming effluent as inoculums.
• This added sludge is often referred to as activated sludge and carries
out the actual oxidation.
• Among the micro organisms found in activated sludge, zooglea
ramigera, a rod shaped bacterium is the common one.
• The activated sludge tank is simple in design. It is an oblong deep
tank, provided with an inlet at the top of one end and an outlet at the
bottom of the other end.
• Aeration is provided either by an air diffuser located at the bottom of
the tank or by agitators at the surface of waters along both sides of the
tank.
FILTERATION OF SEWAGE:
The sewage is filtered through a fine filtering medium for a considerable
duration. The sewage water percolates through the medium, but the
colloidal wastes remain on the medium. The filter absorbs more oxygen
from the surrounding; hence the rate of oxidation will be high.

The following filter units are used to filter sewage,

1. Contact Beds: They are rectangular tanks filled with small broken
stones or bricks as a filtering medium. The medium are usually 1-
1.8m in depth.
2. Intermittent sand filter: It is also a rectangular tank filled with
sand or other fine-grained materials. The medium is 1-2.5m in
depth. The sewage is applied over the filtering medium of the tank
and allowed to drain off through the filter.
3. Trickling filter:
 Trickling filter is an oldest form of aerobic oxidation treatment. It is
also called as bacteria bed, sprinkling filters or percolating filters.
 It consists of a bed of filtering medium containing crushed rocks,
blast
furnace slags, plastics, etc.
 The sewage is sprayed over the filter through nozzles fitted to the
stationary arm and moving arms. The microbial population is made to
grow on the filter medium.
 The sewage percolates through the medium and drains off from the
filter.
 The resulting purified filterate is collected for further treatment.
 The upper regions of the trickling filter are dominated by algae of the
genera Phormidium, Chlorella and Ulothrix.
 Bacteria genera like Pseudomonas, Flavobacterium, etc are seen in the
filter which oxidizes the organic matter.
TRICKLING FILTER
LAND TREATMENT:
It is an old treatment method in which overland flow of effluent water is
practiced. Here, infilteration of effluent down to the land bed occurs. But
nowadays, with increased human population and non availability of
lands, the process is becoming unpopular.
OXIDATION PONDS:
 The oxidation ponds are shallow water bodies whose depth may range
from 2 to 4 feet.
 Wastes in the sewage water are oxidized in the ponds.
 The other names of the oxidation ponds are sterilization ponds,
stabilization ponds, maturation ponds & sewage lagoons.
 The sewage is allowed to enter the pond at one site, usually at one
corner of the pond. The sewage gets mixed in the pond due to the
action of wind on its surface.
 Some amount of O2 dissolves in water and diffuses into the different
parts of the sewage in the pond.
 At the bottom of the pond anaerobic microbes thrive well and oxidize
the organic matter.
 The solid fraction of sewage gets deposited at bottom; it is frequently
removed from the pond.
 The removal of solid wastes improves the quality of the oxidation
pond.
 Finally the purified sewage water is discharged into a river or used for
irrigation.
 Algae & other lower organisms may be inoculated into the oxidation
pond to improve its efficiency. Eicchornia crassipes grows rapidly &
consumes more sewage for its growth.
OXIDATION POND
Oxidation ponds can be grouped into four:
1) FACULTATIVE PONDS
2) MATURATION PONDS
3) ANAEROBIC PONDS
4) AERATED PONDS
FACULTATIVE PONDS:
Oxidation pond, in which both aerobic and anaerobic activities are
carried out in a single unit called facultative pond. They are the most
widely used oxidation ponds. Facultative ponds are mostly rectangular in
shape with a length – breadth ratio of 3:1. They are usually 1 – 2m deep.

In facultative ponds, both aerobic and anaerobic activities take place.

Near the surface of the ponds chlorophyll bearing microorganisms,
phytoflagellates and algae dominate. Representative genera of algae
include Chlorella, Chlamydomonas, Scenedesmus, Euglena and
Oscillatoria.
MATURATION PONDS:
These types of ponds are mostly used during the secondary stage of
treatment following a facultative pond or other biological treatment
units.
They are shallow ponds and can be loaded with only a limited amount of
organic material. Heavy algal growth is a problem with this type of
pond.
But they are efficient in removing the pathogenic bacteria.

ANAEROBIC PONDS:
These are comparatively deep ponds with a depth of 3-5 meters to ensure
anaerobic conditions. They can be operated with a high organic loading.
Retention time for these ponds is about 30 days. They are generally used
for the pretreatment of strong organic wastes before adding them to
facultative ponds. The main problem with this pond is the production of
AERATED PONDS:
Aerated ponds are of less common use when compared to other oxidation
ponds. They utilize floating aerators to maintain dissolved oxygen levels
and to provide mixing. Retention time for these ponds is few days. The
process involves bacterial floc and produces good quality effluents.

ANAEROBIC SLUDGE DIGESTION PROCESS:

The sewage is treated by using anaerobic microorganisms. These
microorganisms digest the solid wastes into simple inorganic chemicals.
The essentials steps of anaerobic sewage treatment are:
1) The sewage is collected in a large primary settlement tank. The
Solid and semi-solid waste materials in the sewage are allowed to
settle at the bottom of the tank.
2) The sewage is collected in a large primary settlement tank. The
solid and semi-solid After sedimentation, the sewage is allowed to
pass into an aeration tank. An air-compressor is attached to the
aeration tank; it gives proper aeration to the aeration tanks. The
aerobic bacteria thrive well and consume more organic matter in the
sewage water.
3) After processing, the water is properly tested for organic matter,
ammonia and BOD. If the sewage water has a low BOD, it indicates
the purity of the water.
4) The purified sewage water is discharged into a river or directly used
for irrigation.
5) The sedimented sludge coming from the primary settlement tank is
allowed to pass into the primary digester. The digester is a concrete,
insulated tank. The sludge is allowed to remain as such for 20-30
days for anaerobic digestion. The digester is heated to 35 C by
using a heat exchanger.
6) During anaerobic digestion, biogas is also released from the
digester. This gas is stored in gas cylinders and used to run engines,
heat exchanger and air-compressor.
7) The digested sludge is transferred to a secondary digester. Here the
sludge is allowed to digest itself under cold condition for about 25
days.
8) waste materials in the sewage are allowed to settle at the bottom of
the tank. The supernatant solution released from the digestion tanks
is then allowed to pass into the primary settling tank. The solid
waste is used as manure for agricultural and horticultural crops.
TERTIARY TREATMENT PROCESS:

 The effluent produced by the conventional primary and secondary

process contains still organic & inorganic materials.
 To produce an effluent of better quality, tertiary treatment is required.
 These include biological nitrification and denitrification and physical-
chemical methods.
 Of these two physical and chemical methods predominate which
include filteration, reverse osmosis, carbon adsorption, chemical
addition, and ion exchange.
 The major disadvantage of these processes is the high cost.
 Disinfection of treated effluent by chemical agents such as chlorine
and other chemicals may also be classified under tertiary treatment.
CHLORINATION:
 Disinfection of waters with chlorine is generally referred to
as chlorination.
 The primary use of chlorine in sewage disposal
system was for odor control, hydrogen sulphide destruction
and prevention of septicity.
 Chlorine interferes with the vital enzymes of
microorganisms and this brings out their death.
 There are several methods of chlorination which include
breakpoint chlorination, super chlorination, chloramination,
etc.
REUSE OF SEWAGE:
Sewage water

liquid solid

Solid conditioning Production of fodder energy

Drinking recreation irrigation industries aquaculture

water

algae mollusc fishes

Forest crops Orchards & Fodder crops & Plantation Agricultural

vineyards Fibre crops crops crops
REFERENCE:
• Met calf & Eddy, 2003, “Waste water Engineering,
Treatment & usage”, fourth edition, Tata Mc Graw-
Hill publishing company limited, New Delhi, Pg.no:
120-140.
• Joseph C.Daniel, “Environmental aspects of
Microbiology”, second edition, Bright sun
publications, Pg.no: 131-219.
• Kumaresan, 2005, “Biotechnology”, first edition,
Saras publication, Pg.no: 631-639.
• en.wikepedia.org/wiki/Sewage_treatment
• www.esajournals.org/ecology