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CE532. Wastewater Engineering: Lecture 1 & 2 Introduction & Sewage Characteristics

This document provides an introduction to wastewater engineering. It discusses the characteristics of sewage/wastewater, including its physical, chemical and biological properties. The document outlines the types of solids, contaminants, and microorganisms present in wastewater. It also discusses the need for wastewater treatment to protect public health and the environment from untreated sewage. The goal of wastewater engineering is to make sewage safe to return to the aquatic environment through various treatment processes.

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AKANKSHA
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94 views

CE532. Wastewater Engineering: Lecture 1 & 2 Introduction & Sewage Characteristics

This document provides an introduction to wastewater engineering. It discusses the characteristics of sewage/wastewater, including its physical, chemical and biological properties. The document outlines the types of solids, contaminants, and microorganisms present in wastewater. It also discusses the need for wastewater treatment to protect public health and the environment from untreated sewage. The goal of wastewater engineering is to make sewage safe to return to the aquatic environment through various treatment processes.

Uploaded by

AKANKSHA
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CE532.

Wastewater Engineering
Lecture 1 & 2
Introduction & Sewage Characteristics
Wastewater Engineering - Introduction
• Collection, transportation, treatment and safe disposal of treated sewage
• In many cities and towns in India, major portion of sewage remains unattended
leading to insanitary conditions in densely populated slums
• This in turn results in an increase in morbidity especially due to pathogens and
parasitic infections and infestations in all segments of population, particularly the
urban slum dwellers
• Sewerage and sewage treatment is a part of public health and sanitation and
according to the Indian Constitution, falls within the purview of the State List
• The main cause of water pollution is the unintended disposal of untreated, partly
treated and non-point sources of sewage and more important is its effect on human
health and environment.
Why do we need to treat wastewater?
• To prevent groundwater pollution
• To prevent seashore pollution
• To prevent soil pollution
• To prevent marine life from deterioration
• Protection of public health
• To reuse the treated effluent (agriculture, groundwater recharge, industrial recycle)
• Solving social problems caused by the accumulation of wastewater
Sewerage and Sewage Treatment Technology
• The basic principles of engineering are applied to solve the issues associated
with collection
• The basic principles of biochemistry are applied to the treatment and
environmental issues in the disposal and reuse of treated sewage
• The goal is the protection of public health in a manner commensurate with
environmental, economic, social and political concerns
• It is necessary to have knowledge of:
• Constituents of concern in sewage
• Impacts of these constituents when sewage is dispersed into the environment
• The transformation and long-term fate of these constituents in treatment processes
• Treatment methods which can be used to remove or modify the constituents found in
sewage
• Methods for beneficial use or disposal of solids generated by the treatment systems
Sewage
• Sewage is 99% water carrying domestic wastes originating in kitchen, bathing,
laundry, urine and night soil
• A portion of these goes into solution. The remaining goes into colloidal or suspended
stages
• It also contains salts used in cooking, sweat, bathing, laundry and urine
• It also contains waterborne pathogenic organisms from the night soil of already
infected persons
• Contaminants in untreated wastewater
• Organic contaminants
• Inorganic contaminants
• Pathogens
• Other contaminants
Wastewater
• Wastewater treatment systems take human and industrial liquid wastes
and make them safe enough (from the public health perspective) to return
to the aquatic or terrestrial environment
• Wastewater can have
• Domestic used water and toilet wastes
• Rainwater
• Industrial effluent (Toxic industrial water is pretreated)
• Livestock wastes
• Wastewater treatment systems use the same processes of purification
that would occur in a natural aquatic system only they do it faster and in
a controlled situation
The nature and composition of wastewater
Wastewater types from houses
• Grey water: Washing water from the kitchen, bathroom, laundry
(without feces and urine)
• Black water: Water from flush toilet (feces and urine with flush water)
• Yellow water: Urine separated from toilets and urinals
• Brown water: Black water without urine or yellow water
Wastewater Characteristics
Physical Characteristics
Solids are classified into three main types:
1.Total Solids (TS): All the matter that remains as residue upon evaporation at 103 to
105oC
2. Settleable solids: Settleable solids are measured as ml/L, which is an approximate
measure of the sludge that can be removed by primary sedimentation
3. Suspended solids (SS) and Filterable solids (FS)
Odor
• Odor is produced by gas production due to the decomposition of organic matter or by
substances added to the wastewater.
• Detection of odor: Odor is measured by special instruments such as the Portable H2S
meter which is used for measuring the concentration of hydrogen sulfide
Typical Composition of Solids in Raw Wastewater

DISSOLVED
SOLIDS 500 mg/L

TOTAL
SOLIDS
720 mg/L

COLLOIDAL
SOLIDS 70 mg/L

SUSPENDED
SOLIDS 220 mg/L

SETTLEABLE
SOLIDS 150 mg/L
Temperature
• Optimum temperature for bacterial activity is in the range of 25 to 35 °C
• Aerobic digestion and nitrification stop when the temperature rises to 50 °C
• When temperature drops to about 15°c, methane producing bacteria turns inactive
• Nitrifying bacteria stop activity at about 5°c
Density
• Same density of water when the wastewater does not include significant amount of
industrial waste
Color
• Fresh wastewater - light brownish grey
• With time - dark grey
• More time - black (septic)
Chemical Characteristics
• Organic matter – BOD, COD, TOC, Thod
• Inorganic matter – chloride, N (ammonia, nitrate, Total kjeldahl nitrogen,
P, S, metals, metalloids)
• Gases – nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia,
methane
• pH
Degradable and non-degradable C
• TOC, BOD, COD
COD Fractionation
TOC Fractionation
Biological Characteristics
• Bacteria, fungi, algae, protozoa, virus
• Nitrification, denitrification
• Phosphorus removal
• Pathogenic organisms - coliforms
Options for reuse of treated wastewater
Need for WWE
• When untreated sewage accumulates and is allowed to become septic, the
decomposition of its organic matter leads to nuisance conditions including the
production of malodorous gases
• In addition, untreated sewage contains numerous pathogens that dwell in the
human intestine tract.
• Sewage also contains nutrients, which can stimulate the growth of aquatic plants
and may contain toxic compounds or compounds that are potentially mutagenic
or carcinogenic.
• For these reasons, the immediate and nuisance-free removal of sewage from its
sources of generation followed by treatment, reuse or dispersal into the
environment in an eco-friendly manner is necessary to protect public health and
environment

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