Scribd
Upload
4 views

Lecture 03 u

The document discusses the composition and characteristics of wastewater, highlighting its varied components such as organic and inorganic materials, pathogens, and gases. It categorizes wastewater sources into domestic, industrial, and stormwater, emphasizing the importance of treatment to prevent pollution. Additionally, it explains the roles of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria in wastewater management and the impact of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus on aquatic ecosystems.

Uploaded by

Samad Bughio
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
4 views

Lecture 03 u

The document discusses the composition and characteristics of wastewater, highlighting its varied components such as organic and inorganic materials, pathogens, and gases. It categorizes wastewater sources into domestic, industrial, and stormwater, emphasizing the importance of treatment to prevent pollution. Additionally, it explains the roles of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria in wastewater management and the impact of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus on aquatic ecosystems.

Uploaded by

Samad Bughio
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 26

Lecture 03

Composition of
Wastewater
Subject: Environmental Engineering II
Section: Wastewater Engineering and
Wastewater Quality
Composition of Wastewater
Characteristics of wastewater

Disclaimer: The content in this presentation does not belong solely to the author. It
includes stuff taken from a number of internet resources. For that citation the author
acknowledges the actual authors.
After completion of this class discussion
the students will be able to:
Describe Composition of different types of waste
water
Classify various types of wastewater
Demonstrate the characteristics of wastewater
Domestic Wastewater
Composition of wastewater

The composition of wastewater varies widely. This is a partial list of what it may
contain:
 Water (more than 95 percent), which is often added during flushing to carry
waste down a drain; pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, prions and
parasitic worms; non-pathogenic bacteria.
Composition of wastewater

 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.;
Composition of wastewater

 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, needles, children's
toys, dead animals or plants, etc.;
Composition of wastewater

 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, pharmaceuticals and
hormones.
Wastewater
Characteristics
Characteristics of Wastewater
 Characteristics are broadly grouped in to three groups:

Physical
Chemical
Biological
Physical Properties

 Color
 Turbidity
 Temperature
 Solids ( In suspension or dissolved state)
 Organic matters
 Inorganic matters
Chemical Properties

Acidic (Stale)
Alkaline (Fresh and treated)
Gases
 Hydrogen Sulphide
 Methane
 Ammonia
 Carbon dioxide
(These gases are either obtained from
atmosphere or formed by decomposition of
organic matters present in sewage)
Biological Properties

 Sewage contains :
 Bacteria ( Pathogenic and Non Pathogenic)
Aerobic
Anaerobic
Facultative
 Algae
 Fungi
 Protozoa
Sewage, Influent and Effluent

 The term “sewage” is often used to refer to wastewater but is


more properly applied to domestic (household) wastewater.

 The raw wastewater coming into a treatment plant in called as


influent.

 The treated water discharged from a wastewater treatment


plant is known as effluent.
SOURCES OF WASTEWATER
Wastewater can originate from many sources such as; homes, businesses and industries.
Storm water, surface water and ground water can enter the wastewater collection
system and add to the volume of wastewater.

The source of a wastewater will determine it’s characteristics and how it must be
treated. For example, wastewater from homes and businesses (domestic wastewater)
typically contains pollutants such as; fecal and vegetable matter, grease and scum,
detergents, rags and sediment.
SOURCES OF WASTEWATER
On the other hand, wastewater from an industrial process (industrial wastewater) may include;
toxic chemicals and metals, very strong organic wastes, radioactive wastes, large amounts of
sediment, high temperature waste or acidic/caustic waste.

Wastewater could even come from streets and parking lots during a rainstorm (storm
wastewater) that could contain; motor oil, gasoline, pesticides, herbicides and sediment.
TYPES OF WASTE DISCHARGES

The purpose of treating wastewater is to prevent


pollution problems in receiving waters.
The degree and type of pollution is related to the
type of waste discharged.
Waste discharges can be placed into two broad
categories:
 Organic wastes
 Inorganic wastes.
Organic Wastes & Inorganic Wastes

 Organic Wastes are those substances that contain the element carbon and are derived from
something that was once living.
 Examples include: vegetable and fecal matter, grease, proteins, sugars and paper.

 Inorganic Wastes are those substances that do not contain carbon and are not derived
from something that was once living.
 Examples include: metals, minerals, salts, acids and bases.
Organic Waste (in general)

 Organic waste, such as faecal and vegetable matter, toilet paper and sugars can
cause a series of problems in receiving waters.
 One problem is oxygen depletion.
 Many aquatic organisms, including fish, need dissolved oxygen (O2) to survive.
These types of organisms are referred to as aerobes and the environment they live
in as aerobic.
Aerobic Bacteria

 Much like you and I, aerobic bacteria breath in O2 and produce carbon di-oxide (CO2) as a
by-product.
 Natural surface waters typically contain enough dissolved oxygen to support aerobic
organisms.
 Oxygen depletion can occur when aerobic bacteria use excess organic waste discharged
into a receiving stream as food.
Anaerobic bacteria
 When all of the dissolved oxygen in a river has been consumed, another type of
organism begins to grow in the altered environment.

 Anaerobic bacteria live in conditions where there is no dissolved oxygen (septic).

 Anaerobic bacteria breathe by using the oxygen that is chemically combined with
other elements, such as sulfate (SO4).

 When anaerobic bacteria use the oxygen from sulfate for respiration, hydrogen
sulfide (H2S) gas is released as a byproduct.
Anaerobic bacteria Cont.

 Hydrogen sulfide, sometimes called sewer gas, smells like “rotten


eggs” and is very dangerous due to its explosive, toxic and suffocating
characteristics.

 Oxygen depleted conditions lead to the growth of anaerobic bacteria,


which results in odors in receiving waters.

 Furthermore, anaerobic bacteria release other objectionable by-


products, such as organic acids, methane gas and nutrients, all of which
can further harm the natural environment in the receiving stream.
Nutrients
 Nutrients are substances that are required for the growth of living plants and
animals. Some major nutrients are nitrogen and phosphorous. Both are found in
wastewater in various forms.
 Nitrogen is typically present in influent in the forms of ammonia (NH3) and
organically bound nitrogen.
 Both nitrogen compounds can be measured by the Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN)
test.
 Nitrogen may be present in effluent as ammonia, organically bound nitrogen or
even nitrite (NO2) and nitrate (NO3).
Nutrients

 Phosphorous is present in influent and effluent primarily in the form of phosphates


(PO4).
 When large amounts of nutrients are allowed to enter into rivers and lakes, they can
cause problems by increasing the growth of plants, such as algae.
 If the algae growth is extensive, it can choke up the water body. As the lower layers
of algae are blocked off from the sun, they die and end up as food for bacteria.
 This begins the cycle described earlier under “organic waste discharges”, which
leads to oxygen depletion.
References

 Water Supply, Twort, Ac Twist. F.M. Low and FW Crowley


 Environmental Engineering and management, Suresh K. Dhamejarg,
 Water Supply Engineering, S. K. Garg, Khana
 Water supply engineering, Rangwala
 https://nptel.ac.in/
 https://www.slideshare.net/

You might also like