How do sewage treatment plants work?

Using internal mechanisms, a sewage treatment plant works by breaking down solid w
aste to produce a cleaner, more environmentally friendly effluent.
Inner workings of a sewage treatment plantWastewater and sewage are supplied to th
e primary tank, where the solids and liquids disperse. The resulting liquor flows into th
e biozone chamber. In the chamber, a pump airs the waste and encourages friendly b
acteria to condense the organic matter. This breaks down and purifies the result.
As it leaves the final waste chamber, the waste left over is 95% clean and ready for dis
persal into local ditches or soakaway systems, subject to consent from the relevant en
vironmental agency.
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Importance of Sewage Water Treatment Plant

The procedure for removing contaminants from the wastewater basically from the hou
sehold sewage is called sewage treatment. It has to undergo the chemical, physical an
d biological procedure to remove these contaminants and give out an environmentall
y safe treated effluent. A semi-solid slurry called the sewage sludge is the by-product
of the sewage treatment. This sludge is further processed before it is suitable for land
application.

Sewage treatment is also called as wastewater treatment, i.e. it also includes treatment
of wastewater from industries. In many cities, the sewer carries a proportion of industr
ial wastewater to the sewage water treatment plant which has already undergone a tre
atment in the factories for reducing the pollutant. If it is a combined sewer it will also c
arry storm water along with it.

The sewage waters travel to the sewage water treatment plants through pipes and pu
mps. The sewage in the sewage water treatment plant undergoes the following basic
processes.

Anaerobic Sewage Treatment

The sewage is partially decomposed by the anaerobic bacteria in the tank without air.
This causes the organic matter to reduce to methane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfid
e etc. this treatment is used to treat organic waste and sludge as it provides huge cap
acity and greatly reduces the input material to a large extent.

Sewage Water Treatment Plant

Aerobic Sewage Treatment

In this procedure, the pollutants are digested by the aerobic bacteria. In the sewage w
ater treatment plant air is constantly supplied to the bio-zone. The modern-day aerob
ic sewage plants make use of natural air currents. This process eliminates the pollutant
and odors by providing complete oxidation and absorption of organic pollutant and
matter into carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and water. The treated effluent is thus pollutant f
ree and can be discharged for use.

The conventional sewage water treatment plant includes two to three stages namely t
he primary, secondary and tertiary treatment. Before the process begins rags, sanitary
items, clothes etc. are removed from the municipal sewage works.

Primary treatment

In this process, the effluent or the sewage flows through huge tanks called the primary
sedimentation tanks. In these tanks, the sludge settles down while grease and oil float
on the surface and are removed. These tanks have scrapers that continuously push th
e sludge that is collected, towards the hopper in the base of the tank. It is then pumpe
d for the sludge treatment.

Secondary treatment

In this process, the biological waste from the human waste, soap, food waste, and det
ergent are substantially degraded. Most of the municipal sewage water treatment plan
ts treat the sewage that is settled through the aerobic process. The effluent after the p
rimary treatment has dissolved biological matter. This is then converted into clean wat
er by making use of the bacterial and waterborne aerobic micro-organisms that absor
b the pollutants. The effluents from this process are clean enough to be discharged int
o the rivers.

Tertiary treatment

This is the final stage of filtration where the effluent is treated further to its best quality
before being discharged to the environment. Sometimes the effluent from the secon
dary treatment is not clean enough. This is because the river or stream it is going to b
e discharged it may be very sensitive that might have rare plants and animals. Thus ter
tiary treatment has to ensure very high standards of treating the effluents to be cleane
r than the stream or river water. It reduces the phosphorous and ammoniacal nitrogen
.

To remove phosphorous a dosing system is used. On the other hand, removal of amm
oniacal nitrogen involves a nitrifying and de-nitrifying process. In this process, the am
moniacal nitrogen is converted to nitrogen gas which is released to the atmosphere a
nd thus leaving the effluent clean.

Sludge treatment

The sludge that is accumulated in the treatment is further treated and disposed of in a
safe manner. The sludge is passed through thickeners that dewater it. This sludge is t
hen transported for disposal in a landfill or used for agriculture soil amendment.

Conclusion

Our earth is surrounded by 70% of water. Out of which only 2.5% is fresh water. 70%
of this fresh water is frozen in Antarctica and Greenland. Therefore, only 1% of water is
available for our usage. We use water in our daily life for almost everything such as c
ooking, washing, bathing, toilet, etc. If we recycle water for these purposes, demand f
or fresh water can be reduced. Therefore, it is important to treat sewage and reuse thi
s treated effluent for washing, floor cleaning etc.

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Process of Treating Waste in Sewage Treatment Plant

The process of removal of waste and contaminants from household sewage is termed
as sewage treatment or sewage treatment plant. The process involves physical, chemic
al and biological methods to eliminate these contaminants and make environmentally
safe treated effluent. After the sewage is treated its by-product slurry called sewage sl
udge has to undergo various processes before making it suitable for land application.

Sewage Treatment PlantsSewage comes from residents, industries, commercial and in

stitutional establishments, waste from toilets, kitchens, sinks, etc. It also includes the st
orm water run-off. Even the rain water that picks up soil, grease, plant and animal sedi
ments, oil, heavy metals, etc. goes into sewage.

Sewage treatment can also be called waste water treatment which includes effluents fr
om industries as well. In cities, the sewage system also includes industrial waste to the
sewage treatment plant which has already undergone a treatment in the factories to r
educe its pollutant in the waste.

Nowadays sewage treatment plant is well known as “waste water treatment plant”.

These sewage treatment plants are generally set up near a river or a stream. This is be
cause the low lying area near the river enables the sewage system to make use of the
gravity and then the wastewater enters the sewage treatment plant and then its helps
the plant to discharge the treated effluent into the river. Once the effluent enters the p
lant it undergoes different processes of treatment as per the amount of waste in the w
ater and the city.

The sewage treatment plants aim to emit less effluent as possible so as to protect the
environment from the pollution caused due to untreated waste water or effluents.

The sewage treatment plant is generally of three processes namely, primary, secondar
y and tertiary.

Primary treatment:

In this treatment, the sewage is temporarily held by a basin so that heavy solid substa
nces can accumulate at the bottom while lighter fluids like oil, grease etc. can float on
the surface. Thereafter the accumulated and floating waste is removed and the remain
ing effluent goes for the secondary treatment.

Secondary treatment:

In this treatment, the dissolved and suspended organic matter is evicted. The seconda
ry treatment is carried out by native water- borne organisms that are managed in a pa
rticular habitat. Before the water is moved for the tertiary treatment, the micro organis
ms are separated by another process.

Tertiary treatment:

The water in this process is treated more than that in the other two processes because
this water will be allowed into a sensitive ecosystem. This water is sometimes disinfect
ed physically or chemically before they are ejected into the stream, lagoon, river or we
tland or even used for the purpose of irrigating green way, golf course or parks. If this
water is sufficiently clean it can be used for the purpose of agriculture and groundwat
er recharge. This process is also termed as effluent polishing.
Apart from the conventional three processes of sewage treatment, many other treatm
ents are undertaken to further eradicate the pollutant from the water such as filtration
, biological nutrient removal, nitrogen removal, etc.

Some micro pollutants like pharmaceuticals, chemicals used in houses, industrial chem
icals or pesticides may not be evicted in the above three processes which may lead to
polluting the water. The decomposition and composition of these substances are mini
mal but there are chances it may harm the aquatic life. The technology for removal of
these is still in process by activated carbon filters are used to eradicate the micro pollu
tants.

Effects on the biological environment

Sewage treatment plants have many effects on the nutritional levels of water in which
the treated effluent flows. They can have diverse effects on the aquatic life that comes
in contact with this effluent. For example, oxidation ponds, the aerobic water bodies
which are 1 to 2 meters deep that receive effluents from different forms of primary tre
atment.

Reuse

With proper technology, we can make use of this sewage effluent for drinking purpos
e, although this is done in places where there is a limited supply of water.

Treated waste water in arid countries is usually used for agriculture. The wetlands that
are constructed and are fed by the treated waste water are good for the both the habi
tat and treatment for the flora and fauna. The waste water contains such nutrients that
are good for the fish farms and agriculture.

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nt
How Do Sewage Treatment Plants Function

Waste water treatment is an addition to the natural process of water purification. To m

aximize the use of natural resources, wastewater treatment plans are organized and i
mplemented. Industrial wastewater treatment plants and sewage treatment plants are
used to purify water and make it useful again.

Most commonly, two methods of wastewater treatment are used to fulfill the demand
of citizens, industry, and communities. How do these two different methods work?

Sewage Treatment Plant

Primary treatment:

Primary industrial wastewater treatment plant uses screens, grit chamber, and sedime
ntation tank to get quality water which is free from waste and bad bacteria. Before eje
ction of the quality water, the sewage passes through many cleaning processes.When
sewage influent in the plant for treatment, it come across to a screen for removal of la
rge floating objects that can block or damage pipes or equipment.

After completion of the primary screening process, water falls into a grit chamber whe
re small objects are separated from the water. It set cinders, sand, and stones at the b
ottom.

After above two applications for removal of big and small objects, sewage water conta
ins many suspended solids with the organic and inorganic materials. For water purifica
tion, minute particles are needed to be yet removed. Sedimentation tank is used for th
is process. In this tank, solids sink to the bottom as and when the flow of water gets re
duced. This collection of solid is known as raw primary bio solids formerly sludge that
is thrown out of the tank through pumping.
Gradually, this primary method was unable to meet the increased quality demands of
the community. So, the secondary and advanced methods are developed to fulfill the
needs of cities and industries.

Secondary treatment:

By using the trickling filter and activated sludge process, this stage throws out around
85% of the organic and inorganic waste material from the water.

After completion of the primary stage and when effluent leaves sedimentation tank, tri
ckling filter comes into play. The trickling filter is around six feet deep bed of stones th
rough which sewage flows. Partially treated sewage gets transmitted to another sedim
entation tank after trickling filter to remove bacteria.

Nowadays, activated sludge process is used in place of trickling filter. The process is fa
st and early result giving compared to the tricking filter. After primary stage sedimenta
tion tank, sewage flows into aeration tank.For few hours, it is blended with air and slud
ge loaded with bacteria to break down the organic matters. Like tricking filter, partially
treated sewage sent to another sedimentation tank for further process.

At the end of the stage, the effluent of sedimentation tank is disinfected with the help
of chlorine to remove odour and kill pathogenic bacteria before being discharged to
water communities.

Other plans:

Increasing pollution problems is putting additional weight on Industrial wastewater tre

atment plants and Sewage treatment plants and system. The number of the toxic subs
tances, heavy metal, chemicalsin water has increased dramatically. Advanced waste tre
atment technique and better wastewater system that separates chemicals, absorb carb
ons and filter the water are used to get the purified water.
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Video
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