MANAGEMENT OF WASTES

(Lecture 4)



Secondary Treatment

Is predominantly biological and is designed to
remove most of this organic matter and reduce the
BOD.
This treatment accomplishes two important phases
Aerobic
Anaerobic
Sewage undergoes strong aeration to encourage the
growth of aerobic bacteria and other MO.
MO oxidize the organic matter in to inorganic
compounds CO
2
, H
2
O . This is achieved by
Various filters
Oxidation ponds
Activated sludge system

Trickling Filter (Trickle filter, Biofilter)
consists of a bed of rocks, gravel, slag, peat moss or
plastic media over which wastewater flows downward . A
layer (or film) of microbial slime covers the bed media.
Aerobic conditions are maintained by forced air
flowing through the bed or by natural convection
of air.
The process involves
- Adsorption of organic compounds by the
microbial slime layer
- Diffusion of air into the slime layer to provide
oxygen
-Biochemical oxidation of the organic
compounds.
- As the slime layer thickens, it becomes difficult
for the air to penetrate the layer and an inner
anaerobic layer is formed.

The fundamental components of a complete
trickling filter system are:
A bed of filter medium upon which a layer of
microbial slime is promoted and developed.
An enclosure or a container which houses the
bed of filter medium.
A system for distributing the flow of
wastewater over the filter medium.
A system for removing and disposing of any
sludge from the treated effluent.

The treated effluent collected at the bottom
of the tank is passed to sedimentation tank
and, like activated sludge process, the effluent
follows tertiary.

Aerobic digestion of sewage organic matter in
a trickling filter is a very slow process.

The treatment of sewage or other wastewater
with trickling filters is among the oldest and
most well characterized treatment
technologies.

Activated Sludge Process
Activated Sludge:
Vigorous aerate sewage has finely suspended
and colloidal material (including microbes)
forms aggregates called floccules.
These floccules collectively result in the
formation of sewage flock.
When this sewage flock is sedimented and
then inoculated to a fresh vigorously aerating
sewage, the floccule formation in the latter
takes place in shorter time duration

As a result of the repetition of this process, a
stage is reached where complete flocculation of
a fresh sewage takes place in very short time
duration,( a few hours).
These particles of sedimented flock are called
activated sludge and consist of large number of
very actively metabolizing bacteria, yeasts,
molds, and protozoa.
The use of activated sludge is of great
significance in biological treatment of sewage as
it reduces aeration period of sewage to 4-8
hours.

Activated sludge process can be used for one or several of the
following purposes:

oxidizing carbonaceous matter: biological
matter.
oxidizing nitrogenous matter: mainly
ammonium and nitrogen in biological
materials.
removing phosphate.
driving off entrained gases carbon dioxide,
ammonia, nitrogen, etc.
generating a biological flock that is easy to
settle.

The process involves

Air being introduced into a mixture of screened, and primary treated
sewage or wastewater combined with organisms to develop a
biological flock.

Reduces the organic content of the sewage.

Healthy sludge is a brown flock, is largely composed
of saprophytic bacteria but also has an important
protozoan flora Amoebae, Spirotriches , Peritriches and a range of other
filter feeding species.



A generalized, schematic diagram of an activated sludge process


In poorly managed activated sludge, a range
of mucilagenous filamentous bacteria
( Sphaerotilus natans ) produces a sludge that
is difficult to settle.
It can result in the sludge blanket decanting
over the weirs in the settlement tank to
severely contaminate the final effluent quality.
The combination of wastewater and biological
mass is commonly known as mixed liquor.


Once the wastewater has received sufficient
treatment, excess mixed liquor is discharged
into settling tanks.
The treated supernatant is run off to undergo
further treatment before discharge.
Part of the settled material is returned to the
head of the aeration system to re-seed the
new wastewater entering the tank.
This fraction of the flock is called return
activated sludge (R.A.S.).

Excess sludge is called surplus activated sludge(S.A.S.)
or waste activated sludge (W.A.S).
W.A.S is removed from the treatment process to keep
the ratio of biomass in the wastewater in balance.
It is further treated by digestion( anaerobic or aerobic
conditions) prior to disposal.

Many sewage treatment plants use axial flow pumps to
transfer nitrified mixed liquor from the aeration zone to
the anoxic zone for denitrification.

These pumps are often referred to as internal mixed
liquor recycle pumps (IMLR pumps).
The raw sewage, the RAS, and the nitrified mixed liquor
are mixed by submersible mixers in the anoxic zones in
order to achieve denitrification.

The general arrangement of an activated sludge
process for removing carbonaceous pollution
includes the following items:
Aeration tank where air (or oxygen) is injected in the
mixed liquor.
Settling tank (usually referred to as "final clarifier" or
"secondary settling tank") to allow the biological
flocks (the sludge blanket) to settle, thus separating
the biological sludge from the clear treated water.
Treatment of nitrogenous matter or phosphate
involves additional steps where the mixed liquor
is left in anoxic condition (meaning that there is
no residual dissolved oxygen).

There are a variety of activated sludge plants:

1.Package plants
For serving small communities or industrial
plants.
Use hybrid treatment processes involving the use
of aerobic sludge to treat the incoming sewage.
In such plants the primary settlement stage of
treatment may be omitted.
In these plants, a biotic flock is created which
provides the required substrate.
Package plants are commonly variants of extended
aeration, to promote the requirement for small
communities without dedicated operational staff.

2.Oxidation ditch
When more land is available, sewage is treated in
large round or oval ditches with one or more
horizontal aerators .
They are called brush or disc aerators which drive
the mixed liquor around the ditch and provide
aeration. ( oxidation ditches).
They are relatively easy to maintain and are
resilient to shock loads that often occur in smaller
communities (i.e. at breakfast time and in the
evening).
Oxidation ditches are installed commonly with
typical design parameters of a hydraulic retention
time of 24 - 48 hours, and a sludge age of 12 - 20
days.

3.Deep Shaft
Where land is in short , sewage may be treated
by injection of oxygen into a pressured return
sludge stream.

This is injected into the base of a deep columnar
tank buried in the ground.

Such shafts may be up to 100 meters deep and
are filled with sewage liquor.

As the sewage rises the oxygen forced into
solution by the pressure at the base of the shaft
breaks out as molecular oxygen .


It provides a highly efficient source of oxygen
for the activated sludge biota.

The rising oxygen and injected return sludge
provide the physical mechanism for mixing of
the sewage and sludge.

Mixed sludge and sewage is decanted at the
surface and separated into supernatant and
sludge components
4.Surface-aerated Basins/Lagoons

A Typical Surface-Aerated Basing (using motor-driven floating
aerators)

Most biological oxidation processes for treating
industrial wastewaters have in common the use
of oxygen (or air) and microbial action.

Surface-aerated basins achieve 80 to 90%
removal of BOD with retention times of 1 to 10
days.
The basins may range in depth from 1.5 to 5.0
meters and utilize motor-driven aerators floating
on the surface of the wastewater.

In an aerated basin system, the aerators provide
two functions:
They transfer air into the basins required by the
biological oxidation reactions.
They provide the mixing required for dispersing
the air and for contacting the reactants (that is,
oxygen, wastewater and microbes).
They do not provide as good mixing as is
normally achieved in activated sludge systems.
Therefore aerated basins do not achieve the
same performance level as activated sludge
units.


Biological oxidation processes are sensitive to
temperature .Between 0 C and 40 C, the rate
of biological reactions increase with
temperature.
Most surface aerated vessels operate at
between 4 C and 32 C.

Activated Sludge plant in China

Aeration methods:
Diffused Aeration
Fine bubble membrane diffusers in an aeration tank

Sewage liquor is run into deep tanks
with diffuser grid aeration systems that are attached
to the floor.
These are like the diffused airstone used
in fish tanks but on a much larger scale.
Air is pumped through the blocks and the curtain of
bubbles formed both oxygenates the liquor and also
provides the necessary mixing action.
Where capacity is limited or the sewage is unusually
strong or difficult to treat, oxygen may be used
instead of air.
Typically, the air is generated by some type of
blower or compressor.

Surface aerators (cones)
Vertically mounted tubes of up to 1 meter diameter and
extending from just above the base of a deep concrete
tank to just below the surface of the sewage liquor.
A typical shaft might be 10 meters high.
At the surface end the tube is formed into a cone with
helical vanes attached to the inner surface.

When the tube is rotated, the vanes spin liquor up and
out of the cones drawing new sewage liquor from the
base of the tank.
In many works each cone is located in a separate cell
that can be isolated from the remaining cells if required
for maintenance.
Some works may have two cones to a cell and some
large works may have 4 cones per cell.

Oxidation ponds
Sewage treatment is recommended for small communities
in rural areas where suitable and sufficient land is
available.
Oxidation ponds (also called Lagoons or Stabilization
Ponds) are generally 2-5 feet deep shallow ponds
It is designated to allow direct wind action and algal
growth on the sewage effluent.
Oxygen supplied from air and produced as a result of algal
photosynthesis fulfils biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)
of sewage effluent.
Thus helps in maintaining aerobic condition in sewage
effluent.
In such condition the aerobic microbes grow rapidly and
digest organic matter. Chlorella pyrenoidosa is a common
algal representative in oxidation ponds

Aerated lagoon

Aerated lagoon used to treat wastewater from a hog farm. Courtesy of
Environmental Dynamics Inc.

An aerated lagoon or aerated basin is
treatment pond provided with
artificial aeration to promote the biological
oxidation of wastewaters.

Types of aerated lagoons or basins
Suspension mixed lagoons
There is less energy provided by the aeration
equipment to keep the sludge in suspension.
Facultative lagoons
There is insufficient energy provided by the
aeration equipment to keep the sludge in
suspension and solids settle to the lagoon
floor.
The biodegradable solids in the settled sludge
then degrade anaerobically.
Suspension mixed lagoons
These flow through activated sludge systems
where the effluent has the same composition
as the mixed liquor in the lagoon.

Typically the sludge will have a residence time
or sludge age of 1 to 5 days. This means that
the chemical oxygen demand(COD) removed is
relatively little and the effluent is unacceptable for
discharge into receiving waters.
The objective of the lagoon is to act as a biologically
assisted flocculator which converts the soluble
biodegradable organics in the influent to a biomass
which is able to settle as a sludge.
Usually the effluent is then put in a second pond
where the sludge can settle.
The effluent is removed from the top with a low COD.
The sludge accumulates on the floor and undergoes
anaerobic stabilization.

Facultative Lagoons
It is a type of stabilization pond used for biological
treatment of industrial and domestic wastewater.
A series of ponds prevents mixing of untreated
waste with treated wastewater and allows better
control of waste residence time for uniform
treatment.
First Pond
The facultative lagoon of first pond functions like
the primary clarifier of a conventional sewage
treatment system.
Heavy solids will settle to the bottom of the
lagoon, and lighter solids will float.
This facultative lagoon lacks the sludge removal
capability of a primary clarifier.


So a population of anaerobic organisms will colonize
accumulated sludge on the bottom of the lagoon.
The surface area of the lagoon should be large
enough to provide an atmospheric oxygen transfer.
It is adequate to prevent anaerobic conditions on
the lagoon surface.

Intermediate depths of the lagoon support
facultative microorganisms capable of oxidizing both
the dissolved and suspended organics from the
original wastewater and the products of
anaerobic catabolism on the bottom of the lagoon.

Subsequent polishing ponds
Overflow from the facultative lagoon may be routed
through one or more polishing ponds.
they are supporting lower populations of anaerobic
microorganisms and a higher proportion of aerobic
organisms adapted to survival in lower
concentrations of organic material.
Effluent from the final polishing pond may be
suitable for discharge to natural receiving waters.
Objectionable odors are likely when the rate of
oxygen transfer from the lagoon surface is less than
the rate of oxygen consumption in the lower levels
of the lagoon.

Biological activity within a facultative lagoon
varies directly with temperature.

Warm weather will require large oxygen transfer
rates.

Algae can provide surface oxygen during daylight
hours, but algal respiration can require additional
oxygen during darkness.

Ice or scum mats can reduce the oxygen transfer
surface.


Some facultative lagoons use mechanical
surface aerators to increase atmospheric
oxygen transfer,
Vertical stratification including an aerobic
surface layer, an anaerobic bottom layer, and a
facultative intermediate layer is essential to
proper functioning of a facultative lagoon
ecosystem.
Stratification is maintained by a thermal
gradient of cool, dense water at the bottom of
the lagoon overlain by warmer, less dense
water on the surface

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Advantages
Moderately effective in removing settleable
solids , BOD, pathogens, fecal coliforms and
ammonia.
Easy to operate.
Require little energy, with systems designed to
operate with gravity flow.
The quantity of removed material will be
relatively small compared to other secondary
treatment processes.

Disadvantages
Settled sludge and inert material require
periodic removal.
Difficult to control or predict ammonia levels
in effluent.
Sludge accumulation will be higher in cold
climates due to reduced microbial activity.
Mosquitoes and similar insect vectors can be a
problem if emergent vegetation is not
controlled.
Requires relatively large area of land.

Facultative pond
Sewage Lagoon