Wastewater Treatment

Lecture 3

Instructor
Asst. Prof. Dr. Zainab Bahaa
Department of Civil Engineering
Sanitary and Environmental Engineering Branch
SECONDARY TREATMENT

• Secondary treatment usually consists of biological

treatment of primary effluent wastewater.
• The objectives of secondary treatment are to reduce
the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and
suspended solids of the effluent to acceptable levels.
• Two major categories of biological treatment
processes are :
(1) suspended growth.
(2) attached growth processes.
Note: In a suspended growth process, the
microorganisms are kept in suspension in a biological
reactor by using a suitable mixing technique. The
microorganisms use the organic matter as food and
convert it to new biological cells, energy, and waste
matter. Municipal wastewater contains a wide variety
of organics, consisting of proteins, fats, and
carbohydrates, among others.
ACTIVATED SLUDGE PROCESS:

• The most widely used suspended growth process is the

activated sludge process. It is used for biological
treatment of municipal and industrial wastewaters.
• The basic activated sludge process consists of three
components, as illustrated in Figure 1:
(1) a biological reactor where the microorganisms are kept in
suspension and aerated.
(2) a sedimentation tank or clarifier.
(3) a recycle system for returning settled solids from clarifier
to the reactor.
Wastewater flows continuously into the aeration tank
or biological reactor.

• Air is introduced to mix the wastewater with the

microorganisms, and to provide the oxygen necessary
to maintain aerobic conditions. The microorganisms
degrade the organic matter in wastewater, and
convert them to cell mass and waste products
Figure.1 Activated Sludge Process
Design and operational parameters:
The following are definitions of basic design parameters
for biological treatment reactors :
1. MLSS—mixed liquor suspended solids
concentration in the biological reactor.
It is measured as the volatile suspended solids (VSS) or
total suspended solids (TSS) concentration in the reactor,
expressed as mg/L or kg/ m3. MLVSS (mixed liquor
volatile suspended solids) represents the active
concentration in the reactor.
2. SRT—solids retention time of the reactor.
It is also called sludge age or mean cell residence
time. It is the amount of time spent by a unit mass of
activated sludge in the reactor. It is defined as the
ratio of the mass of solids in the reactor to the mass
of solids wasted per day. It is given by the equation
below:

𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟

𝜃𝑐 =
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑𝑠 𝑤𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦
SRT is the most important design and operating parameter,
as it affects :
1. process performance.
2. aeration tank volume.
3. sludge production.
4. oxygen requirements..
3. F/M ratio—the ratio of food to microorganisms in
the reactor.
It is calculated as the mass of BOD removed in the
reactor, divided by the mass of microorganisms in the
reactor. It is expressed as :
 Volumetric loading rate - the mass of substrate or food
applied per unit volume of reactor. It is given by :

3. HRT—the hydraulic retention time of the reactor.

It is the time spent by a fluid particle in the reactor,
before it is discharged. The HRT is expressed as :
 Example 1
An activated sludge process is used to treat a
wastewater with a flow rate of 1800 m3/d and BOD5
concentration of 300 mg/L. The aeration tank is
operated at an MLSS of 2500 mg/L, and HRT of 7 h.
The sludge is wasted at 34 m3/d with a solids
concentration of 9000 mg/l. The effluent BOD5
concentration is 25 mg/L. Calculate the volume of
aeration tank, SRT, volumetric loading rate, and F/M
ratio of the process.
Aeration requirements:

• Air or oxygen is supplied to the aeration tank of the activated

sludge process to provide oxygen required by the aerobic
microorganisms for degradation of organic matter.
• The amount of oxygen added should be sufficient to :
(1) match the oxygen utilization rate (OUR) of the
microorganisms.
(2) maintain a small excess in the tank, about 0.5 to 2 mg/L
dissolved oxygen, to ensure aerobic metabolism at all times. The
OUR is a function of the characteristics of the wastewater and the
type of reactor.
• The oxygen requirement may be estimated from the
biodegradable COD (bCOD) of the wastewater and the
biomass wasted each day. The mass of oxygen required for
BOD removal may be calculated from the following
Expression.
The oxygen requirement for only BOD removal will vary
from 0.9 to 1.3 kg O2/kg BOD removed for SRTs of 5 to
20d, respectively. When nitrification is included in the
process, the oxygen required for oxidation of ammonia
and nitrite to nitrate is included as follows :
The actual oxygen transfer rate (AOTR) varies from the
SOTR due to :
1.wastewater characteristics.
2. Pressure variation.
3. residual oxygen concentration, etc.

The AOTR can be calculated from the following

expression :
Types of aerators :

• Different types of aerators are used in aeration tanks.

The selection of aeration system depends on the site
characteristics and type of process used.

• Air diffusers—used to inject air into the aeration tank.

The diffusers may be mounted along the side of the tank
or they may be placed in a manifold along the bottom of
the aeration tank. Air diffusers may produce coarse
bubbles or fine bubbles. Coarse bubbles may be up to
25 mm in diameter, while fine bubbles are 2 to 2.5 mm
in diameter.
• There are advantages and disadvantages of both types
of diffusers. Fine bubble diffusers have greater energy
requirements and clog easily, even though they have
better oxygen transfer due to larger surface area per
volume.
• Coarse bubble diffusers have lower oxygen transfer
rates but require less maintenance and have lower
head loss.
• Mechanical aerators—usually have impellers that
produce turbulence at the air–water interface, which
enhances the transfer of oxygen from air to water.
High-speed impellers can add large quantities of air to
relatively small quantities of water. Mixing of the
aerated water with reactor contents takes place
through velocity gradients.
Figure.2 Typical Air Diffuser System
One option is to add another effluent weir to reduce
the weir loading rate. Another option is to add an
equalization tank to store the additional flow during
peak flow periods. This would increase the detention
time in the primary clarifier, as well as reduce the
weir loading rate.
EXAMPLE 2
Consider the completely mixed high-rate activated sludge
plant. Fine bubble membrane diffusers with total floor
coverage are to be used for the aeration tank. The SOTR
specified by the manufacturer is 3.5 kg O2/kWh, with αF
of 0.5. The average wastewater temperature is 16°C. The
residual DO in the aeration tank is4 mg/L, β is 0.95, and
saturation oxygen concentration is at 16°C and tank depth
elevation is 9.81 mg/L. Calculate the oxygen demand and
the power required for aeration. Using the following data:
Q= 15000M3/D.
Influent b COD =1100mg/L.
Effluent b COD =150mg/L.
Biomass wasted= 8640kg/d.
PONDS AND LAGOONS
• Ponds and lagoons are land-based suspended growth
treatment systems. Usually there are no primary or
secondary clarifiers.

• Ponds can be (a) aerobic-shallow pond, (b) anaerobic-

deep pond, and (c) facultative.

• These types of systems are suitable for small

communities and onsite treatment of industrial
wastewaters.
The advantages of these land-based treatment systems
are as follows:

• Low capital cost

• Low operating cost
• Large volume to inflow ratio provides enough dilution
to minimize.

The effects of variable organic and hydraulic loadings

The disadvantages include the following:

• Large land area is required.

• Odor problems are a concern.
• High suspended solids concentration in the effluent.
In the United States, the discharge limits for solids in
the effluent are 75 mg/L as specified by the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
• At a cold temperature, biological activity is
significantly reduced. In cold climates, it is often
necessary to provide sufficient volume to store the
entire winter flow.
Figure.3 Microbiological processes in a facultative pond
Design of pond or lagoon system :

A number of models are available for the design of ponds

and lagoons. The most commonly used model assumes a
completely mixed reactor without solids recycle.
When a pond or lagoon system is used for municipal
wastewater treatment, it is common practice to distribute
the flow between two to three ponds in series. This is
done to minimize short-circuiting that can occur in one
large pond/lagoon.
EXAMPLE 3 :
A pond and lagoon system is to be designed for municipal and
industrial wastewater treatment for a small community with a
population of 2500. The wastewater design flow is 400 L/capita·d
(Lpcd) with a BOD load of 70 g/capita·d. It is desired to use a three
cell system similar to the one illustrated in Figure 8.13, with the first
two cells used as primary lagoons in parallel. The allowable BOD
loading is 2.2 g/m2·d.
(1) Calculate the area of the pond system.
(2) Calculate the winter storage available if the water depth of the
ponds is 2m. Assume losses due to evaporation and seepage are
0.5 mm/d.