Environmental Engineering 1

Secondary Treatment & Sludge

Digestion

Lecture 8
Prepared By: Dr. Clint Sutherland
 Ponds and Lagoons are another form of
suspended-culture biological system

Ponds & Lagoons

Wastewater ponds also called stabilization ponds, oxidation pond
or sewage Lagoon and has the following characteristics:

- Large shallow earthen basin in which wastewater is retained

long enough for natural purification processes to provide the
necessary degree of treatment

- Part of the system may be aerobic to produce an acceptable

effluent

- Oxygen is provided by diffusion but the bulk is provided by

photosynthesis

-- Lagoon differs from ponds in that oxygen is provided by artificial

aeration
• Aerobic conditions are maintained in the upper portion of the pond
by oxygen generated by algae and to a lesser extent by penetration
of atmospheric oxygen

• Stagnant conditions in the sludge along the bottom prevent oxygen

transfer to that region and anaerobic condition prevail

• The boundary between aerobic and anaerobic is not stationary.

Mixing by wind action and penetration by sunlight may extend the
aerobic area downwards

• Conversely, calm waters and weak lighting results in the anaerobic

layer rising towards the surface

• The volume through which the presence of dissolved oxygen

fluctuates is called the facultative zone. Organisms must be capable
of adjusting their metabolism to changing oxygen conditions
• Products from the anaerobic zone such as organic acid and
gases are released and become food for organisms in the
aerobic zone.

• Biological solids produced in the aerobic zone eventually settle

and die and becomes food for the anaerobic bacteria

• A symbiotic relationship exist between bacteria and algae in

the anaerobic zone.

• Bacteria used oxygen as an electron acceptor to oxidize waste

to stable CO2 NO3- & PO43- .

• The algae uses these compounds as a material source with

sunlight to produce oxygen as an end product
Disadvantages
• Large land requirements
• High suspended solids in effluent

Advantages
• Considerable saving in capital and operating cost
• Large volume to inflow ratio, thus there is little
effect due to shock loading
• Little operator skills is required
 Note - Facultative Bacteria
• Bacteria that can use either dissolved oxygen or chemically
derived oxygen (from nitrate, sulfate or carbonate) for
respiration and use organic materials for energy and
growth. In other words, facultative heterotrophs can live
under aerobic, anoxic or anaerobic conditions.

• When oxygen is depleted in a basin, bacteria first turn to

the second-best electron acceptor, which in sea water is
nitrate. Denitrification occurs, and the nitrate will be
consumed rather rapidly. After reducing some other minor
elements, the bacteria will turn to reducing sulphate.
What is Attached culture systems
This system employs reactors in which wastewater is
contacted with microbial films attached to a surface.

Types of Attached culture systems

• Trickling Filter – random packed solid media is used 6-8
feet depth
• Bio-towers – Similar to trickling filter and is
approximately 24 ft depth
• Rotating Biological Contractors (RBC)- Rotating disk
partially submerged in wastewater which moves the
biofilm alternately through air and water.
http://www.rpi.edu/dept/chem-eng/Biotech-Environ/FUNDAMNT/streem/methods.htm
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• The multiple rotating discs are immersed in tanks

of wastewater which is purified by the action of
naturally cultivated micro-organisms forming a
film on the surface of each disc. As the disc
rotates, the inactive film of micro-organisms slips
off and a new active film is regenerated in a
naturally continuing cycle, so that the system
always maintains the level of activity necessary to
treat the volume of wastewater fed into the
http://darlingtonequipment.com/lyco.aspx tanks.
Type of microorganisms involved –
- The same group of microorganisms found in activated sludge
systems, i.e. heterotrophic organisms with facultative bacteria
being predominant.
- Also present are fungi, protozoa, algae (closer to sunlight).
- nitrifying organisms are significant when carbon content is low
- Animals- rotifers, sludge worm, insect larvae, snails.

How does this system work?

-Organisms attach to the media and grow into a dense film of viscous jelly-like
matter.
-Wastewater passes over the film and dissolved organics penetrate the biofilm due
to concentration gradients.
-Suspended solids and colloids may be retained on the “sticky” surface where they
become decomposed into soluble products
-Oxygen is supplied from the wastewater as well as via voids in the media spaces
How does this system work? (Continued)
-Waste products from metabolic processes
diffuse outwards from the film and are
carried away with the wastewater or air
currents
-Growth on the biofilm occur outward and in
one direction.
-As growth continues, concentration gradient
of food and oxygen develops within the film.
Eventually both anaerobic and endogenous
metabolism occur at the biofilm-media
surface interface.
-Consequently, attachment begins to weaken
and shearing action of the wastewater
flowing across the film causes the film to
break off -Sloughing.
-The biofilm is quickly reestablished

Rate of food removal is affected by

-WW Flow rate
-Organic Loading
-Temperature
-Diffusion of food and oxygen into the biofilm
What is a Trickling Filter?
• Trickling filter is an attached growth process i.e. process
in which microorganisms responsible for treatment are
attached to an inert packing material.
• Sorption and subsequent biological oxidation are the
primary means of food removal

What type of media is used?

• Packing material used in attached growth processes
include rock, gravel, slag, sand, redwood, and a wide
range of plastic and other synthetic materials.
• Size of media range from 50 to 100 mm; specific surface
area of 50 to 65 m2/m3; porosity of 40 to 50 %
 Trickling Filter .No. Design Feature Low Rate Filter High Rate Filter

1. Hydraulic loading, m3/m2.d 1-4 10 - 40

Organic loading,kg BOD /

Trickling filters are classified 2.
m3.d
0.08 - 0.32 0.32 - 1.0

as high rate or low rate, 3. Depth, m. 1.8 - 3.0 0.9 - 2.5

based on the organic and 0.5 - 3.0 (domestic
wastewater) up to 8 for
hydraulic loading applied to 4. Recirculation ratio 0
strong industrial
the unit. wastewater.

Basic System Components

-Under a hydraulic head of
1.0m, jet action through the
nozzle is sufficient to power
the motor.
-Electric motors can be used to
power the motor in times of
low flow
-An underdrain system is
designed to carry away
treated water and sloughed
biomass.
•The hydraulic loading rate is the total flow including recirculation applied on unit area of
the filter in a day, while the organic loading rate is the 5 day 20°C BOD, excluding the BOD
of the recirculant, applied per unit volume in a day.

•Recirculation is generally not adopted in low rate filters.

•A well operated low rate trickling filter in combination with secondary settling tank may
remove 75 to 90% BOD and produce highly nitrified effluent. It is suitable for treatment of
low to medium strength domestic wastewaters.

•The high rate trickling filter, single stage or two stage are recommended for medium to
relatively high strength domestic and industrial wastewater. The BOD removal efficiency is
around 75 to 90% but the effluent is only partially nitrified.

•Single stage unit consists of a primary settling tank, filter, secondary settling tank and
facilities for recirculation of the effluent. Two stage filters consist of two filters in series
with a primary settling tank, an intermediate settling tank which may be omitted in certain
cases and a final settling tank.
What is Sludge Digestion
Concentrated wastewater sludge is a hazard to the environment and must be
rendered inert before disposal. The most common means of stabilization is by
biological degradation. The process of digestion involves converting solids to
noncellular end products

Objective of Sludge Digestion

- Further reduce the volume of sludge
- Render the remaining solids inert and pathogen-free

Types of Digestion Systems

This can be accomplished by either aerobic or anaerobic digestion. The anaerobic
waste treatment process is an effective method for the treatment of many organic
wastes. The treatment has a number of advantages over aerobic treatment
process, namely,
• the energy input of the system is low as no energy is required for oxygenation,
• lower production of excess sludge( biological synthesis) per unit mass of substrate
utilized,
• lower nutrient requirement due to lower biological synthesis, and
• degradation leads to production of biogas which is a valuable source of energy.
• WW sludge contain a wide variety of organisms and therefore requires a wide
variety of organisms for its decomposition.
• Organisms in anaerobic digestion is divided into two (2) broad groups. i.e. acid
formers and methane formers
• The anaerobic treatment of organic wastes resulting in the production of
carbon dioxide and methane, involves two distinct stages. In the first stage,
complex waste components, including fats, proteins, and polysaccharides are
first hydrolyzed by a heterogeneous group of facultative and anaerobic
bacteria. These bacteria then subject the products of hydrolysis to
fermentations and other metabolic processes leading to the formation of
simple organic compounds, mainly short-chain (volatile) acids and alcohols. The
first stage is commonly referred to as "acid fermentation". However in the
second stage the end products of the first stage are converted to gases (mainly
methane and carbon dioxide) by several different species of strictly anaerobic
bacteria. This stage is generally referred to as "methane fermentation".
• Typically 50 to 60% of the
organics are metabolized, with
less than 10% being converted
to biomass.
• Reactors consist of closed tanks
with airtight covers.
• Standard –rate anaerobic
digesters consist of a conical
bottom which facilitate sludge
withdrawal.
• A floating cover accommodates
volume changes due to sludge
additions and withdrawals.
• Sludge separates in the reactor
• Some mixing occur in the zone
of active digestion and the
supernatant
• Sludge is fed intermittently and
supernatant is withdrawn and
sent to the secondary
treatment unit
Reference:
H. Peavy, D Rowe, G. Tchobanoglous . Environmental Engineering. McGraw-Hill
1988

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%209.htm