Process Wastewater characteristics

Effluent characteristics
Color
Odor
Temperature
Total dissolved solid (TDS)
pH
Conductivity
Hardness
Alkalinity
Dissolved oxygen (DO)
Biological oxygen demand (BOD)
Chemical oxygen demand (COD)
Total organic carbon (TOC)
Effluent characteristics
Physical Parameters
 Color: The color of water is a physical indicator of purity of surface and ground waters. It
is caused by soluble and insoluble substances. Pure natural waters are usually colorless or
azure-blue in thick layers. It can be determined by colorimeter in PCU (Platinum cobalt unit)
as unit.
 Odor: The odor of water is caused by volatile substances present in water which are
perceived by the sense of smell, particularly living microscopic organism or decaying
vegetation including algae, actinomycetes, bacteria, fungi and weeds. Sewage and industrial
wastes also contribute taste sand odor to receiving waters.
 Temperature: Temperature is one of the most important parameters for aquatic
environment because almost all the physical, chemical and biological properties are
governed by it.
Taste: The taste of water is influenced by substances introduced into water naturally or by
pollution. Water taste is markedly influenced by amounts of iron, manganese, magnesium,
calcium, zinc, copper, chlorides, sulphates, hydrogen carbonates, carbon dioxide, etc.
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) : Total dissolved solids contents of water and waste water is
defined as the residue left upon evaporation at 103°C to 105°C. It is an aggregated amount of
the entire floating, suspended, settable and dissolved solids present in the water sample.
Chemical parameters
pH : pH is a term used universally to express the intensity of the acidic or alkaline condition
of solution. It is a measure of hydrogen ion concentration or moreprecisely the hydrogen ion
activity. It is defined as the "logarithm (base 10) of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion
concentration” .
Electrical Conductivity (EC): Electrical conductivity is a measure of water capacity to
convey electric current.Electrical conductivity of water and wastewater are directly
proportional to its dissolved matter content (dissolved gases also contribute). The unit of
conductivity is µS/cm.
Hardness: Hardness is seemed to be the capacity of water for reducing and destroying the
lather of soap.Hardness is caused due to divalent cations such as Ca+2, Sr+2 etc. Higher
cations also contribute hardness to a lesser degree but mono-valent cations never produce
hardness.
Alkalinity: Alkalinity is an anionic phenomenon. It is the quantitative capacity of an
aqueous media to react with hydrogen ions. The occurrence of hydrogen ion in natural
water is very rare, unless artificial contamination has occurred.
Dissolved Oxygen (DO): Dissolved oxygen shows the ability of the stream to purify itself
through biochemical process. Oxygen is dissolved in most waters in varying concentrations.
Solubility of oxygen depends on temperature, pressure and salinity of water. It is essential
to life of fish and other aquatic organisms.
Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD): Bio-chemical oxygen demand tests show the
amount of molecular oxygen required by bacteria to reduce the carbonaceous materials and
transformation of organic matter under aerobic conditions. It is a test of great value in the
analysis of sewage, industrial effluents and grossly polluted waters.
It is a bioassay procedure that measures the oxygen consumed by living organisms, while
utilizing the organic matter.
The determination of DO of a sample before and after five days incubation at 20°C is the
basic of BOD determination.
Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD): AmericanSociety for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
defines chemical oxygen demand as the amount of oxygen, expressed in mg/l consumed
under specific conditions in the oxidation of organic and oxidizable inorganic matter,
corrected for the influence of chlorides.
COD test shows the oxygen equivalent of the organic matter that can be oxidized by using a
strong oxidizing agents e.g. potassium dichromate in acidic solution, at elevated temperature,
for two and half hour.
It has to be classified that COD is not a measure of the carbon content. It indicates the
amount of oxygen required to oxidize the carbonaceous matter.

Effluents Treatment

Effluents treatment plants are the most widely accepted approaches towards achieving
environmental safety.
But, unfortunately, no single treatment methodology is suitable or universally adoptable
for any kind of effluent treatment.
The treatment of waste stream is done by various methods, which include physical,
chemical and biological treatment depending on pollution load.
The treatment processes may be categorized into preliminary, primary, secondary and
tertiary treatment process.

Methods of treatment
 Methods of treatment in which the application of physical forces predominate are known
as unit operations.
 Methods of treatment in which the removal of contaminants is brought about by chemical
or biological reactions are known as unit processes.
 At present time, unit operations and processes are grouped together to provide various
levels of treatment known as preliminary, primary, advanced primary, secondary and
advanced or tertiary treatment.

Physical treatment method

Physical methods include processes where no gross chemical or biological changes are
carried out and strictly physical phenomena are used to improve or treat the wastewater. Still,
other physical phenomena used in treatment consist of filtration. Here, wastewater is passed
through a filter medium to separate solids.
Chemical treatment method
Chemicals are used during wastewater treatment in an array of processes to expedite
disinfection. These chemical processes, which induce chemical reactions, are called chemical
unit processes, and are used alongside biological and physical cleaning processes to achieve
various water standards.
Physico-chemical method
Physico chemical treatment involves using chemicals which can modify physical state of
colloidal particles which helps in making them more stable and coagulable for further
treatment or filtration purposes. These treatment methods have been used for over a century
in conjunction with biological treatment methods.
Biological method
Secondary treatment is the biological treatment of water using a wide variety of
microorganisms, primarily bacteria. These microorganisms convert biodegradable organic
matter contained in wastewater into simple substances and additional biomass.

Different stage of wastewater treatment

Treatment
Description
level
Removal of wastewater constituents such as rags, sticks, floatables, grit, and
Preliminary grease that may cause maintenance or operational problems with the
treatment operations, processes, and ancillary system.
Removal of a portion of the suspended solids and organic matter from the
Primary
wastewater.
Removal of biodegradable organic matter and suspended solids. Disinfection is
Secondary
also typically included in the definition of conventional secondary treatment.
Removal of residual suspended solids usually by granular medium filtration or
Tertiary
micro screens. Disinfection is also typically a part of tertiary treatment.
Removal of dissolved and suspended materials remaining after normal
Advanced
biological treatment when required for various water reuse operations

Primary Treatment
 After the removal of gross solids, gritty materials and excessive quantities of oil and
grease, the next step is to remove the remaining suspended solids as much as
possible.
 This step is aimed at reducing the strength of the waste water and also to facilitate
secondary treatment.
 Primary treatment includes the following separate steps
 Screening: The Coarse suspended matters such as rags, pieces of fabric, fibres, yarns and
lint are removed. Bar screens and mechanically cleaned fine screens remove most of the
fibres.
 Sedimentation: The suspended matter in textile effluent can be removed efficiently and
economically by sedimentation. This process is particularly useful for treatment of wastes
containing high percentage of settable solids or when the waste is subjected to combined
treatment with sewage.
 Equalization: Effluent streams are collected into ‘sump pit’. Sometimes mixed effluents
are stirred by rotating agitators or by blowing compressed air from below.
 Neutralization: Normally, pH values of cotton finishing effluents are on the alkaline side.
Hence, pH value of equalized effluent should be adjusted.
 Chemical coagulation and Mechanical flocculation: Finely divided suspended solids
and colloidal particles cannot be efficiently removed by simple sedimentation by gravity.
In such cases, mechanical flocculation or chemical coagulation is employed.
Secondary Treatment
 The main purpose of secondary treatment is to provide BOD removal beyond what is
achievable by simple sedimentation.
 It also removes appreciable amounts of oil and phenol.
 In secondary treatment, the dissolved and colloidal organic compounds and color present
in waste water is removed or reduced and to stabilize the organic matter.
 This is achieved biologically using bacteria and other microorganisms.
 These processes may be aerobic or anaerobic. In aerobic processes, bacteria and other
microorganisms consume organic matter as food.
Anaerobic treatment is mainly employed for the digestion of sludge.
The efficiency of this process depends upon pH, temperature, waste loading, absence of
oxygen and toxic materials.

Biological treatment processes

 Some of the commonly used biological treatment processes are described below:
Aerated lagoons
 These are large holding tanks or ponds having a depth of 3-5 m and are lined with cement,
polythene or rubber.
 The effluents from primary treatment processes are collected in these tanks and are aerated
with mechanical devices, such as floating aerators, for about 2 to 6 days.
 During this time, a healthy flocculent sludge is formed which brings about oxidation of the
dissolved organic matter.
 BOD removal to the extent of 99% could be achieved with efficient operation.
 The major disadvantages are the large space requirements and the bacterial contamination
of the lagoon effluent, which necessitates further biological purification.
Trickling filters
The trickling filters usually consists of circular or rectangular beds, 1 m to 3 m deep, made
of well-graded media (such as broken stone, PVC, Coal, Synthetic resins, Gravel or
Clinkers) of size 40 mm to 150 mm.
Over which wastewater is sprinkled uniformly on the entire bed with the help of a slowly
rotating distributor (such as rotary sprinkler) equipped with orifices or nozzles.
The filter is arranged in such a fashion that air can enter at the bottom; counter current
to the effluent flow and a natural draft is produced. A gelatinous film, comprising of bacteria
and aerobic microorganisms known as “Zooglea”, is formed on the surface of the filter
medium, which thrive on the nutrients supplied by the waste water.
The organic impurities in the wastewater are adsorbed on the gelatinous film during its
passage and then are oxidized by the bacteria and the other micro-organisms present
therein.
Activated sludge process
This is the most versatile biological oxidation method employed for the treatment of
wastewater containing dissolved solids, colloids and coarse solid organic matter.
In this process, the wastewater is aerated in a reaction tank in which some microbial floc is
suspended.
The aerobic bacterial flora bring about biological degradation of the waste into carbon
dioxide and water molecule, while consuming some organic matter for synthesizing bacteria.
The bacteria flora grows and remains suspended in the form of a floc, which is called
“Activated Sludge”.
The effluent from the reaction tank isseparated from the sludge by settling and
discharged. A part of the sludge is recycled to the same tank to provide an effective
microbial population for a fresh treatment cycle.
The surplus sludge is digested in a sludge digester, along with the primary sludge
obtained from primary sedimentation.
An efficient aeration for 5 to 24 hours is required for industrial wastes. BOD removal to the
extent of 90-95% can be achieved in this process.
Oxidation ditch
This can be considered as a modification of the conventional Activated Sludge process.
Waste water, after screening is allowed into the oxidation ditch. The mixed liquor
containing the sludge solids is aerated in the channel with the help of a mechanical rotor.
The usual hydraulic retention time is 12 to 24 hrs and for solids, it is 20-30 days.
Most of the sludge formed is recycled for the subsequent treatment cycle. The surplus sludge
can be dried without odor on sand drying beds.
Tertiary Treatment Processes
 It is worthwhile to mention that the textile waste contains significant quantities of
nonbiodegradable chemical polymers.
 Since the conventional treatment methods are inadequate, there is the need for efficient
tertiary treatment process.
 Oxidation techniques
 A variety of oxidizing agents can be used to decolorize wastes. Sodium hypochlorite
decolorizes dye bath efficiently. Though it is a low cost technique, but it forms
absorbable toxic organic halides (AOX) .
 Ozone on decomposition generates oxygen and free radicals and the later combines with
coloring agents of effluent resulting in the destruction of colors.
Membrane technologies
Reverse osmosis and electrodialysis are the important examples of membrane process.
Reverse Osmosis:
When two solutions having different solute concentrations are separated by a semipermeable
membrane, a difference in chemical potential will exist across the membrane.
Water will tend to diffuse through the membrane from the lower-concentration (higher
potential) side to the higher concentration (lower-potential) side.
 In a system having a finite volume, flow continues until the pressure difference balances
the chemical potential difference. This balancing pressure difference is termed as osmotic
pressure and is a function of solute characteristics and concentration and temperature.
 If a pressure gradient opposite in the direction and greater than the osmotic pressure is
imposed across the membrane, flow from the more concentrated to the less concentrated
region will occur and termed as reverse osmosis.
Electrodialysis
Electro dialysis is a process where, ionic components of a solution are separated through the
use of semipermeable ion-selective membranes. It has a variety of reuse applications in
wastewater treatment fields.
Theory of Electrodialysis
Application of an electrical potential between the two electrode causes an electric current to
pass through the solution, which in turn causes a migration of cations towards the negative
electrode and a migration of anions toward the positive electrode.

Because of the alternate spacing of cation- and anionpermeable membranes, cells of

concentrated and dilute salts are formed.
Wastewater is pumped through the membranes, which is separated by spacers and
assembled into stacks.
The wastewater is usually retained for about 10 to 20 days in a single stack or stage.
Dissolved solids removals vary with the
I. Wastewater temperature
II. Amounts of electrical current passed
III. Type of amount of ions
IV. Perm-selectivity of the membrane
V. Fouling and scaling potential of the wastewater
VI. Wastewater flow rates, and
VII. Number and configuration of stages
Disinfection Theory:
Characteristics of Disinfectant
The characteristics of an ideal disinfectant are showed in the table:
Characteristic Properties/Responses
Availability Should be available in large quantities and reasonably priced
Deodorizing ability Should deodorizing while disinfecting
Homogeneity Solution must be uniform in composition
Interaction with
Should not be absorbed by organic matter other than bacterial cells
extraneous material
Nontoxic to higher
Should be toxic to microbes and nontoxic to humans and other animals
forms of life
Penetration Should have the capacity to penetrate through surfaces
Safety Should be safe to transport, store, handle, and use.
Solubility Must be soluble in water or cell tissue

Disinfection Methods
Disinfection is most commonly accomplished by the use of
 Chemical agents,
 Physical agents,
 Mechanical means, and
 Radiation
 Chemical agents
Chemical agents that have been used as disinfectants include
1. Chlorine and its compounds
2. Bromine
3. Iodine
4. Ozone
5. Phenol and phenolic compounds
6. Alcohols
7. Soaps and synthetic detergents
8. Peracetic acids etc.
Physical agents
 Physical disinfectants that can be used are heat, light, and sound wave.
 Heating water to the boiling point, for example, will destroy the major disease producing
non-spore-forming bacteria.
 Sunlight is also a good disinfectant, due to primarily to the UV radiation portion of the
electromagnetic (EM) spectrum. The decay of microbes observed in oxidation ponds is due,
in part, to their exposure to the UV component of the sunlight.
 Special lamps developed to emit UV rays have been used successfully to disinfect water
and wastewater.
Radiation
 The major types of radiation are electromagnetic, acoustic, and particle.
 Gamma rays are emitted from radioisotopes, such as cobalt-60. because of their
penetration power, gamma rays have been used to disinfect (sterilize) both water and
wastewater.
 Although the use of a high-energy electron-beam device for the irradiation of wastewater
or sludge has been studied extensively, there are no commercial devices or full-scale
installations in operation.

Mechanism of Disinfection by using Chlorine, Ozone, and UV

Chlorine Ozone UV radiation
Direct
Photochemical damage to RNA and DNA
Oxidation oxidation/destruction
within the cells of an organism
of cell wall
The nucleic acids in microbes are the most
Reactions with radical
Reactions with important absorbers of
byproducts of ozone
available chlorine the energy of light in the wave length
decomposition
range of 240-280 nm.
Because of DNA and RNA carry genetic
Damage to the
information for reproduction, damage of
Protein precipitation constituents of the
these substances can effectively
nucleic acids
inactivate the cell.

Environmental impact of using UV radiation disinfection

 On the basis of the evidence to date, it appears that the compounds formed at the UV
dosage used for the disinfection ( 50 to 140 mJ/cm2) of wastewater are harmless or are
broken down into more innocuous forms.
 Thus the disinfection of wastewater with UV light is considered to have no adverse
environmental impacts.
 The environmental impacts and types of compounds formed when UV radiation is used for
the destruction of NDMA and endocrine disruptors, typically at UV dosage greater than 400
mJ/cm2,is not known at present (2001)
Effluent Quality Parameters
WATER QUALITY STANDARD
In the year 1976 the Environmental Control Pollution Board set up preliminary and national
committee for formulating water quality standard in Bangladesh with a view to the
conservation and enhancement of the overall environment.
The committee had render concerned effort towards framing the national water quality
standard.
The broad classes are as follows
 Drinking water  Fishing water
 Irrigation water  Industrial effluent
Standard o for Irrigation Water
Standard for FAO
Parameter Units
Bangladesh Standard
Boron mg/l 2 not less than 1 < 0.7
Cadmium mg/l 0.01 --
Arsenic mg/l 1.0 --
Chloride mg/l 600 142
Coliforms
CFU/100 ml 10 --
(faecal)
CFU /100
Coliforms (Total) 1000 --
ml
E.C mhoS/cm. 750 --
pH 6.8-8.5 6.8-8.5
SAR(Sodium
8-16
Absorption Ratio )
TDS mg/l 2000 < 450
STANDARD FOR INDUSTRIAL EFFLUENTS

Parameter Standard Value

pH 6.5-9.2
Colour Clear
Without having any disturbing
Taste and smell
taste & smell
Temperature 40-45 ˚C
Total Suspended Solid
30-150 mg/L
(TSS)
Total Dissolved Solid
200-1000 mg/L
(TDS)
Biological Oxygen
20-50 mg/ L
Demand (BOD)
Chemical Oxygen
280 mg/L
Demand (COD)
Ammonia 3-5 mg/L
Chloride 20-600 mg/I
Phosphate 30 mg/L
Hydrogen Sulphide 0.2-1.0 mg/L
Carbon dioxide 2-3 mg/I
Oils and grease 8-10 mg/L
Arsenic 0.05 mg/L
Chromium 0.05 mg/I
Copper 0. 1 mg/L
Cadmium 0.01 mg/L
Zinc 0.1 mg/L
Lead 0.025 mg/L
Mercury 0.01 mg/L
Iron 0.3 mg/L
Cyanide 0.2 mg/L
Fluoride 1.0 mg/ L
Phenolic compounds 0. 1 mg/L
Nickel 3 mg/L
Sulphate 1000 mg/L
Sulphides 2 mg/L
Selenium 0.05 mg/L
Percent Na 60% mg/L
Boron 2 mg/L
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) : Total dissolved solids contents of water and waste water is
defined as the residue left upon evaporation at 103°C to 105°C.
It is an aggregated amount of the entire floating, suspended, settable and dissolved solids
present in the water sample.
 Analysis: It can be determined by conventional method and also by using a digital TDS
meter.
 Standard: The DoE standard for industrial effluent is 2100 mg/L for discharge into
surface water.

pH : pH is a term used universally to express the intensity of the acidic or alkaline condition
of solution.
It is a measure of hydrogen ion concentration or more precisely the hydrogen ion activity.
It is defined as the " logarithm (base 10) of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration”
Analysis: It can be determined by digital pH meter or by using pH paper.
Standard: The standard set by DoE is 6.5-8.5 for discharge into surface water
Electrical Conductivity (EC)
Electrical Conductivity (EC): Electrical conductivity is a measure of water capacity to
convey electric current.
Electrical conductivity of water and wastewater are directly proportional to its dissolved
matter content (dissolved gases also contribute). The unit of conductivity is µS/cm or
mhoS/cm.
Analysis: It can be determined by digital EC meter.
Standard: The standard set by DoE is 750 mhoS/cm for discharge into surface water use for
irrigation.
Dissolved Oxygen (DO): Dissolved oxygen shows the ability of the stream to purify itself
through biochemical process.
Oxygen is dissolved in most waters in varying concentrations. Solubility of oxygen depends
on temperature, pressure and salinity of water. It is essential to life of
fish and other aquatic organisms.
Analysis: It can be determined by digital DO meter or by conventional trite-metric method.
Standard: The standard set by DoE is 4.5-8 mg/L for discharge into surface water.
Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD): Bio-chemical oxygen demand tests show the
amount of molecular oxygen required by bacteria to reduce the carbonaceous materials and
transformation of organic matter under aerobic conditions.
The determination of DO of a sample before and after five days incubation at 20°C is the
basic of BOD determination.
Analysis: It can be determined by Winkler’s method of 5 day BOD test.
Standard: The standard set by DoE is <50 mg/L for discharge into surface water.
COD test shows the oxygen equivalent of the organic matter that can be oxidized by using a
strong oxidizing agents e.g. potassium dichromate in acidic solution, at elevated temperature,
for two and half hour.
It has to be classified that COD is not a measure of the carbon content. It indicates the
amount of oxygen required to oxidize the carbonaceous matter.
Analysis: It can be determined by closed/open refluxed trite-metric method.
Standard: The standard set by DoE is <200 mg/L for discharge into surface water.
Some important heavy metals released by different industries
TYPES OF INDUSTRY HEAVY METALS
Chemical industry Hg, Cd, Pb
Textile industry Pb, Cr, Hg, Cd
Jute industry Cr, Cd, Pb
Petroleum refining Pb, Cr, Cd, Cu, Zn.
Power station Pd, Fe
Pulp and paper industry Hg, Fe
Ship yard Fe, Zn, Cu, Pb, Cr, Cd, Co etc.
Cable factory Cu
Tannery Cr
Batteries Pb, Cd, Hg, Zn
Pharmaceutical industries As, Hg, Cd, Pb, Cr.
Plastic industry Cd, Pb
Boat and barge building and
Fe, Zn, Cu, Pd, etc.
repairing
Printing Cd, Cr, Cu, Zn
Soap factory Cd, Pb
Ink factory Cd, Pb

Toxic responses of heavy metals to Human

Metals Toxic responses
Anemia and disruption of hemoglobin synthesis, damage to nervous system
Lead (Pb) and kidneys, brain damage. In mild cases insomnia, restlessness, loss of
appetite and gastrointestinal problems
Disorders of respiratory system, kidneys and lungs; cadmium salts
Cadmium (Cd)
consumption causes cramps, nausea, vomiting
Occupational hazard of Cr+6 cause skin and respiratory disorders,
Chromium (Cr)
ulceration of skin, inhaled Cr+6 can cause cancer of respiratory tract.
Some of the immediate symptoms included headache, nusea, weakness,
dizziness, vomiting, and epigastric pain. Sweating, shortness of breath,
Nickel (Ni)
coughing, muscle pains, fatigue, gastrointestinal discomfort, and in sever
cases, some convulsion, delirium and lungs damage.