CHAPTER TWO

CHARACTERISTICS OF
WASTEWATER
 Waste water sources and quantity
• The design of a wastewater treatment plant

requires knowledge of the

Quantity or flow rate of the wastewater,

The quality of the untreated or raw

wastewater, and

The quality required for the effluent.

 Cont..
 Why the quality and quantity of wastewater is

need in wastewater treatment plant design?

 The quality of the untreated or raw

wastewater and the quality required for the

effluent determine which unit operations and

processes are to be provided for the plant.

 Wastewater Sources
• Wastewater may be classified into the following components:

• Domestic or sanitary wastewater (from residential and commercial districts

and institutional facilities) is the liquid wastewater discharged from sanitary

facilities within a building, such as residence, business building, and institutions.

• Industrial wastewater is the liquid wastewater discharged from an industry,

such as a paper-making plant or food processing.

• Storm sewage or storm water is the storm runoff that occurs from rainfall.

• Infiltration is the groundwater or rainfall seepage that enters sanitary sewers

through cracks in pipe joints and manholes, service connections, and defective

pipes.
 CONT…
• Inflow is relatively unpolluted water that enters through such sources as
manhole covers, roof downspouts, yard drains, foundation drains, and
cooling-water discharge from air conditioners and industries.
• A sanitary sewer
• carries sanitary sewage or domestic wastewater and, in some cases, any
industrial wastewater from the area that serves and transport them to the
wastewater treatment plant without creating offensive conditions or
health hazards.
• A storm sewer carries rainfall runoff or storm water from the area it
serves.
 Wastewater Flow Rates
 Flows for sewage treatment plants are based on the design population
and commercial and industrial activity.
 CONT…
 The relationship between water demand and wastewater flow
varies from city to city, but wastewater flow is usually from 50 to
100% of the water demand.
 The quantity of water consumed is variable depending on water
supply, climate, and cultural habits of the population.
 CONT…
 As with water demand, a variation in wastewater flow rate occurs daily, weekly,

and monthly.
An increase in wastewater flow occurs once daily activity begins around 6 am,

and a peak occurs shortly before noon lunchtime and after evening dinnertime.
 CONT…
• A weekly variation also occurs, and the maximum day is usually the

first work day of the week and the minimum is usually during the

weekend.

• A monthly variation in flow occurs, and usually the maximum

monthly flow occurs during summer season. And the minimum flow

occurs during the winter season.

• The ratio of the peak hourly flow to the average hourly flow for the

day can be calculated by using the following formula:

 Wastewater Characteristics
• The degree of treatment of a wastewater depends upon its

quality characteristics and the required effluent quality

characteristics. The characteristics may be classified as
physical, biological, and chemical, according to their nature.

1. Physical Characteristics

• The main physical characteristics of a wastewater, such as a

municipal wastewater, are turbidity, color, odor, total solids

(both suspended and dissolved), and temperature.
 CONT…
Turbidity
Sewage is normally turbid, resembling dirty dish water or wastewater
from baths having other floating matter like fecal matter, pieces of
paper, cigarette-ends, match-sticks, greases, vegetable debris, fruit
skins, soaps, etc. The turbidity increases as sewage becomes stronger.
Color
Fresh wastewater is usually a light brownish-gray color. However,
typical wastewater is gray and has a cloudy appearance. The color of
the wastewater will change significantly if allowed to go septic (if
travel time in the collection system increases).
 CONT…
Odor

Odors in domestic wastewater usually are caused by

gases produced by the decomposition of organic matter or
by other substances added to the wastewater.

Temperature

The temperature of wastewater is commonly higher than

that of the water supply because of the addition of warm
water from households and industrial plants.
 CONT…
• The total solids of a municipal wastewater consist of both the

dissolved and the suspended solids.

• Total Dissolved Solids. By definition, the solids contained in the

filtrate that passes through a filter with a nominal pore size of 2.0

μm or less are classified as dissolved.

• Total Suspended Solids. Because a filter is used to separate the

TSS from the TDS, the TSS test is somewhat arbitrary, depending

on the size of the filter paper used for the test. Filters with nominal

pore sizes varying from 0.45 μm to about 2.0 μm have been used for

TSS test.
CONT…
CONT…
 Chemical Characteristics

 The main chemical characteristics of a wastewater,

such as a municipal wastewater, are the:-
 Chemical oxygen demand (COD), total organic
carbon (TOC), various forms of nitrogen, various
forms of phosphorus, chloride ion, sulfate ion,
alkalinity, pH, heavy metal ions, trace elements, and
priority pollutants.
 CONT…
pH
• Is a method of expressing the acid condition of the WW.
• For proper treatment, wastewater pH should normally be in
the range of 6.5 to 9.0.
• the fresh sewage is generally alkaline in nature ( pH > 7);
but as time passes, its pH tends to fall due to production of
acids by bacterial action in anaerobic or nitrification
processes.
Chloride Contents
• derived from the kitchen wastes, human feces, and urinary
discharges, etc.
• when the chloride content of a given sewage is found to be
high, it indicates the presence of industrial wastes or
infiltration of sea water
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Nitrogen compounds
• The presence of nitrogen in sewage indicates the
presence of organic matter, and may occur in:
a) Free ammonia, called ammonia nitrogen;
b) Organic nitrogen;
c) Nitrites; and
d) Nitrates
Phosphorus
• is essential to biological activity and must be
present in at least minimum quantities or
secondary treatment processes will not perform.
• Excessive amounts can cause stream damage
and excessive algal growth.
 CONT…
Sulphides, Sulphates and Hydrogen Sulphide Gas
• their presence reflects aerobic, and/or anaerobic
decomposition.
• Sulphides and sulphates are formed due to the
decomposition of various sulphur containing
substances
• this, decomposition also leads to evolution of
hydrogen sulphide gas which cause
• bad smells and odours,
• corrosion of concrete sewer pipes.
 CONT…
Dissolved Oxygen (DO)

• DO is very important for aquatic life like fish,…

• the treated sewage should ensure at least 4ppm of DO in it before

discharging it to river stream;

• Otherwise, fish are likely to be killed, creating nuisance near the

vicinity of disposal.

• Very fresh sewage contains some DO, which is soon depleted by

aerobic decomposition.

• Temp increase DO level decrease

 CONT…
Bio-Chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)
• Used as a measure of the quantity of oxygen required
for oxidation of biodegradable organic matter by
aerobic biochemical action.
• The rate of oxygen consumption is affected by a
number of variables:
– temperature, pH, the presence microorganisms,
and the type of organic and inorganic material.
• The greater the BOD, the more rapidly oxygen is
depleted in the water body.
• The consequences of high BOD are the same as those
for low DO:
– aquatic organisms become stressed, suffocate, and
die.
 CONT…
Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)
• Measures the total quantity of oxygen required for
oxidation of organics into carbon dioxide and water.
• The oxygen required to oxidize the organic matter
present in a given wastewater can be theoretically
computed.
• The reaction is so faster than BOD.
 CONT…
Biological Characteristics
 Are due to the presence of bacteria and other living
microorganisms, such as algae, fungi, protozoa, etc.
 Most of the vast number of bacteria present in sewage is
harmless non-pathogenic bacteria.
 They are useful and helpful in bringing oxidation and
decomposition of sewage.
 Measurement of Concentration of
Contaminants in Wastewater

• The most important standard methods for

analysis of organic contaminants are:

1. Theoretical Oxygen Demand (ThOD)

2. Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)

3. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)

 CONT…
1. Theoretical Oxygen Demand (ThOD)
 This is the theoretical amount of oxygen required to oxidize the
organic fraction of the wastewater completely to carbon dioxide
and water.
 WW is so complex in nature its ThOD cannot be calculated, but in
practice it is approximated by the chemical oxygen demand.
 CONT…
2. Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)

• is determined by performing a lab. test with a strong oxidant like

dichromate solution.

• In order to perform this test, a known quantity of WW is mixed with a

known quantity of standard solution of potassium dichromate, and the
mixture is heated.

• COD used more of to measure non-biodegradable matter.

• The advantage of COD measurements is that they are obtained very

quickly (within 3 hours)

• the disadvantages, they do not give any information on the proportion

of the WW that can be oxidized by bacteria.
 CONT…

• Example 2.1 Compute

(a) The theoretical oxygen demand; and
(b) The organic carbon concentration of a
wastewater that contains the following chemical
compounds:
(i) Glucose (C6H12O6) = 200 mg/l
(ii) Benzene (C6H6) = 25 mg/l
 CONT…
3. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)

• Oxygen demand of WW is exerted by three classes of materials:

1. Carbonaceous organic materials usable as a source of food by aerobic

organisms

2. Oxidizable nitrogen derived from nitrite, ammonia, and organic nitrogen

compounds which serve as food for specific bacteria (e.g., Nitrosomonas

and Nitrobacter).

3. Chemical reducing compounds, e.g., ferrous ion (Fe2+), sulfites (SO32-),

and sulfide (S2-) which are oxidized by dissolved oxygen.

For domestic sewage, nearly all oxygen demand is due to carbonaceous

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•
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•
 Mathematical Model for the BOD Curve
• It is desirable to represent the BOD curve by a mathematical model.
• The rate at which BOD is satisfied at any time, (i.e. the rate of
deoxygenation) depends on temperature and also on the amount and
nature of organic matter present in sewage at that time.
 CONT…
• Yt = L*(1-10^-KDt).

• This is an important equation. Yt is the oxygen absorbed in t days, i.e. BOD

of t days.

• The ultimate first stage BOD (Yu) would be obtained from the above

equation,

• Yu = L*(1-1/10^∞) = L

• Hence, the ultimate first state BOD (Yu) of a given sewage is equal to the

initial oxygen equivalent of the organic matter present in this sewage (L). This

is a fixed quantity, and does not depend upon the temperature of oxidation.

• The value of KD however, determines the speed of the BOD reaction, without

influencing the ultimate BOD.

 CONT…

The figure shows that the coefficient of deoxygenation is different at

different temperatures, but finally, Yu is constant.

It is found to vary with temperature of sewage, and this relationship is

approximately given by the equation

KD(T) = KD(200) ∗ 1.047T-20

KD is the De-oxygenation constant or the BOD rate constant (on base 10)

at the given temperature = 0.434K.

 CONT…
• Where, KD(20°) = Deoxygenation constant at 20°c. Its

numerical value varies between (0.05 to 0.2) per day depending

upon the nature of the organic matter present in sewage.

• Simple compounds such as sugars and starches are easily

utilized by the micro-organisms, and have a high KD rate, while

complex molecules such as phenols are difficult to assimilate

and hence have low KD values. Some typical KD values are

given in Table

• KD(T) = Deoxygenation constant at temperature Tºc.

 CONT…
• Typical values of KD at 20°c for various types of waters and

wastewaters.
Water type KD value per day
Tap waters < 0.05
Surface waters 0.05 - 0.1
Municipal wastewaters 0.1 - 0.15
Treated sewage effluents 0.05 - 0.1

• Example

The BODs of a wastewater is 150mg/l at 20°c. The k value is known to be

 Wastewater Treatment Standards
• Effluents from different establishments should be treated before being discharged to

receiving bodies so that it should be:

1. Free from materials and heat in quantities, concentrations or combinations which are

toxic or harmful to human, animal, aquatic life.

2. Free from anything that will settle in receiving waters forming putrescence or

otherwise objectionable sludge deposits, or that will adversely affect aquatic life.

3. Free from floating debris, oil, scum and other materials in amounts sufficient to be

noticeable in receiving waters;

4. Free from materials and heat that alone, or in combination with other materials will

produce color, turbidity, taste or odour in sufficient concentration to create a

nuisance or adversely affect aquatic life in receiving waters;

5. Free from nutrients in concentrations that create nuisance growths of aquatic weeds
 CONT…
• Environmental standards are developed to ensure that the impacts of
treated wastewater discharges into ambient waters are acceptable.
• Effluents discharged to receiving water bodies should achieved the
following minimum wastewater quality limits:
Parameters Effluent Limit
BOD5 20mg/l
TSS 30mg/l
Nitrates (as Nitrogen) 30mg/l
Phosphate 10mg/l
COD 100mg/l
pH 6–9
Faecal coliform 1000MPN/100ml
Residual chlorine 1.5mg/l
 Flow Sheets for Wastewater Treatment Systems

• The term "flow sheet" is used to describe a particular combination of unit

operations and processes used to achieve a specific treatment objective.

• Treatment schemes are often identified as primary, secondary, or advanced

(also known as tertiary).

• In primary treatment, a portion of the suspended solids and organic matter

is removed from the wastewater. This removal is usually accomplished with

physical operations such as screening and sedimentation. The effluent from

primary treatment will ordinarily contain considerable organic matter and

will have a relatively high BOD. The further treatment of the effluent from

primary treatment to remove the residual organic matter and suspended

material is known as secondary treatment.

 Cont…
• In general, biological processes employing microorganisms
are used to accomplish secondary treatment. The effluent from
secondary treatment usually has little BOD5 and suspended
solids and may contain several milligrams per liter of
dissolved oxygen.
• When required for water reuse or for the control of
eutrophication in receiving waters, advanced (tertiary)
treatment is used for the removal of suspended and dissolved
materials remaining after secondary treatment.