CEE 421, Lecture #1

Municipal WW Management Systems

Sources of Processing at Wastewater

Wastewater the Source Collection

Transmission Treatment Reuse/Disposal

and Pumping
Elements of a WW Mgmt. System
Element Description
Sources Sources of WW in a community, such as
residences, commercial est., and industries
Processing at the Facilities for pretreatment or flow
equalization of WW before it is discharged
source to a collection system
Collection Facilities for collection of WW from
individual sources in a community
Transmission Facilities to pump and transport collected
WW to processing and treatment sites
Treatment Facilities for treatment of wastewater

Reuse/Disposal Facilities for reuse and disposal of treated

effluent and residual solids resulting from
treatment
1972: Federal Water Pollution Control Act

 PL 92-500 subsequently amended and now

called the Clean Water Act
– established water quality goals “fishable &
swimmable” and timetable
– established National Pollution Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES)
– construction grants for WW treatment
 required secondary treatment (30/30)
– 30 mg/L BOD5
– 30 mg/L TSS
Conventional WW Treatment
Primary
Preliminary Biological Process
Sedimentation
Treatment

Secondary
Sedimentation Sludge

Disinfection
Sludge
TYPICAL AERIAL VIEW
OF A WASTEWATER
TREATMENT
PLANT
Wastewater Treatment
 Primary – Removes Solids
 Physical Operations – Screening , Sedimentation

 Secondary – Removes Organics

 Biological and Chemical Operations

 Tertiary – Removes Nutrients

 Biological and Chemical Operations
Wastewater Characteristics (Table 3-1)
 Physical
– Temperature, Odor, Taste, Solids

 Chemical
– Organics, Inorganics

 Biological
– Animals, Plants, Microorganisms
Typical WW Characteristics
Parameter Conc.
BOD 250 mg/L
TSS 250 mg/L
COD 500 mg/L
Ammonia 30 mg/L
TOC 100 mg/L
Chloride + 50 mg/L
Solids: significance
 TDS: used as a measure of inorganic salt
content in drinking waters and natural
waters
 TSS: used to assess clarifier performance
 VSS: used to estimate bacterial populations
in wastewater treatment systems
Solids Analysis
TS Total Solids

Filtration
filtrate retained matter

TDS Total Dissolved Solids

TSS Total Suspended Solids

ignition

FSS Fixed S.S.

VSS Volatile S.S.

ODORS
 Gases produced by decomposition of
organic matter (Hydrogen Sulfide)
 Effect of odors: psychological stress,
nausea, vomiting, headaches, poor appetite,
deterioration of community, lower socio-
economic status etc.
 Classification of odors: See Table 3-5
Table 3-5 Odorous Compounds
Compound Odor Quality
Ammonia
Diamines Decayed Flesh
Hydrogen Sulfide Rotten Eggs
Mercaptans Decayed Cabbage, Skunk
Organic Sulfides Rotten Cabbage
Skatole Fecal Matter
Amines Fishy
Odor Characterization and Measurement
 Factors:Intensity, Character, Hedonics,
Detectability
 Methods: Sensory Method –Olfactometer
(Human Errors), Electronic Nose
 TON- Threshold Odor Number
 MDTOC – Minimum Detectable Threshold
Odor Concentration
Temperature
 Higher in wastewater than waster supply

 Mean annual temperature 10-21.1oC

 Effects reaction rates, chemical reactions,

suitability of the water for beneficial reuse,
solubility
Chemical Characteristics
 Organics and Inorganics

 Organic Matter 75% of Suspended Solids and

40% of the filterable solids are organic in nature
 Principal groups – proteins, carbohydrates, fats
and oils, surfactants, VOCs, Pesticides
 Priority Pollutants – 129 Compounds controlled
by USEPA
Oxygen Demand
 Itis a measure of the amount of “reduced”
organic matter in a water
 Relates to oxygen consumption in a river or
lake as a result of a pollution discharge
 Measured in several ways
– BOD - Biochemical Oxygen Demand
– COD - Chemical Oxygen Demand
– ThOD - Theoretical Oxygen Demand
ThOD
This is the total amount of oxygen required to completely oxidize a
known compound to CO2 and H2O. It is a theoretical calculation
that depends on simple stoichiometric principles. It can only be
calculated on compounds of known composition.

C6H12O6 + 6O2 = 6CO2 + 6H2O

If you have 100 mg/L of Glucose what is the ThOD in mg/L ?

BOD: A Bioassay

Briefly, the BOD test employs a

bacterial seed to catalyze the
oxidation of 300 mL of full-strength or
diluted wastewater. The strength of
the un-diluted wastewater is then
determined from the dilution factor
and the difference between the initial
D.O. and the final D.O.
BOD
BODt  DOi  DOf Bottle
BOD with dilution
When BOD>8mg/L

DO i - DO f
BOD t =
 Vs 
 
 Vb 

Where
BODt = biochemical oxygen demand at t days, [mg/L]
DOi = initial dissolved oxygen in the sample bottle,
[mg/L]
DOf = final dissolved oxygen in the sample bottle, [mg/L]
Vb = sample bottle volume, usually 300 or 250 mL, [mL]
Vs = sample volume, [mL]
BOD - Oxygen Consumption
y
NBOD
or

BOD
(mg/L) CBOD

Time
L=oxidizable carbonaceous material remaining to be oxidized

BODt  yt  Lo  Lt
BOD - loss of biodegradable
organic matter (oxygen demand)
Lo
L or BOD remaining

Lt Lo-Lt = BODt

Time

BOD BOD BOD BOD BOD

Bottle Bottle Bottle Bottle Bottle
BOD Modeling
"L" is modelled as a simple 1st order decay: dL
  k1 L
dt
Which leads to:  k1t
L  Lo e

And combining with: BODt  yt  Lo  Lt

We get: BODt  yt  Lo (1  e  k1t )

Temperature Effects
Temperature Dependence
 Chemist's Approach: Arrhenius Equation
d (ln k ) Ea

dTa RTa2
Ea ( Ta 293)/ RTa 293
kTa  k293o K e
 Engineer's Approach:

k T  k 20o C T  20o C
NBOD
Nitrogeneous BOD (NBOD)
 
NH3  15
. O2 
 NO  H2 O  H
Nitrosomonas
2

1

NO  O2  NO3
Nitrobacter
2
2
2 moles oxygen/1 mole of ammonia
4.57 grams oxygen/gram ammonia-nitrogen

Like CBOD, the NBOD can be modeled as a simple 1st

order decay:
N
dL
 k N LN
dt
 COD: A chemical test
The chemical oxygen demand
(COD) of a waste is measured in
terms of the amount of potassium
dichromate (K2Cr2O7) reduced by the
sample during 2 hr of reflux in a
medium of boiling, 50% H2SO4 and in
the presence of a Ag2SO4 catalyst.
COD (cont.)
The stoichiometry of the reaction between
dichromate and organic matter is:
2  3  a
Cn Ha Ob  Cr2 O  8H  nCO2  2 Cr   4    H2 O
7
 2
2n a b
Where:   
3 6 3
• COD test is faster than BOD analysis: used for quick
assessment of wastewater strength and treatment
performance
• Like the BOD, it does not measure oxidant demand due to
nitrogeneous species
• It does not distinguish between biodegradable and non-
biodegradable organic matter. As a result COD's are
Organic Content
 TOC: total organic carbon
– measured with a TOC analyzer
– related to oxygen demand, but does not reflect
the oxidation state of the organic matter
 other group parameters
– oil & grease
 specific organic compounds
 Organic Carbon Fractions
Total Carbon (TC)
| .
| |
Inorganic Carbon (IC) Total Organic Carbon (TOC)
| | .
| | | |
Purgeable Non-Purgeable Purgeable Organic Non-purgeable Organic
(Dissolved) (Particulate) Carbon (POC) Carbon (NPOC)
| .
| |
Particulate Dissolved
(PtOC) (DOC)
TOC
Total organic carbon analysis is a determination of
organic carbon in a sample regardless of its oxidation state or
biodegradability. Other measures of total organic matter (e.g.,
COD, BOD) may respond differently to solutions of equal
carbon concentration depending on the oxygen content or the
bidegradation kinetics. For the measurement of total organic
carbon, the sample is exposed to an oxidizing environment
often at very high temperatures. With complete oxidation all
carbon is converted to carbon dioxide and swept into a detector
by the carrier gas. The oxidation process is based on the
following stoichiometry:
b d b c
Ca Hb N c Od  (a   )O2  aCO2  H2 O  N 2
4 2 2 2
TOC - Pyrolysis Instrument
Syringe
Sample Inlet

Furnace CO2 Detector Recorder

Condensor

O2
TOC - UV/persulfate Instrument
Syringe

Sample
CO2 Detector Recorder
Inlet

Condensor

UV Reactor
O2

Persulfate
Solution
TOC - The CO2 Detector
Sensing Demodulator
Chopper Cell Amplifier

IR
Reference

Source
Sample

In Out

A non-dispersive infra-red analyzer (NDIR)