CIV 264 - Lecture
Introduction to Environmental Engineering
Kodwo Beedu Keelson Msc Env Eng
MODULE CONTENTS
Microbial Processes
Reactor Hydraulics
Water Quality Parameters
Microbial Processs
CONTENTS
Role of microorganisms
Biological conversions in treatment plants
Types of Microorganisms
Bacteria (most important in wastewater treatment)
Algae
Fungi
Protozoa
Role of Microorganisms
The removal of carbonaceous BOD, nitrogen, phosphorous
and the stabilization of organic matter are accomplished
biologically by using a variety of microorganisms, mainly
bacteria
The microorganisms convert the colloidal and dissolved
carbonaceous organic matter into cells, more or less
degraded organic compounds, various minerals and gases
The cells in the suspended sludge can be removed from the
treated liquid by gravity settling, because cells have a
specific gravity greater than that of water.
Energy and Carbon Sources for Microorganisms
Energy and carbon are both required for the
maintenance of the cell and for the synthesis of new
cellular material
Autotrophic organisms use inorganic carbon as carbon
source it is called autotrophic.
Heterotrophic organisms use organic carbon as carbon
source
Conversions in Biological Treatment Plants
Biological growth
Hydrolysis
Decay
Biological Growth
Bacteria are only able to utilize very small and simply
built molecules directly for growth
Acetic acid, ethanol, methanol, propionic acid, glucose
and ammonium, nitrate etc.
Bigger molecules have to be hydrolyzed first
Hydrolysis
Conversion of large molecules into small, directly
degradable molecules
The hydrolysis process is a slow process compared to
the biological growth process
Therefore, the hydrolysis will often be the rate-limiting
step in biological wastewater processes
Hydrolysis can be described as a first order process
Decay
Slowly biodegradable material is released and then
hydrolyzed to soluble substrate
Soluble substrate is used by the viable biomass for
growth, yielding new cell material
Decay of biomass is described as a first order process
with respect to the biomass concentration
Reactors
MODULE CONTENTS
Reaction Kinetics
Reactor Vessels
Reaction Kinetics
Zero Order Reaction Kinetics
Rate of reaction is independent of proportional to
the concentration of reactant
Occurs in reactions in which a catalyst comes into
plays a part
dC/dt = K
First Order Reaction Kinetics
Rate of reaction is proportional to the concentration
dC/dt = -Kc
k is the first order reaction rate constant (1/T)
c is the concentration (M/L3)
Reactions in water and wastewater treatment plants
are assumed to follow first order reaction kinetics
Second Order Reaction Kinetics
Reactions involving two species A and B
dCA/dt = -KCACB
dCB/dt = -KCACB
k is the second order reaction rate constant (L3/T.M)
Reaction Vessels
What is a reactor vessel?
Any natural water body or artificial tank or enclosure
that receives and discharges water
Biogeochemical transformations occur in reactors
such that the effluent has characteristics different
from the influent
Types of Reactor
Fully mixed tank
Plug-flow
Reactor Variables
Influent concentration (Cin)
Reactor volume (V)
Effluent concentration (C)
Flow rate (Q)
Residence time (tR)
Reactor liquid depth (D)
Reaction rate constant (k)
Dispersion factor (d)
Volumetric loading rate (v)
Surface loading rate (s)
Characteristics of Fully-mixed Tanks
Influent is mixed instantly and completely
Uniform concentration in tank = Concentration in outflow
Treatment Efficiency in Fully-mixed Tanks
Characteristics of Plug-flow Tanks
Long tank of small cross-section
There is little or no longitudinal mixing of the influent
Uniform concentration in tank is different from outflow
Treatment Efficiency in Plug-flow Tanks
Non-ideal Flow in Reactors
Short circuiting - density currents, wind-driven currents
can cause flow to go directly from inlet to outlet, by
passing much of the tank volume
Dead zones Short circuiting - density corners, stagnant
zones, swirling eddies are parts of tank not contributing
much to treatment, shortening effective detention time
Water Quality Parameters
MODULE CONTENTS
Physical Water Quality Parameters
Chemical Water Quality Parameters
Biological Water Quality Parameters
What is Water Quality?
The term water quality relates to all the constituents
of water including both dissolved substances and
any other substances carried by the water.
Water pollution may be defined as the presence in
water of impurities in such quantities and of such
nature as to impair the use of the water for a stated
purpose.
The concentration of the pollutant is given by the
expression c = Mass/Volume. usually expressed in
mg/L
Significance of water quality parameters
All receiving waters can assimilate wastes to some extent
depending on the natural selfpurification capacity
Water quality problems or issues arise when the pollutant
loads exceed this capacity
Water quality parameters makes it possible to assess
extent of water pollution and hence water/wastewater
treatment methods
3 types of water quality parameters physical, chemical,
biological
Physical Water Quality Parameters
Physical Water Quality Parameters
Physical
parameters
define
those
characteristics of water that respond to the
senses of sight, touch, taste, or smell.
Parameters that fall into this category include
suspended solids, colour, taste, odour,
temperature, turbidity
Categories of solids
Type of Solid
Size (m)
Specific Gravity
Gross
> 6000
0.9 1.2
Grit
> 150
2.6
Suspended
0.45
1.4 2.0
Dissolved
< 0.45
Gross solids and Grit
Gross sanitary solids also known as aesthetic, refractory or
intractable solids include faecal matter, toilet paper, sanitary
pads and condoms.
The particular concern about gross solids these solids is
their aesthetic impact when they are discharged into water
bodies.
Grit which is also called sewer sediment includes sand,
gravel and any other solids that have higher specific gravity
than organic biodegradable solids.
The problems associated with grit include partial or total
blockage of pipes which leads to a loss of hydraulic capacity.
Suspended and Dissolved solids
The total suspended solids (TSS) content is the organic and
inorganic solid matter which is maintained in suspension, and
retained when the sample is filtered (0.45 m pore size)
The retained filter material that can be volatized and burned
off when ignited at 500C is classified as volatile
Volatile solids, VS, are presumed to be organic matter and
fixed solids, FS, is the inert residue
The ratio of VS to FS, typically, 70%, is used to characterize
wastewater with respect to the amount of organic matter
present
Total suspended solids
The total suspended solids (TSS) is used
to measure the quality of wastewater
Turbidity
Turbidity is a measure of the light-transmitting
properties of water
Turbidity is used to indicate water quality with
respect to colloidal and residual suspended
matter
Turbid water is aesthetically displeasing
Turbidity measurements are usually made on
clean water
Colour
Pure water is colourless, but water in nature is often
coloured by foreign substances.
Water whose colour is partly due to suspended matter is
said to have apparent color.
Colour contributed by dissolved solids that remain after
removal of suspended matter is known as true colour
True colour may be measured in potable water analysis
Taste and Odour
The terms taste and odour are themselves definitive of
this parameter.
Substances that produce an odour in water will almost
invariably impart a taste.
However, there are many mineral substances that
produce a taste but no odour.
Odours produced by organic substances may pose more
than a problem of simple aesthetics, since some of those
substances may be carcinogenic.
The taste and odour parameter is associated with potable
water
Temperature
Temperature is not typically used to evaluate directly
either potable water or wastewater.
It is, however, one of the most important parameters in
natural surface-water systems.
The temperature of surface waters governs to a large
extent the biological species present and their rates of
activity.
Temperature also has a pronounced effect on solubility
of gases.
Wastewater is typically warmer than the local water
supply because of warm wash water and industrial
contributions
Chemical Water Quality Parameters
Chemical Water Quality Parameters
The chemical parameters refer to those parameters
associated with the solvent capabilities of water
Parameters that fall into this category include total
dissolved solids, alkalinity, hardness, organics and
nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus)
Total dissolved solids
This refers to the material remaining in water after
filtration for suspended solids analysis (0.45 m pore
size)
Dissolved solids may be organic or inorganic in nature
Dissolved solids may produce odour, taste and colour in
water
TDS is used in analysis of water and wastewater
Alkalinity
Alkalinity is defined as the quantity of ions in water that
will react to neutralise hydrogen ions
Alkalinity is the measure of the ability of water to
neutralise acids
Main constituents of alkalinity include hydroxides (OH-),
carbonates (CO32-), bicarbonates (HCO3-)
Alkalinity is used in analysis of natural waters to
determine buffering capacity
Hardness
Hardness is defined as the concentration of multivalent
metallic cations in solution
Hardness is classified as carbonate hardness and
noncarbonated hardness, depending upon the anions
with which it associates
Carbonate hardness in the hardness that is equivalent
to the alkalinity
Noncarbonated hardness refers to any hardness in
excess of the carbonated hardness
Analysis for hardness is made on natural waters and on
waters intended for potable supplies and certain
industrial uses
Organics
Organic compounds in water are unstable and are
readily oxidized either biologically or chemically
End products include such as carbon dioxide, nitrates,
sulphates and water
Decomposition of organic matter in wastewater by
micro-organisms consumes dissolved oxygen (DO)
An indirect indication of the amount of organic material
in wastewater can be derived from the BOD,COD, TOC
tests
Tests for Organics
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) - indicates the amount
of oxygen required by aerobic micro-organisms to
decompose the organic matter in a sample of water in a
defined time period e.g. 5 days
Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) measures the oxygen
equivalent of organic matter that can be oxidized by a string
oxidizing agent e.g. potassium dichromate
Total Organic Carbon (TOC) measures the total organic
content of a compound
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is an aquatic plant nutrient
Phosphorus can contribute to eutrophication and
reduction of dissolved oxygen
Phosphorus can be expressed as total, organic or
inorganic (ortho- and poly-) phosphorus
Most of the phosphorus occurring in wastewater is in
the inorganic form
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is also an aquatic plant nutrient that can
contribute to eutrophication and reduction of dissolved
oxygen
Nitrogen exists in four main forms: organic nitrogen,
ammonia nitrogen, nitrite and nitrate
The term total nitrogen is used to refer to the sum of all
these forms in a sample of wastewater
Organic and ammonia nitrogen make up most of the
total nitrogen in wastewater
Biological Water Quality Parameters
Biological Water Quality Parameters
This refers to those parameters associated with the absence
or presence of aquatic organisms in a given body of water
Aquatic organisms range in size and complexity from the
smallest single-cell microorganism to the largest fish
Based on their known tolerance for a given pollutant, certain
organisms can be used as indicators of the presence of
pollutants
A body of water hosting large numbers of species with well
balanced numbers of individuals (species-diversity) is
considered to be a healthy system
Pathogens present in aquatic environments are capable of
infecting, or transmitting diseases to humans
Types of Pathogens
Bacteria
Viruses
Protozoa
Helminths (worms)
Bacteria
Bacteria are single-celled
usually colorless
microorganisms,
Bacteria are the lowest form of life capable of
synthesizing protoplasm from the surrounding
environment
Gastrointestinal
disorders
are
common
symptoms of most diseases transmitted by
water-borne pathogenic bacteria.
Viruses
Viruses are the smallest biological structures known to
contain all the genetic information necessary for their own
production.
Viruses are only visible with aid of electronic microscopes
Viruses are obligate parasites that require a host in which
to live
Waterborne viral infections usually involve disorders of
the nervous system rather than of the gastrointestinal
tract
Protozoa
Protozoa are the lowest form of plant life
Protozoa are unicellular organisms more complex in
their functional activity than bacteria or viruses
Protozoa can be free-living or parasitic, pathogenic or
nonpathogenic
Protozoal infections are usually characterized by
gastrointestinal disorders of a milder form than those
associated with bacterial infections
Helminths
Helminth is a term used to describe parasitic worms
The life cycles of helminths, often involve two or
more animal hosts, one of which can be human
Water contamination may result from human or
animal waste that contains helminths.
Helminths pose hazards primarily to those persons
who come into direct contact with untreated water
Pathogen Indicators
Analysis of water of all the known pathogens would be
very time-consuming and expensive proposition
Tests for specific pathogens are usually made only
when there is a reason to suspect that those particular
organisms are present
At other times, the purity of water is checked using
indicator organisms
An indicator organism is one whose presence presumes
that contamination has occurred and suggests the
nature and extent of contaminant(s).
Microbiological indicator tests
Faecal coliforms (FC) - is an indicator of water
contamination with faecal matter. The common lead
indicator is the bacteria Escherichia coli or E. coli.
Total coliforms (TC) this encompasses faecal
coliforms as well as common soil microorganisms, and
is a broad indicator of possible water contamination.
Helminth analysis investigates the presence for worms
eggs in water.