Waste water and sewage treatment

While many ancient civilisations had an appreciation of the need to protect

the quality of water to be used for human consumption, it was not
until 1855 that it was demonstrated that cholera was transmitted by water
contaminated by faeces. A similar route for typhoid fever was shortly to
be demonstrated. By the end of the nineteenth century, the microbial ecology
of many human diseases had been shown to have an anal oral route
of transmission, which finally confirmed the health hazards associated
with water contaminated with faeces. The introduction of sewage systems
in developed societies during the nineteenth century allowed, for the first
time, the possibility of treatment of municipal and industrial wastes before
discharging into natural water systems.
Growth in human populations has generally been matched by a concomitant
formation of a wider range of waste products, many of which
cause serious environmental pollution if they are allowed to accumulate
in the ecosystem. In rural communities recycling of human, animal and
vegetable wastes has been practised for centuries, providing in many cases
valuable fertilisers or fuel. However, it was also a source of disease to
humans and animals by residual pathogenicity of enteric (intestinal) bacteria.
In urban communities, where most of the deleterious wastes accumulate,
efficient waste collection and specific treatment processes have been
developed since it is impractical to discharge high volumes of waste into
natural land and waters. The introduction of these practices in the last
century was one of the main reasons for the spectacular improvement in
health and well-being in the developed countries.
Mainly by empirical means a variety of biological treatment systems
have been developed, ranging from cesspits, septic tanks and sewage farms
to gravel beds, percolating filters and activated sludge processes coupled
with anaerobic digestion. The primary aims of all of these systems or bioreactor
s
is to alleviate health hazards and to reduce the amount of biologically
oxidisable organic compounds, producing a final effluent or outflow
that can be discharged into the natural environment without any adverse
effects.
Such bioreactor assemblies rely on the metabolic versatility of mixed
microbial populations (microbial ecology) for their efficiency. The systems
in which they perform their biological functions can be likened to other
industrial bioreactors (e.g. antibiotic production); large-scale plants, for
example municipal forced aeration tanks (Fig. 7.2), can be extremely complex,
requiring the skills of the engineer and the microbiologist for successful
operation. The fundamental feature of these bioreactors is that they
contain a range of microorganisms with the overall metabolic capacity to
degrade most organic compounds entering the system.
The development of these systems was an early example of biotechnology.
Indeed, in volumetric terms biological treatment of domestic waste
waters and sewerage in the industrialised nations is by far the largestbiotechno
logical industry, and the least recognised by lay people. Controlled
use of microorganisms has led to the virtual elimination of such
waterborne diseases as typhoid, cholera and dysentery in these communities.
Yet, if water and sewage treatments are seriously interrupted, major
epidemics may quickly develop as witnessed in 1968 in Zermatt, Switzerland,
where typhoid developed following the breakdown of the water treatment
plant.
Thus, biotechnology not only generates a whole new range of useful
products, it also plays an indispensable part, through water and sewage
treatment processes, in the reduction of infectious diseases of humans and

animals.
The biological disposal of organic wastes is achieved in many ways
throughout the world.Awidely used practice for sewage treatment is shown
in Fig. 7.3. This complex but highly successful system involves a series of
three stages of primary and secondary processing followed by microbial
digestion. An optional tertiary stage involving chemical precipitation may
be included. The primary activity is to remove coarse particles and solubles
leaving the dissolved organic materials to be degraded or oxidised
by microorganisms in a highly aerated, open bioreactor. This secondary
process requires considerable energy input to drive the mechanical aerators
that actively mix the whole system, ensuring regular contact of the
microorganisms with the substrates and air. The microorganisms multiply
and form a biomass or sludge, which can either be removed and dumped, or
passed to an anaerobic digester (bioreactor) that will reduce the volume of
solids, the odour and the number of pathogenic microorganisms. A further
useful feature is the generation of methane or biogas, which can be used
as a fuel. However, the value of biogas is marginal because of its content of
carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide.
Another important means of degrading dilute organic liquid wastes is
the percolating or trickling filter bioreactor. In this system the liquid flows
over a series of surfaces, which may be stones, gravel, plastic sheets,
on which attached microbes remove organic matter for essential growth.
Excessive microbial growth can be a problem, creating blockages and loss
of biological activity. Such techniques are widely used in water purification
systems.
Abundant availability of water is vital for modern urban and industrial
development. Water makes up more than 70% of the human body
and about two litres a day is usually sufficient to keep an adult healthy.
Water acts as a transport medium for essential nutrients within the body,
helps to remove toxins and waste materials, stabilises body temperature
and performs a crucial part in the structure and function of the circulatory
system. In essence, water is the elixir of life. In the natural world the
ecosystem regenerates and recycles water. Increasingly, human intrusion
into nature by industrialisation, extensive farming practices, deforestation,
etc., has severely unbalanced this process. It is now accepted that
using clean water
two-thirds of the world s nations are water-stressed
faster than it is replenished in aquivers or rivers. Biotechnology will play an
important role for reclamation and purification of waste waters for re-use.
Water must be recycled in the sustainable use of resources. The most important
threat mankind faces in the coming decades is not global warming or
energy deficiency but an increasing shortage of high-quality water.
What are the future areas of importance? Microbiological effluent treatment
will be a major field of biotechnological interest in the future. Integrated
systems will be developed for treating complex wastes. The role of
the biocatalyst or microbe will be constantly reassessed. Biotechnologists
are now designing increasingly specific and efficient bioreactors to contain
selected consortia of microorganisms best adapted to a range of different
waste streams.
In countries with high annual hours of sunlight there has been considerable
development of combined algal/bacterial systems for waste and
water treatments. Such processes can lead to the formation of relatively
pure water and algal/bacterial biomass, which may be used for animal
feeding, biogas formation or, perhaps more ambitiously, for bulk organic
chemical formation.
A comparison of several widely used treatment processes for liquid
wastes is shown in Table 7.1, while Table 7.2 defines the various operating
components.
Water is now being recognised as an increasingly expensive component
of many industrial processes. Industries worldwide use vast quantities
of quality water in their manufacturing procedures, e.g. steel, textiles,

food, etc. For example, for each tonne of steel produced approximately 280
tonnes of water will be used. In the past many of these industries simply
discharged the waste water into water courses often resulting in extensive
down-river or estuarine pollution. Stringent anti-pollution laws together
with greatly increased water charges have prompted such companies to
develop new waste-water treatment systems that function in a closed-loop
manner.
Almost two-thirds of water consumption worldwide is utilised for agricultural
irrigation. In many cases where water is in short supply raw
domestic sewage is used, which invariably leads to crop contaminatio

ADVANTAGES OF WASTE WATER TREATMENT

High BOD removal efficiency.
Low operating costs.
Low operator skills required.
Sensitive to cold weather.
Activated sludge High BOD removal efficiency.
Moderate ground requirements.
Trickling filters Low operator costs.
Moderate space requirements. Resistant to sudden high inputs.