Wastewater characteristics

Nidal Mahmoud
Institute of Environmental and Water Studies,,
Birzeit University
nmahmoud@birzeit.edu

Ecological Sanitation Training Course

SWITCH PROJECT
IEWS, Birzeit University, 25-27 January 2011
Outline

• Introduction
• General characteristics
• Wastewater parameters
• Characteristics of domestic sewage
Introduction

• Whyy wastewater characterization

• Wastewater characteristics for a certain community
could change with time depending on technologies
available.
Introduction

• Water quality is described by a series of water quality

parameters
• A water quality parameter refers to a property of water
(such as color, taste, turbidity) or to the composition of
water.
• The composition of water can be expressed in the
concentration of individual compounds or it can be
expressed in the concentration of a group of related
compounds, such as Biochemical Oxygen Demand
(BOD), these are called lump parameters.
• Substances present in water are either in solid, liquid, or
gas form.
Introduction
Water Quality
Q y
Parameters
Physical parameters Chemical parameters Microbiological
parameters
TS COD coliform
lif
VS BOD
TSS Nkj-N
pH NH4-N
NH4 N
Turbidity NO3
conductivity PO4
SO4

Water analysis is essential in:

The design and operation of collection, treatment, and reuse facilities
To asses reactor performance
To comply with standards
others
Main components of wastewater characteristics
A distinction can
also be made
according to
particle size
(important in
water
treatment as
the required
treatment
process
d
dependsd on the
th
size of particles
to b e
removed; d alsol
in water
treatment).
 COD fractions

Raw sewage

Suspended COD
(CODss)
4.4 m paper-filtered sewage

Colloidal COD (CODcol)

0.45 m membrane filtered

Dissolved COD
sewage (CODdis)
Main components of wastewater characteristics
Physical- Chemical Importance
Parameters
________________ ___________________________________
1
1. Temperature oC Affects chemical reactions and reaction
rates. Low temperature affects bacterial
growth.

2. pH
Affects chemical biochemical reactions as
well as biological activities.

3. Turbidity Due to presence of colloidal matter. When

high SS concentration present in WWWW, it
could be resistant to removal when
treating under anaerobic conditions.
Main components of wastewater characteristics
Physical- Chemical Importance
Parameters
_______________ _____________________________
4. Suspended Solids Hydrolysis of suspended solids may be the
(SS) rate limiting step under anaerobic
conditions especially at low
temperatures. They also cause
disintegration of granular sludge and
results in lower methanogenic activity.

Affects
Aff t conversion
i kikinetics
ti off th
the suspended
d d
5. Particle size solids.
distribution
Main components
p of wastewater characteristics
Physical- Chemical Importance
Parameters
________________ ___________________________________
6. Polymeric They consist mainly of carbohydrates,
constituents
tit t proteins and lipids and should be
(COD) removed with treatment. They constitute
the main part of the COD of wastewater.
7. Refractory organics
These compounds tend to resist
conventional wastewater treatment.
T i l examples
Typical l are surfactants,
f t t
phenols and agricultural pesticides. The
presence of surfactants also affects
stabilization of colloids and the surface
properties of particles.
Main components of wastewater characteristics
Physical-
y Chemical Importance
p
Parameters
________________ ___________________________________
Organic and inorganic compounds selected
8. Priority pollutants on the basis of their known or suspected
carcinogenic, high acute toxicity. Many of
these compounds are found in
wastewater.

9. Sulphate High
Hi h concentration
t ti causes inhibition
i hibiti off
methanogenesis.

10. Chloride It may have an impact on the final use of

treated wastewater
Main components
p of wastewater characteristics
Physical- Chemical Importance
Parameters
________________ ___________________________________
Toxic to bacteria.
11. Heavy metals
I
Impactt on environment.
i t

12. Nutrients
12 N i
Important for biological treatment
Macro (N,P,K) and processes.
micronutrients

13. Biological
Includes pathogenic microorganisms, and all
Parameters
other
th organismsi participating
ti i ti ini
biological conversions.
Effect of Temperature

• Three ranges of temperature

• Effect of low temperature: low methanogenic activity;
low hydrolysis rate.
• Temperature has also a direct impact on the physical
chemical characteristics of the solids and solution,
including the ability to form a scum layer.
layer It also affects
the solubility of gases.
Effect of pH
• Many inhibitory substances for methanogenic bacteria are controlled
by pH. For example, organic acids are inhibitory to methanogenic
b t i only
bacteria l in
i the
th unionized
i i d form
f which
hi h is
i mainly
i l determined
d t i d by
b
the pH of the solution.

• Optimum
Optim m pH for
fo microorganisms
mic oo ganisms g
growth
o th

• pH optimum for hydrolysis of organic polymers

 Turbidity of wastewater

• Turbidity is an indication of the

clarity of a water
Light source

• Turbidity is as an optical
property
Slit
• Presence of colloidal particles.
Sample
Phototube
• Determination of colloidal
fraction
fraction.

• Colloidal p
particles in anaerobic Schematic diagram of a nephelometer
reactor.
 Turbidity of wastewater
Measurement
of gas production

Primary
effluent
ffl t
From: Mels ((2001))
Turbidity measurements are often
used to monitor the performance Turbidity measurement

of treatment works processes: on–

on R
Reactor
t

line measurement
with filter material Polymer dosing pump

Clarifier

Primary effluent

TSS, mg/l ≈ TSSfx T

TSS Sludge
discharge
Where, Influent
Coagulation Flocculation
mixing mixing
Sludge
discharge
TSS = total suspended solids,
Relation
mg/l 350
between
TSSf = factor used to convert 300
turbidity
D (> 0.45 µm)
turbidity readings to total 250
and
suspended solids, (mg/l 200

particulate
ti l t
Particulate COD

TSS)/NTU
150 y = 2.46x
R2 = 0.986
100 COD (>
T = turbidity, NTU 50
0.45 µm) as
found in the
0
0 25 50 75 100 125 150
NTU
jar test
experiments
Total Suspended Solids

• Definition: p
portion of solids retained on the
Whatman glass fiber filter, which has a
nominal size of about 1.58 µm

• Determination: Filtration, drying (105 °C),

weighing

• Problems with the test: sensitive to moisture

• Importance
p of the test: biological
g and
physical processes
Particle Size Distribution
There is no universal agreement on particle size distribution

Type of matter Particle size Type of matter Particle size

Suspended
p matter >1µ µm Suspended matter > 4.4 µm
Colloidal matter 0.001 – 1 µm Colloidal matter 0.45 – 4.4 µm
Dissolved (or soluble) <0.001 µm Dissolved (or soluble) <0.45 µm

Importance
• First step in biodegradation
process
• Treatment method
Sulphate concentration
• Sulphate reducing bacteria are able to oxidize part of the COD
present in the wastewater by utilizing sulphate as an electron
acceptor.

• When sulphate concentration is high, then sulphate reducing

bacteria will compete methanogenic bacteria and little CH4 is
produced.

• Sulphate reducing bacteria grow at a wide range off pH (5-9).

Sulphate reduction can not be controlled in anaerobic reactor except
when the SO4- concentration is limited. Fortunately, in domestic
sewage, sulphate
l h t concentration
t ti iis generally
ll low,
l for
f example,l 50-
50
200 mg/l.
Polymeric Constituents

• For domestic sewage, the percentage of each polymer may be

different from one community to another depending on the lifestyle
and standards of living of a society.

• Composition affects the biodegradation process as some polymers,

for example, carbohydrates are more readily biodegradable than
lipids.

• Organic pollutants in wastewater can be divided into easily

biodegradable materials and slowly biodegradable materials.
Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)
Theoretical oxygen demand (ThOD).
Organic matter: CnHaObNc
CnHaObNc+{n + a/4 –b/2 – 3c/4}O2 nCO2 + {a/2 – 3c/2}H2O +
cNH3

BOD: defined as the amount of oxygen required to oxidize organic

matter by microorganisms
g under aerobic conditions.
Priority Pollutants

• The EPA has identified approximately 129 priority pollutants (both

organic and inorganic substances), which are suspected to be
carcinogenic mutagenic or have high toxicity.
carcinogenic, toxicity

• Many of the organic priority pollutants are also classified as volatile

organic
i compounds.
d These
h compoundsd vary depending
d di on theh origin
i i
of wastewater.
Refractory organic compounds

• A typical example on refractory organic compounds is surfactants;

or surface active agents
agents.

• These are large

g molecules that are slightly
g y soluble in water and
cause foaming in wastewater treatment plants. They tend to collect
at the air water interface. During aeration of biogas production,
these compounds collect at the surface of gas bubbles causing a
very stable foam which difficult to remove.
Composition of domestic sewage for different
countries (Adopted from Mahmoud et al., 2003)
Parameter* Jordan Palestine Egypt The Netherlands Columbia, Cali
CODt 1183 1586 825 528 267
CODss 608 919 225
CODcol
CO co 174 274 156
56
CODdis 401 393 270 147 112
VFA-COD 104-177 160 55
NH4-N 80 80 26 48 17
Nkj-N 109 104 34 70 24
Total P 13 9 18 1
PO4-33 -P
P 13 4 14
Lipids-COD 443 302
Protein-COD 272 224
TSS 420 736 310 215
VSS 330 617 277 108
VSS/TSS 79 84 89 50
Temperature 16-24 8-20 25

* All parameters are in mg/l, except for temperature (o C), VSS/TSS ratio.
Biodegradability and Biodegradation rate of sewage

• Definition of NaOH
O 5%
10%
%

biodegradability Septum

• Procedure used for Serum bottle

determination with ca. 5 g

sludge COD
+ 1 ml NaOH solution = 1 ml of CH4 produced = 2.5
2 5 mg
COD degr aded
granular sludge
30°C
30 degr..
(1 g VSS)

• Determination of
biodegradation rates of 100%
90%

different polymers. 80%

graded part
70%
60%
50%

Biodeg
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 35.0 40.0 45.0 50.0

time (days)
Composition
p of wastewater (p
(polymeric
y constituents))
Average percentages of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins for the
two influents,
influents compared to data presented in literature.
literature

Values in brackets are percentages of TSS

Khirbit As- Abu-Nusier McInery, Elmitwalli,

Samra ((1988)) ((2001))

Carbohydrates 5 (21.8) 5 (15) (12.8) 9-17

P
Proteins
i 45 (28) 48 (27 1)
(27.1) 31 58
31-58
Lipids 23 (34) 31 (39) (34.4) ---
Biodegradability of wastewater

Biodegradability of the wastewaters

Time (day) 130 224
Khi bit As-Samra
Khirbit A S 56 1
56.1 78 4
78.4
Abu-Nusier 75.8 (8.6) ---
Wastewater Characteristics of Ramallah City, Al - Bireh City and Al-
Jalazoon refugee camp
Parameters # Samples Ramallah Al-Bireh Al-Jalazoon
Range AVR STD Range AVR STD Range AVR STD
COD Total 8 1518-3812 2180 663 1411-1844 1586 125 1092-1773 1489 251
Suspended 8 545 – 1925 1096 456 720-1209 919 157 518-990 725 153
Colloidal 8 107 525
107- 323 101 171 362
171-362 274 52.4
52 4 213 440 327
213-440 71 3
71.3
Dissolved 8 468-1482 761 297 280-464 393 62.3 258-613 438 113
Carboh. Total 5 100-231 178.4 52.6 99-166 131 22.8 59-155 93.5 32.7
Suspended 5 45-90 64.1 20.2 67-132 97.4 25.3 28-88 44.8 21.3
Colloidal 5 10-35 21.6 10 9-14 11.7 1.8 4-14 9.9 3.7
Dissolved 5 37-157 92.6 55.4 17-37 22.2 7.4 15-60 38.8 17.3
VFA as COD 2 175-199 187 12 155-162 160 3.1 100-145 123 25.4
Nkj as N 6 54-119 99.4 23.2 85-122 104 14.7 53-83 71 10
NH4+ as N 8 47-72 58 8.5 72-89 80.1 5 40-77 56.2 9.5
+
Proteins 388 224 139
Total PO4 as P 3 10-15 12.8 2.2 11-14 13 1.5 11-18 15 2.4
PO43- as P 5 6-17 12.4 3.8 8-15 12.9 2.6 8-14 11.9 2.4
SO42- as SO42- 4 474-2060 975 742 129-151 138 9.9 143-277 213 57
TSS 5 510-1096 729 197 610-824 736 67 408-1048 630 234
VSS 5 255 892
255-892 584 209 492 676
492-676 617 66.1
66 1 364 733 480
364-733 148
Settleable solids 7 4-105 43.5 41.1 8.5-13.5 10.9 2.2 1.2-8 2.9 2.4
pH 4 7.18-8.02 7.45 0.39 7.16-7.44 7.26 0.13 7.11-7.58 7.31 0.2
Tww Summer 8 26-40 30.9 3.19 24-27 25.8 0.67 20-25 23.4 1.52
Winter 4 12-13 13.13 0.63
Tamb. Summer 8 21-33 27.1 3.17
Winter 4 11-17 13.8 2.75
Biodegradability 2 46-49 47 1.4 34-40 36 3.2 32-35 33 1.5
Colour 8 Reddish to black Medium brown Light brown

All parameters have been measured in duplicate and their units are in mg/l except settleable solid in ml/l; wastewater temperatures (Tww)
and ambient temperature (Tamb) (o C); pH no unit; Biodegradability (%); Proteins mg COD/l
+Calculated
Percentages of hydrolysis and acidification of total COD and
acidification of dissolved COD and VSS/TSS and CODss/VSS ratios
for the sewage of Ramallah and AlAl-Bireh
Bireh cities and AL
AL-Jalazoon
Jalazoon
refugee camp-Palestine

Parameter
P t Ramallah
R ll h Al Bi
Birehh AL-Jalazoon
AL J l
Acidified fraction VFA/CODt 10 10 9
Acidified of dissolved VFA/CODdis 27 36 35
H d l d fraction
Hydrolysed f ti CODdi /CODt
CODdis/CODt 39 28 25
VSS/TSS 80 84 76
CODss/VSS 1.88 1.49 1.51
Percentages
P t off carbohydrates,
b h d t proteins
t i and
d VFA outt off ttotal
t l COD ffor
domestic/municipal wastewater of Ramallah, Al-Bireh cities and AL-
Jalazoon refugee camp-Palestine and Bennekom village-The Netherlands
Parameter Ramallah Al-Bireh AL-Jalazoon Bennekom-The Netherland
Carb-COD/CODt 8.8 8.9 6.7 12
P otein COD/CODt
Protein-COD/CODt 18 14 9 44
VFA/CODt 10 10 9 9
Sub total COD 36.8 32.9 24.7 65
Gray wastewater characteristics of 25 houses in Biet-Diko
and Bilien villages/Palestine
Item BOD5 COD pH EC TDS SVI TS TSS Cl- HCO3- NH4+ NO3- SO42- PO43- Ca2+ Mg2+ Na+ K+ FC
μs/ CFU/
Unit mg/l mg/l cm ppm ml/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l 100 ml

value 590 1270 6.6 1585 935 11.4 1780 1396 255 230 3.8 38 74 4.4 75 35 126 16 60