Wastewater treatment plants

Samples from municipal wastewater treatment plants and samples of industrial discharges often are collected as 24-h composites. Samples are obtained using an automatic sampler that periodically removes individual grab samples. The volume of each sample increment and the frequency of sampling may be constant or may vary in response to changes in flow rate. 

Another important example of redox titrimetry that finds applications in both public health and environmental analyses is the determination of dissolved oxygen. In natural waters the level of dissolved O2 is important for two reasons it is the most readily available oxidant for the biological oxidation of inorganic and organic pollutants and it is necessary for the support of aquatic life. In wastewater treatment plants, the control of dissolved O2 is essential for the aerobic oxidation of waste materials. If the level of dissolved O2 falls below a critical value, aerobic bacteria are replaced by anaerobic bacteria, and the oxidation of organic waste produces undesirable gases such as CH4 and H2S. 

An estimate of the potential methane production possible from existing (ca 1992) municipal wastewater treatment plants that produce and use... 

Fig. 4. Schematic of a leather tanning faciUty fitted with a wastewater treatment plant. Treatment of the combined wastes using sulfide oxidation and waste effluent pH adjustment greatiy decreases the suspended soHds and BOD loading (3). Courtesy of Krieger Publishing Co.

Phenol can be oxidi2ed and hence removed, ie, to levels <20 / g/L, from wastewater (248). Moreover, addition of potassium permanganate to the return activated sludge results in reduction of odors issued from the aeration tanks of conventional activated sludge wastewater treatment plants without any change occurring to the microbiology of the system (249). 

Wastewater Treatment Plants. Numerous studies have shown that phthalates in wastewater systems are removed to a significant extent by treatment plants. The concentration of phthalates in both domestic and industrial wastewater was measured before and after treatment (55). The total level of phthalates in domestic effluent was reduced by treatment from 32.7 to 0.92 )-lg/L and in industrial effluent from 93.6 to 1.06 )-lg/L. Thus between 97 and 99% of the phthalates are removed from wastewater by treatment plants. 

These data together with those from wastewater treatment plants at Darmstadt, Germany Gothenburg and Stockholm, Sweden and Noord-Brabant, the Netherlands, show that the concentrations of DEHP, and in some cases total phthalates, entering wastewater treatment plants vary from 1 to 167 )-lg/L. After treatment the concentrations range from <1 to 36.8 )-lg/L. 

Comparison of these environmental compartment concentrations with the actual measurements made at a variety of locations show reasonable agreement but indicate that emission estimates are rather high. It is likely that the fault Hes with worst case estimates for losses from outdoor appHcations and the washing of PVC flooring. In addition a large proportion of the phthalates lost by these routes will not enter rivers because they will be removed by wastewater treatment plants. 

For water-soluble polymers, there is a weU-estabUshed disposal infrastmcture, with the widely available wastewater treatment plants, whereas plastics being developed for composting require large-scale implementation of a composting infrastmcture. This fact will certainly influence the rate of their acceptance. 

Other bacterial strains identified as biodegrading poly(vinyl alcohol) iaclude Flavobacterium (95) 2in.dFicinetobacter (96) and many others, as well as fungi, molds, and yeasts (97). Industrial evaluations at Du Pont (98) and Air Products (99) iadicate that over 90% of poly(vinyl alcohol) entering wastewater treatment plants is removed, and hence no environmental pollution is likely. 

In secondary wastewater treatment plants receiving silver thiosulfate complexes, microorganisms convert this complex predominately to silver sulfide and some metallic silver (see Wastes, INDUSTRIAL). These silver species are substantially removed from the treatment plant effluent at the settling step (47,48). Any silver entering municipal secondary treatment plants tends to bind quickly to sulfide ions present in the system and precipitate into the treatment plant sludge (49). Thus, silver discharged to secondary wastewater treatment plants or into natural waters is not present as the free silver ion but rather as a complexed or insoluble species. 

In the early years of ground water and soil remediation, pump and treat was the conventional technology. Contaminated ground water is pumped to the surface where it is treated and reinjected or discharged to surface waters or wastewater treatment plants. Reinjection maybe used to stimulate in situ... 

Recent air pollution regulations limit the amount of volatile organic carbon (VOC) that can be discharged from wastewater treatment plants. Benzene is a particular case in which air emission controls are required if the concentration of benzene in the influent wastewater exceeds 10 mg/L. 

Fig. 2. Typical flow sheet for a domestic wastewater treatment plant utilizing the activated-sludge process.

Roy F. Weston, Inc., Process Design Manualfor Upgrading Existing Wastewater Treatment Plants, prepared for U.S. EPA, technology transfer, program no. 17090 GNQ, 1971. 

M. Ramanathan and W. E. Vedey, Evaluation, Design and Startup of an Innovative and Cost-effective Wastewater Treatment Plant at Concord, New Hampshire, paper presented at the 36th Annual Meeting, Virginia Water Pollution Control Association, Inc., Charlottesville, Va., 1982. 

Because of large equipment and land requirements, capital costs for wastewater-treatment plants are high. A collection system that conveys both sanitary and storm flows must be designed to deal with high peak flows at the treatment plant detention basins are usually provided in order to smooth the flow into the plant and reduce the sudden peak flow. In the absence of such precautions, it may be necessary to by-pass a portion of the flow. 

Wastewater Treatment Plant Design, Manual of Practice No. < , Water Pollution Control Federation, Washington, D.C., 1977. 

A notable example of controlled water reuse was utilization of secondary sewage effluent from the Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant in Baltimore by the Sparrows Point Works of Bethlehem Steel (6). The Sparrows Point plant was suppHed primarily by weUs located near the brackish waters of Baltimore harbor. Increased draft on the weUs had led to saltwater intmsion. Water with chloride concentration as high as 10 mg/L is unsuitable for many steelmaking operations. Rollers, for example, are pitted by such waters. However, treated effluent from the Back River Plant can be used for some operations, such as coke quenching, and >4 x 10 m /d (10 gal/d) are piped 13 km to Sparrows Point. This arrangement has proved economical to both parties for >40 yr. 

Toxicity to fish is included in the data Hsted in Table 4. Marine life, particularly fish, may suffer damage from spills in lakes and streams. The chlorobenzenes, because they are denser than water, tend to sink to the bottom and may persist in the area for a long time. However, some data indicate that dissolved 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene can be biodegraded by microorganisms from wastewater treatment plants and also has a tendency to slowly dissipate from water by volatilization (34). 

In 1980, approximately 111,000 t of synthetic organic dyestuffs were produced in the United States alone. In addition, another 13,000 t were imported. The largest consumer of these dyes is the textile industry accounting for two-thirds of the market (246). Recent estimates indicate 12% of the synthetic textile dyes used yearly are lost to waste streams during dyestuff manufacturing and textile processing operations. Approximately 20% of these losses enter the environment through effluents from wastewater treatment plants (3). 

For Reactive Blue 19 [2580-78-1] (Cl 61200 its reactive form, the vinyl sulfone (5), was found in the effluents of a textile mill and a wastewater treatment plant. The hydrolysis product of the vinyl sulfone was detected only in the effluent of the textile mill (257). 

Metal ore concentrates Fine coal refuse Metal tailings Refinery sludges Wastewater treatment plant sludges Potable water treatment sludges Variable-volume filter press 46-55 81-93"... 

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