Recycling and reusing sewage will do away with the need of employing fresh water. The degree to which the processes involved in wastewater treatment are cost effective and provide easy following will give a kick start to employing water treatment. Hence debating the processes occurring in sewage treatment and their comparable advantages and disadvantages, becomes relevant.

Like Sedimentation tanks, Septic tanks (Imhoff tanks) can maximise the continuous operation of eliminating solids from sewage water.

Designed by Karl Imhoff from Germany, an Imhoff tank is an amended septic tank in which the sewage flowing in may not be permitted to get blended with the sludge produced. Also, the outflowing effluent may not be permitted to transmit any large amount of the suspended particles as in the case of a septic tank, characteristicswise.

**Construction and Operational characteristics**

It is a double chamber tank. The chamber above may be referred to as the accumulation of gravel tank or flowing-through chamber, through which effluent emanates at a very low speed; the bottom chamber comprises the decomposing chamber where oxygenless or infected disintegration happens.

Solids in the sewage sink to the deepest part of the flowing-through chamber beyond the slanting lower walls (slope 5 vertical to 4 horizontal). They are made to fall in the bottom chamber past a narrow opening at the bottommost part of the upper chamber. The aperture is fitted with a covering extension by which the vapors formed in the lower chamber cannot enter the upper chamber.

A vapor outlet, also called, surface skin chamber is provided with the bottom chamber to take care of the gases moving to the surface. The chief gas is methane having a sizeable fuel value and hence may be gathered independently for use. To stop particles of sludge or scum from entering into the top chamber, the mire and scum must be maintained at an expanse of minimum 45 cm below and above the apertures, accordingly. The clear or zone free of obstructions is termed neutral zone.

The bottom chamber is made up of two or three cones turned upside down termed hoppers, with inclined sides (1 : 1) so as to concentrate the mud deep down in the hopper. The slush is evacuated intermittently through a sludge-pipe, the flow conforming to a fluid pressure of 1.2 to 1.8 m. All of the mud is not withdrawn, only the lower layers which are fully disintegrated. Some mud is kept behind to continue to keep the tank stocked with anaerobic bacteria.

To allow even spreading of subsided solids over all areas of the bottom chamber, so as to utilize the storage capacity to the greatest extent, plans for reversing the course along which the water flows throughout the tanks, are usually rendered.

**Merits**

Imhoff tanks combine the advantages of the septic and sedimentation tanks together and, as such find use in the case of limited size plants needing only initial treatment. They represent better economy and give good results in the absense of close attention and with least problems of getting rid of slush.

**Demerits**

(i) Installing the Imhoff tanks at greater depth spells lack of economy particularly where foundations are to be laid in rocky terrain or loose sands.

(ii) Imhoff tanks are unsuited to acidic wastewater

(iii) There is not sufficient control in their operation. This makes them unsuited for using in large size plants where distinct sludge digestion tanks are resorted to.

Author Bio:

Richard J. Runion is the President of Geostar Publishing & Services LLC. Rich loves net research & blogging. His new blog on Wastewater Treatment is fast becoming popular, as it is comprehensive and well-researched.

To learn all about wastewater treatment, click: http://www.all-about-wastewater-treatment.com .

Keywords: wastewater treatment, recycling wastwater, reusing wastwater, recycling and reusing wastewater, removing solids from wastewater, eliminating suspended solids from wastewater, Imhoff tank, Karl Imhoff

This has also been published as:

Major wastewater wastes and fineness factors:

The presence of contaminants in sewage is responsible for the reduction of water quality and therefore meddles with its use again. The occurrence of these pollutants also prevents the straightforward getting rid of wastewater into the surroundings because it reduces the purity of the surface soil and watertable. Primary wastewater pollutants are treatable organics, occurring in household and industrial wastes, and viruses existing in residential wastewater. Also included are solids suspended in water existing in storm, household and industrial wastewater, and nutrients found in domestic and agricultural wastewater.

Other pollutants are refractory organics e.g. phenols, surfactants and agricultural pesticides occurring in manufacturing and farming wastewater. Dense metals found in industrial wastewater, and inorganics in solution originating from increased water supply to domestic and/or industrial operations, also add their contribution. Organics which can be broken down by organisms bring about reduction of oxygen and building oxygenless conditions in receiving water bodies and land. Then, pathogens result in diseases spread through water. Solids in suspension lead to unsightly sludge deposits and propogation of anaerobic conditions in water bodies' sinks.

Nourishing ingredients cause growth of algae and consequent anaerobic conditions in surface waters and possible pollution of ground waters. Organics that remain stable at high temperatures may taste or smell bad, and may be poisonous or cancer causing. Then there is also the chance of biomagnification, or higher traces of toxins, in organisms higher up in the food chain. Metals, especially heavy ones, are poisonous to aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Excess inorganic salts in solution may debase the quality of the water resource pool, and interface with wastewater for reuse.

Wastewater topics is normally classified as Quality parameters, Tests, and Quality factors.

The physical parameters comprise:

# Temperature (which affects rates of chemical and biochemical reactions)

# Viscosity, or level of viscous nature (which affects efficiency of sedimentation of settleable solids)

# Solubility of gases

# Odor

# Color

# Solids

The physical factors or characteristics aid in determining the situation of residential wastewater, whether fresh or septic, and its earlier incarnations, for example, water table and/or industrial wastewater combined with household wastewater .

The quality from the chemical standpoint of wastewater containing chemicals can be appraised by testing for the existence of :

# pH

# Alkalinity

# Chlorides

# Various forms of nitrogen

# Phosphorous

# Sulfur

# Heavy metals

# Toxic substances

# Gases

All said and done, there are tests such as COD, TOC and BOD which are employed to enumerate the carbon content either directly or indirectly, as amount of oxygen consumed by organics. The BOD test, which is very prevalent, now, measures the biodegradable fraction of organic matter, uniquely. This is in spite of its drawback, that is, lengthy testing period - 5 days.

Strength:

The power of sewage is mostly based on the degree of dilution. The wastewater features can change a lot with hour of the day, day of the week, and local conditions and weather patterns, types of sewers, and seasons.

Author Bio:

Richard J. Runion is the President of Geostar Publishing & Services LLC. Rich loves net research & blogging. His new blog on Wastewater Treatment is fast becoming popular, as it is comprehensive and well-researched.

This has also been published as: wastewater treatment plant on Tumblr

Tainted water could be the source of four categories of diseases : water based, water related, water borne and

water washed.

Water borne diseases could get transmitted through contact with faeces or sputum. Relatively many are due to bacteria; these comprise typhoid and cholera. Still others originate from the phage virus or bacteriophages. Jaundice and hepatitis B belong to these. Yet others are the result of protozoans.

Amoebic meningo and amoebic dysentery are prominent instances of these.

Water borne diseases could be anticipated by one or the other: securing the quality of drinking water, or shunning usage of water from unclean sources.

There are also some diseases which may be typified as water washed diseases. These are passed from person to person, using water as the medium. Skin ailments, like conjunctivitis and leprosy rank among these. To stop the advance of water

washed diseases, you should make certain access to a reliable residential water supply source. And also augment the volume of water ready for use, for cleaning, washing, etc. such as to avoid usage of the same water by various

persons.

Liver fluke and guinea worm diseases appear among water based diseases. Curbing snail

populations, and filtering the water using a porous

woven fabric, so as to remove larvae, cyclops or snails will help avoid these ailments. That aside cleansing contaminated water with disinfectant may also be resorted to.

Water related diseases refer to those spread by vector organisms. Malaria, filaria and dengue fever occupy a front position among these. These can be prevented by exterminating breeding spots of insects. Also, you should try and decrease physically going near these sites, and use mosquito

repellants whilst asleep at night.

Diseases originating from organisms, emanating from tainted water include Dracunculiasis, which is a guinea worm infestation.

The disease affects adult persons, when fresh water crustaceans cyclops are in the primary stage of larva.

The indications of the disease include a burning or

stinging feeling felt by the person afflicted, prior to the coming into view of an eruption. The blister then bursts, and

an ulcer forms, when the afflicted portion of the skin is sprinkled with water. This happens when the female worm is

preparing for emitting larvae on the skin exterior. Throwing up and

nausea could also coincide with the first appearance of the blister.

Other diseases of biological origin channelled via contaminated water are Cholera and other vibrios, Typhoid and Paratyphoid,

Schistosomiasis, Giardiasis, and Cryptosporidiosis, and

Naegleria, illness caused due to cyanobacteria, and Cyclospora.

Then, the following diseases also originate from organisms

in polluted water : Campylobacterios, Escherichia coli, and Shigellosis (bacillany dysentery), Yersinia infections,

Plesiomonas infections, and Aeromonas infections, and Melioidosis, Legionnaire's disease, and Pseudomonas infections, (aerobic, nonspore forming, gram negative bacilli).

In addition, there occur some more diseases arising from organisms in contaminated water : Mycobacterial disease, Tularaemia, and Leptospirosis, Viral hepatitis, Viral gastroenteritis, and Helicobacter infections, and Enterovirus infections,

Poliomyelitis, and Adenoviral infections.

Among these, Schistosomiasis can be fatal sometimes, if Katayama fever, occurs within 4 to 6 weeks of being infected.

The harbingers include diarrhoea, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and anorexia, flatulence and bloating. In some cases, as with sickness caused due to cyanobacteria, skin eruptions are

generally observed. When afflicted with Cholera, kidney and heart failure occurs, due to critical removal of water from body tissue. Leprosy and

tuberculosis can originate from Mycobacterial disease. Viral hepatitis devolves as jaundice.

Author Bio:

To learn all about diseases caused by wastewater, click: http://www.all-about-wastewater-treatment.com .

Richard J. Runion is the President of Geostar Publishing & Services LLC. Rich loves net research & blogging. His new blog on Wastewater Treatment is fast becoming

popular, as it is comprehensive and well-researched.

Keywords: wastewater diseases, polluted water diseases, contaminated water diseases, diseases caused by wastewater, diseases originating from wastewater, wastewater

disease, polluted water disease, contaminated water disease, diseases caused by wastewater

This has also been published as:

There are some important things you must take into account before you begin wastewater treatment.

Acidity:

Can water be acidic in taste? Most natural water, domestic wastewater and many industrial wastewater are buffered by a carbon dioxide-bicarbonate system. Acid waters are of concern because of their corrosive characteristics and the expense involved in removing or controlling the corrosion-producing substances. Mineral acids are measured by titration to a pH of about 3.7.

Alkalinity:

When will the water be alkaline in taste? The alkalinity of natural water is primarily due to the salts of weak acids. Although, weak or strong bases may also contribute. Natural water contains appreciable amounts of carbonate and hydroxide alkalinity. Higher alkaline waters are usually unpalatable. Alkalinity is measured volumetrically by titration with N/50 or 0.020 NH2SO4.

Hardness:

Water is more often hard. Do you agree? Hardness is caused by metallic ions that are capable of reacting with soap to form a precipitate. Calcium bicarbonate, magnesium sulfate, strontium chloride, ferrous nitrate and manganese silicate are the major sources for hardness in wastewater. Hardness is determined using ethylene-di-amine tetra acetic acid (EDTA) or its sodium salts as the titrating agent.

Chloride:

Chloride is a major contributor to the 'total dissolved solids' in water/wastewater. The chloride content of water/wastewater increases as its mineral content increases. Chlorides at a concentration above 1000 mg/l give a salty taste, which is objectionable to many people. Chloride concentration of wastewater is estimated by Mohr's method using silver nitrate with potassium chromate as an indicator.

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD):

The strength of wastewater is judged by BOD. This is defined as the amount of oxygen required by bacteria while stabilizing the organics in wastewater under aerobic conditions, at a particular time and temperature. This can be referred as BOD5, which accounts for 70% of the total BOD. The measurement of BOD is based on the principle: determination of dissolved oxygen content of water/wastewater on the first day and dissolved oxygen content on the fifth day ('5' in BOD5 indicates this). The difference in dissolved oxygen concentrations between first day and fifth day is expressed as BOD of wastewater.

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD):

What does COD of wastewater mean? This reflects the concentration of organic compounds present in wastewater. This measures the total quantity of oxygen required for oxidation of organics into carbon dioxide and water. The oxidation of organics in wastewater is carried out by the action of strong oxidizing agents. Generally, acidified potassium dichromate is used as an oxidizing agent for the determination of COD. Silver sulfate is used as the catalyst for the oxidation of organics in wastewater during the determination of COD. Mercuric sulfate is added to control the interference of chloride in the estimation of COD. The method consists of adding a known concentration of potassium dichromate (added with silver sulfate and mercuric sulfate) into wastewater containing organic compounds to be oxidized in the heating condition. After oxidation, the excess potassium dichromate is back titrated with ferrous ammonium sulfate.

Importance of COD:

Estimation of COD expresses the total concentration of organics present in the waste water. This measures approximately the theoretical oxygen demand of wastewater. The determination accounts for about 95% of the organic concentration in wastewater. This forms about 1.43 times the BOD of wastewater. BOD to COD ratio reveals the treatability of wastewater. If the ratio of BOD/COD is above 0.5, the wastewater is considered to be highly biodegradable. If the ratio is less than 0.3, the wastewater is deemed to undergo a chemical treatment before the routine biological treatment.

Author Bio:

Richard J. Runion is the President of Geostar Publishing & Services LLC. Rich loves net research & blogging. His new blog on wastewater is fast becoming popular, as it is comprehensive and well-researched. Read his blog at: http://www.all-about-wastewater-treatment.com .

This has also been published as: BOD on Blogspot

It's not a widely published fact, but that's no reason why it should not be a widely acknowledged problem. The world's supply of fresh water is slowly running dry. Forty percent of the world's population is already reeling under the problem of scarcity.

Most of the diseases plaguing the world are water-borne. And while there is a child born every eight seconds in America, there is a life taken every eight seconds by some water-borne disease in other parts of the world.

Is it the lopsided distribution of fresh water that is causing climate change, or is it the climatic change that is causing this lopsided distribution? The fact is that there is a significant climate change, and as a consequence of this change, some regions are becoming drier while others are getting wetter. Some parts of the world are experiencing greater desertification, while others are suffering category 4 and 5 hurricanes.

According to the United Nations, water scarcity is amongst the most serious crises facing the world. And things are only getting worse.

Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan of the erstwhile USSR, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay, Argentina, Peru and Brazil in Latin America, parts of China and the Middle East especially Iran, and more than 25 countries of Africa are all suffering from varying degrees of desertification.

Global weather has gone awry. It is making poor countries poorer. Countries that are already facing drought and famine are getting less and less water. For how long can these countries run on dry?

Nowhere is the situation worse than in Africa. Almost 40 million people in 19 countries are facing imminent food shortage. Much of the livestock there will perish. The growing water shortage will make food scarcer, potable water less accessible and water-borne diseases even more rampant. And the number of people who will suffer all this is expected to touch more than 500 million by the 2025. And the global consequence: A greater dependence on international aid.

And this problem is not just limited to Africa. No one can tell which part of the globe will be next.

Blame this on nature. It's most convenient. But fact is, much of the blame belongs to increasing consumption and improper usage.

At every opportunity nature reminds us by what it does and what it doesn't, that it is one of the forces we have little control over. So there's no way we can stop the rain or start it. But what we can do is become more water-efficient - get more from every gallon of water. And the only way to do this is to recycle and reuse waste water. Water is the giver of life. It has no substitute. And every drop counts!

Many believe that the next world war is likely to be fought on the issue of water. Even though the world is two-thirds water, most of it is not potable, and much of it is not usable for any other purpose as well.

And we are busy consuming and contaminating whatever is left of it, as if it were a non-depletable resource. This article is one of several aimed at identifying ways to make the best use of water, an increasingly scarce resource, by recovering it from wastewater, whether we intend to reuse the water so recovered or let it just charge our ground water reserves.

This is aimed at a wide cross-section of people involved in taking corrective action across the world policy makers, administrators, municipal engineers & scientists, engineers & administrators in industries vested with the responsibility of wastewater treatment and management, industrial & residential property builders, academics, students and just about everyone who cares about posterity.

Author Bio:

Richard J. Runion is the President of Geostar Publishing & Services LLC. Rich loves net research & blogging. His new blog on Waste Water is fast becoming popular, as it is comprehensive and well-researched. Read his blog at: http://www.all-about-wastewater-treatment.com .

This has also been published as: Wastewater on Blogspot

Water as a chemical:

Pure water is a compound of hydrogen and oxygen. It is colorless, odorless and tasteless. It exists as liquid at ambient temperature.

Water - what it contains:

Water has both living and non-living organisms and substances in it. The living organisms can be further subdivided into macro- and micro- organisms. Macro organisms, which are biological, are those that are visible to the naked eye or can be seen through a microscope.

In contrast, microbiological micro-organisms are not visible even through a microscope.

Water quality criteria:

The quality of water is a function of several factors. These include its source, location, geological conditions, depth of water level, seasonal changes, domestic activity, agricultural activity, industrial activity, etc.

Excessive exploitation of natural resources and the use of technological advances with no concern for the ecology adversely affect air, water and land, alike.

The substances present in water can be classified as floating matter and suspended matter. Floating matter takes the form of leaves, twigs, dead organisms and algae. Examples of suspended matter present in water are silt, clay, decaying vegetable matter, bacteria, microorganisms, algae, insoluble iron, and manganese.

There are also dissolved impurities which include gases like carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, etc., as well as chemical substances, minerals and salts.

Water sources and water quality:

Water quality differs according to the source. For instance, the turbidity in surface water is usually high, while ground water and sub-soil water on river beds are colorless and clear. Again, sub-soil water and ground water are more likely to have totally dissolved solids than surface water. The presence of hardness, alkalinity, fluoride, chloride and nitrate are all more likely in ground water than in surface level or sub-soil water. Bacteria and organic matter are more likely to be found in surface level water than in ground or sub-soil water.

Water pollution:

Water is essential for living, just like air. One may live without air for a few minutes. But, without water, one is sure to die within a few days. We all know about air pollution. Water pollution is also the gift of modern man to posterity.

How water gets polluted:

Pollution of water sources is caused by sewage and sullage from human settlements, dumping of solid wastes, wastewater from industries, and chemicals in agriculture. When foreign materials harmful to us are added, the water is sure to get polluted. Two readily such foreign materials that come readily to mind are industrial waste and sewage from cities.

Why we need good water:

We need good water for drinking by humans and animals, supporting aquatic life, generating electric power, irrigating crops in fields, and recreation such as water-based sports.

Thus the need for wastewater treatment can never be overemphasized.

Author Bio:

Richard J. Runion is the President of Geostar Publishing & Services LLC. Rich loves net research & blogging. His new blog on wastewater is fast becoming popular, as it is comprehensive and well-researched. To know more about wastewater treatment, click here: http://www.all-about-wastewater-treatment.com .

This has also been published as: wastewater treatment on Wetpaint

Recycling and reuse of wastewater will do away with the need of using fresh water. The extent to which the processes involved in wastewater treatment are cost effective and easy to follow will act as an impetus. Hence discussing about the processes involved in wastewater treatment and their relative merits and demerits becomes pertinent.

Like Sedimentation tanks, Septic tanks (Imhoff tanks) can play a major role in the process of removing solids from wastewater.

Designed by Karl Imhoff of Germany, an Imhoff tank is an improved septic tank in which the incoming sewage or influent is not allowed to get mixed up with the sludge produced. Also, the outgoing sewage or effluent is not allowed to carry with it any large amount of the suspended matter as in the case of a septic tank.

**Construction and operational features**

It is a double chamber tank, the upper chamber is called the sedimentation tank or flowing-through chamber, through which sewage flows at a very low velocity; the lower chamber is the digestion chamber in which anaerobic or septic decomposition occurs.

Solids of the sewage settle to the bottom of the sedimentation chamber through the sloping bottom walls (slope 5 vertical to 4 horizontal). They are made to fall in the digestion chamber through an entrance slot at the lowest point of the sedimentation chamber. The slot is trapped or overlapped in such a way that the gases generated in the digestion chamber cannot enter the sedimentation chamber.

A gas vent, also called scum chamber is provided with the digestion chamber to take care of the gases escaping to the surface. The chief gas is methane (CH ) having a considerable fuel value and may, therefore, be separately collected for use. In order to prevent particles of sludge or scum from penetrating into the sedimentation chamber, the sludge and scum must be maintained at a distance of at least 45 cm below and above the slots respectively. The free or clear zone is called neutral zone.

The digestion chamber is made up of two or three inverted cones called hoppers with sides sloping (1 : 1) so as to concentrate the sludge at the bottom of the hopper. The sludge is removed periodically through sludge-pipe, the flow being under a hydrostatic pressure of 1.2 to 1.8 m. All the sludge is not removed, only the lower layers which are completely decomposed are withdrawn, leaving some sludge to keep the tank seeded with anaerobic bacteria.

To permit uniform distribution of settled solids throughout the length of the digestion chamber, so as to utilize the storage capacity in the greatest measure, arrangements for reversing the direction of flow through the tanks are commonly made.

**Merits**

Imhoff tanks combine the advantages of both the septic and sedimentation tanks and, as such find use in case of small treatment plants requiring only preliminary treatment. They have better economy and give good results without skilled attention with minimum problems of sludge disposal.

**Demerits**

(i) Greater depth means greater costs and especially where excavation is to be done in quick sand or solid rock, they become uneconomical. (ii) Unsuitable to acidic wastewater exists. (iii) There's no adequate control over their operation. This makes them unsuitable for use in large treatment plants where separate sludge digestion tanks are preferred.

Author Bio:

Richard J. Runion is the President of Geostar Publishing & Services LLC. Rich loves net research & blogging. His new blog on Wastewater Treatment is fast becoming popular, as it is comprehensive and well-researched. To learn all about waste water, click: http://www.all-about-wastewater-treatment.com .

This has also been published as: watertreatment processes on Wordpress