Treated Effluent Disposal

The proper disposal of treatment plant effluent or reuse requirements is an essential

part of planning and designing wastewater treatment facilities. Different methods of
ultimate disposal of secondary effluents are discussed as follows.

Natural Evaporation

The process involves large impoundments with no discharge. Depending on the

climatic conditions large impoundments may be necessary if precipitation exceeds
evaporation. Therefore, considerations must be given to net evaporation, storage
requirements, and possible percolation and groundwater pollution. This method is
particularly beneficial where recovery of residues is desirable such as for disposal of
brines.

Groundwater Recharge

Methods for groundwater recharge include rapid infiltration by effluent application or

impoundment, intermittent percolation, and direct injection. In all cases risks for
groundwater pollution exists. Furthermore, direct injection implies high costs of
treating effluent and injection facilities.

Irrigation

Irrigation has been practiced primarily as a substitute for scarce natural waters or
sparse rainfall in arid areas. In most cases food chain crops (i.e. crops consumed by
humans and those animals whose products are consumed by humans) may not be
irrigated by effluent. However, field crops such as cotton, sugar beets, and crops for
seed production are grown with wastewater effluent.

Wastewater effluent has been used for watering parks, golf courses and highway
medians.

Recreational Lakes

The effluent from the secondary treatment facility is stored in a lagoon for
approximately 30 days. The effluent from the lagoon is chlorinated and then
percolated through an area of sand and gravel, through which it travels for
approximately 0.5 km and is collected in an interceptor trench. It is discharged into a
series of lakes used for swimming, boating and fishing.

Aquaculture

Aquaculture, or the production of aquatic organisms (both flora and fauna), has been
practiced for centuries primarily for production of food, fiber and fertilizer. Lagoons are
used for aquaculture, although artificial and natural wetlands are also being
considered. However, the uncontrolled spread of water hyacinths is itself a great
concern because the flora can clog waterways and ruin water bodies.
Municipal Uses

Technology is now available to treat wastewater to the extent that it will meet drinking
water quality standards. However, direct reuse of treated wastewater is practicable
only on an emergency basis. Many natural bodies of water that are used for municipal
water supply are also used for effluent disposal which is done to supplement the
natural water resources by reusing the effluent many times before it finally flows to the
sea.

Industrial Uses

Effluent has been successfully used as a cooling water or boiler feed water. Deciding
factors for effluent reuse by the industry include (1) availability of natural water, (2)
quality and quantity of effluent, and cost of processing, (3) pumping and transport cost
of effluent, and (4) industrial process water that does not involve public health
considerations.

Discharge into Natural Waters

Discharge into natural waters is the most common disposal practice. The self-
purification or assimilative capacity of natural waters is thus utilized to provide the
remaining treatment.
 
   
 

Disinfection

The purpose of disinfection in the treatment of wastewater is to substantially reduce the number
of microorganisms in the water to be discharged back into the environment and is almost always
the final step in the treatment process regardless of the level or type of treatment used.  The
effectiveness of disinfection depends on the quality of the water beign treated (e.g., cloudiness,
pH, ammonia content, etc.), the type of disinfection being used, the disinfectant dosage
(concentration and time), and other environmental variables.  Cloudy water will be treated less
successfully since solid matter can shield organisms.  Generally, short contact times, low doses,
and high flows all prevent effective disinfection.  Common methods of disinfection include
ozonation, chlorine, and ultraviolet light.

Chlorination remains the most common form of wastewater disinfection due to its low cost and
long-term history of effectiveness.  One disadvantage is that chlorination of residual organic
material can generate chlorinated-organic compounds that may be carcinogenic or harmful to
the environment.  Residual chlorine or chloramines (formed by the combination of chlorine and
ammonia) may also be capable of chlorinating organic material in the natural aquatic
environment.  Further, because residual chlorine is toxic to aquatic species, the treated effluent
must also be chemically dechlorinated adding to the complexity and cost of treatment.
Ultraviolet (UV) light can be used instead of chlorine.  Because no chemicals are used, the
treated water has no adverse effect on organisms that later consume it.  UV radiation causes
damage to the genetic structure of bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens making them
incapable of reproduction.  The key disadvantages of UV disinfection are the need for frequent
lamp maintenance and replacement, and the need for a highly treated effluent to ensure that the
target microorganisms are not shielded from the UV radiation.

Ozonation is also becoming a popular alternative to chlorine.  Ozone (O3) is generated by

passing oxygen (O2) through a high voltage potential resulting in a third oxygen atom becoming
attached and forming O3.  Ozone is very unstable and reactive and oxidizes most organic
material it comes in contact with thereby destroying many pathogenic microorganisms.  Ozone
is considered to be safer than chlorine because it is generated onsite as needed and does not
have to be stored.  Ozonation also produces fewer disinfection by-products.  A disadvantage of
ozone disinfection is the high cost of the ozone generation equipment and the requirements for
special operators.

Ozone is also useful at reducing the concentrations of iron, manganese, and sulfur by oxidizing
these metals in water to form insoluble metal oxides or elemental sulfur.  The insoluble particles
are then removed by filtration.  Ozonation is also effective at reducing or eliminating most taste
and odor problems.

Special nature of problem of industrial water

The wastewater from industries varies so greatly in both flow and pollutional strength. So, it is
impossible to assign fixed values to their constituents. In general, industrial wastewaters may
contain suspended, colloidal and dissolved (mineral and organic) solids. In addition, they may
be either excessively acid or alkaline and may contain high or low concentrations of colored
matter. These wastes may contain inert, organic or toxic materials and possibly pathogenic
bacteria. These wastes may be discharged into the sewer system provided they have no
adverse effect on treatment efficiency or undesirable effects on the sewer system. It may be
necessary to pretreat the wastes prior to release to the municipal system or it is necessary to a
fully treatment when the wastes will be discharged directly to surface or ground waters.

There are numerous problems associated with the operation of any activated sludge treatment plant and
these vary from site to site and process to process. It is true to say that when applied to the treatment of
industrial waste the problems and complexity increase. It is not only influenced by the actual incoming waste
stream but also the engineering of the plant, the skills and knowledge of the process manager and in
particular the operator - all can affect the final plant performance. The way in which a plant is operated can
result in poor effluent quality, over-expensive operation and premature investment in new plant. These three
main issues can result in additional expenditure. In some ways paying the fine on a process effluent excursion
can be the lowest cost option. However this option is politically more unacceptable and from the point of view
of a manufacturing industry could be suicidal, especially if the effluent excursion forces the closure of the
whole production facility.

Over-expensive operation can, in the case of industrially based waste treatment plants, be due to over-
aeration or excessive chemical addition - be it nutrient or hypochlorite to control bulking / foaming. In the
case of the former, attempts have been made to generate a formula for the addition of nutrients to feed
liquors which is in most cases based on the incoming volumetric flow and not the actual mass of 'biologically
oxidisable load'. Over-aeration can occur when 'too much' capacity is available resulting in excessive aerobic
oxidation taking place.
Premature capital expenditure is quite common and is often due to poor operating practice giving the
impression that the plant is under capacity. A poor sludge disposal policy can also contribute to this problem.
An example of this is when highly polluted decant liquor from the dewatering process is reintroduced into the
feed flow to the primary tank or into the activated sludge system direct. In the case of the former practice,
this can cause overloading of the primary tank and in some cases solublisation of the solid waste, thus further
increasing the organic load into the aeration system. If this solublisation creates readily-biodegradable
substrate then this can cause serious oxygen demand problems which can in turn generate Poly Phosphate
heterotrophic species which have the ability to take up a higher proportion of the added phosphorus nutrient
than expected. This phenomenon is well documented, but its significance to industrial treatment plant is not
fully appreciated by their operators.