industrial wastewater treatment

The Ultimate Guide to Biological Wastewater Treatment System

Introduction

Water is one of the most important natural sources for the survival of living organisms on this earth. Hence it is necessary to save water in any foam to serve humankind. As the consumption of water is increasing and the water level on the earth is going down day by day, it becomes significant to secure wastewater too.

In this way, wastewater treatment is a crucial decision taken by the human. However, the concept of a biological wastewater treatment system comes into the picture that follows the standard process of wastewater treatment through industrial and biological processes. Many industries also utilize wastewater for manufacturing and other industrial processes. Thus, it helps many industries save water for industrial wastewater treatment processes by recycling wastewater through standard biological wastewater treatment methods. 

What is Biological Wastewater Treatment?

Biological wastewater treatment is a significant step towards recycling wastewater to make it useful for drinking and other industrial processes. The process of biological wastewater treatment involves the use of microorganisms that break down organic elements and other wastes in water and remove them to make water reusable. The process of biological or industrial wastewater treatment may involve varied methods that can make wastewater free from organic elements.  

Methods of Biological Wastewater Treatment

The objective of biological wastewater treatment is based on the concept of removal of biological elements or organic wastes in the water. Organic wastes in water are green plants, vegetables, food wastes, and other non-hazardous wastes. The objective of biological wastewater treatment is only to remove all such biological wastes and purify water for other industrial as well as biological processes. To make this happen, there are varied standard wastewater treatment methods followed by industries such as:

1. Sequencing Batch Reactor: 

This is a batch process that involves the application of a “batch reactor” to treat wastewater and remove unwanted organic wastes or nitrogen and phosphorus to make water useable for other purposes. 

2. Activated Sludge: 

This process of wastewater treatment involves process of removal of microorganisms and biodegradable solids in water. This sort of water treatment takes place mainly in domestic and industrial wastewater treatment processes. 

3. Rotating Biological Contactor: 

This biological wastewater treatment involves the purification of primary filtered water through a fixed-film filter system. Using this method helps in removing biological wastes in water by rotating water through a purification film and extracting organic wastes too deeply. 

4. Anaerobic Digestion: 

This process of wastewater treatment uses anaerobic microorganisms to break down biodegradable and sewage wastes in water convert them into methane, and carbon dioxide, and finally remove them through the purification process. 

5. Aerobic Treatment: 

In this treatment, microorganisms utilize supplied oxygen to convert organic wastes in wastewater into useful carbon dioxide and biomass gas. Therefore, people can use these gases as fuel for domestic and industrial needs.

6. Membrane Bioreactor: 

As the name suggests, this process of wastewater treatment involves the use of some membranes to pass wastewater for ultra-filtration of biological wastes. 

Thus, above are some widely used methods for treating biological wastewater to convert it into useful water and other organic by-products as well as gasses. So, you can opt for any of such methods to recycle wastewater for generating beneficial organic elements. And pure water to utilize for industrial wastewater treatment and other domestic needs. 

Types of Components Used in Biological Wastewater Treatment

Different types of components and tools may be utilized during the biological wastewater treatment process to make it smooth, safe, and purposeful.

1. Primary Settling Tank: This tank is used for the collection of hard solids and organic matter mixed in wastewater. 

2. Secondary Settling Tank: In this tank, you can store suspended solids, microbial flocks, and other solids extracted from the wastewater. 

3. Aeration Tank: This tank is utilized to store and pass oxygen used for aerobic microbial processes to lower the intensity of organic pollutants in wastewater. 

4. Effluent Disinfection Unit: This unit is used to take place the process of water chlorination or UV irradiation to make treated wastewater disinfected before discharge.  

5. Sludge Treatment and Handling Units: This unit is utilized to treat sludge produced during wastewater treatment and extract it finally. 

Thus, the above components play a vital role in biological wastewater treatment by extracting organic pollutants, sludge, and other biological wastes from water. They safely and adequately carry out the extraction and water purification process to achieve the intended results.

Before you start any biological or industrial wastewater treatment, you need to consider some points as follows:

1. Design and Parameter Wastewater Treatment System

No matter what you do any chemical treatment of wastewater or following biological wastewater treatment for removing organic pollutants, you need a well-designed water treatment system to carry on the process safely and smoothly. Hence, you should carefully design and develop a wastewater treatment system with standard parameters to take place water treatment process. Some of the significant points you should consider while designing wastewater treatment systems are as follows:

  • Check with the Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT) of the System
  • Solid Retention Time (SRT)
  • Sludge Loading Rate
  • Oxygen Transfer Efficiency and Rate
  • Storing Capacity of Sludge and Solid Wastes Storage Tanks

Hence, you need to optimize the system concerning all the above parameters and design it well to make the wastewater treatment process go well and give the intended results. 

2. Operational and Maintenance Practice

You should not skip regular monitoring and maintenance of system parts and appliances to ensure they work efficiently to deliver a smooth flow of biological wastewater treatment results. If you find any technical flaws in the system or inefficiency of any part. You should replace it and recover the system by providing adequate maintenance to sustain the water treatment process soon. All in all, you need to take care of the whole system’s performance from time to time. And provide the necessary maintenance to prevent any disruption in the wastewater treatment process.

3. Environmental Effects

You should also analyze the impact of biological and chemical treatment of wastewater on the environment and its benefits too. There are varied types of organic wastes, water pollutants, and harmful extracts produced during the wastewater treatment process, which can pollute the environment. Hence, you need to do proper utilization of such extracts. And ensure they do not have any bad effect on the environment. 

4. Analyze Future Trends and Benefits

It is also necessary to analyze the future trends and the benefits of biological wastewater treatment. That can help humans fulfill their requirement for water and recycle wastewater to use it for industrial and domestic sectors. Identify the scope of improvement in wastewater treatment processes and develop new technologies. That can yield positive outcomes for biological wastewater treatment processes in industries.

These points form the ultimate guide to the biological wastewater treatment process. This enables humans to use wastewater through biological processes. And standard methods to extract organic wastes and convert water for drinking and other industrial wastewater treatment processes.