1. Running Head: WASTEWATER TREATMENT PROCESS
Wastewater treatment process
Introduction
The dirty water that often comes from our households, drainages of industrial companies, and
many other sources is what is referred to as wastewater or sewage water. In other words,
wastewater is the used water that is affected by domestic, industrial, and commercial use.
Wastewater includes substances such as oils, soaps, chemicals, and human waste. In the
households, it includes water from showers, sinks, toilets, bathtubs, and washing machines.
Some individuals assume that the rainwater that runs down the streets is fairly clean and this is
not the case. Storm runoffs consist of harmful substances such as wash-off roads and rooftops
that can harm lakes and rivers. Wastewater effluent is released to several environments including
ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, and oceans.
Wastewater and sewage treatment is the method by which used water or contaminated by nature
or humans is restored to a desirable quality and back to the environment for other uses.
According to (Englande et al., 2015) wastewater treatment could consist of biological, chemical,
and physical processes or a combination thereof, and water may be treated to any level of quality
and purity depending on the intended use, for example, drinking water, aquatic life, recreation
and quality of life, and irrigation. The overall goal of wastewater or sewage treatment is the
sustainable development of natural resources, including the protection of the environment and
human health so that we do not compromise the generations to come. The main objective of
wastewater or sewage treatment is to allow human and industrial effluents to be disposed of
without any danger to human health or damage to the natural environment. The purpose of this
article is to describe wastewater treatment processes predominately in use today. The
, 2 WASTEWATER TREATMENT PROCESS
conventional wastewater treatment processes include preliminary treatment, primary and
secondary and advanced treatments, disinfection, and effluent storage.
In the preliminary treatment, suspended impurities such as wood, metals, plastics, and rags have
to be removed since they interfere with the treatment process. The primary treatment consists of
mainly the sedimentation process to remove the organic solids and chemicals are often added to
remove colloidal solids. The effluent is often allowed to settle in a sedimentation tank. Primary
treatment removes approximately 60 percent of solids and 35 percent of oxygen-demanding
wastes (Cressler, n.d.). The sludge and filtration processes occur in the secondary treatment.
With the use of rice bran, the sludge process further removes the organic matter and BOD by 75-
95 percent. In the filtration process, the wastewater is passed over a soil profile or a bed of rocks
to remove finely divided suspended matter and 80-95 percent of BOD(Cressler, n.d.). Finally, in
the tertiary or advanced treatment, we use agricultural waste foe to eliminate pesticides, heavy
metals, and dyes. Coconut coir is often used as an absorbent for the removal of excess dye, Neem
bark for the elimination of heavy metals, and bamboo chips as an absorbent for the removal of
pesticides.
In a nutshell, the wastewater treatment process includes the following steps;
Step 1: Bar Screening and Pumping
At this step, the incoming wastewater or sewage goes through screening equipment, and objects
such as fragments of wood, rags, plastics, and grease are eliminated. These materials are then
washed, pressed, and disposed of in a landfill. In this stage, large objects from the influent are
removed to prevent damage to the facility’s equipment, including the pumps and valves. The
quality of water in this stage is dictated by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Clean
