The process of turning wastewater—water that is no longer required or appropriate for use—into bilge water that can be released back into the environment, is known as wastewater treatment. Several actions, such as bathing, washing, using the bathroom, and rainfall runoff, as well as industrial activities can cause it to occur.

Depending on the final use of the water, the precise method of treatment might take a variety of different forms. For instance, purifying water that is pumped into homes differs from treating wastewater in industries, so that it can be released back into the environment.

In one situation, the objective is to remove pollutants to stop them from entering the environment, whereas in the other, the objective is to ensure that the water that people consume and take bath in, is as pure and secure as possible.

Let us go through the 5 basic steps of wastewater treatment.

Treatment of wastewater

Even though not all wastewater is created equal, the cleaning procedure must be vigorous enough to remove pathogens, toxins, and heavy metals from even the most contaminated wastewater.

Although, the water must be treated in at least five steps, the required amount of intensive treatment to make wastewater acceptable to discharge into the environment is far less. The different steps involved in wastewater treatment are as follows:

1. Preliminary treatment

It includes screening. Incoming wastewater from the sewage system, referred to as influent, enters the plant several levels below ground. Wastewater is filtered by bar screens as it enters the plant to remove debris like leaves, twigs, and plastic bags, food wrappers, bottles, and sanitary wet wipes.

The trash and debris are gathered and transported by truck to landfills. The effluent from the screens is then pumped up to the facility’s surface level, by the main sewage pumps.

Machine and equipment issues persist if this step is not followed. Grit that is typically swept down into the sewer systems by rains, is removed using equipment that has been specially developed for the job.

2. Primary treatment

The macrobiotic solid materials must be separated from the wastewater in this process. The wastewater is first treated by being poured into large tanks, where the solids are allowed to settle to the surface.

Large scrappers are used to remove the sludge, or solid waste that collects at the surface of the tanks, push it to the centre of the cylinder-shaped tanks, and then pump it outside the tanks, for further processing.

After that, the residual water is pumped for further processing. The water flow slows down as it enters the principal settling tanks. From the surface of the tanks, the lighter solids that float, including oil and small pieces of plastic are removed.

3. Secondary treatment

The secondary treatment stage, adds seed sludge to the wastewater to guarantee that it is further broken down. In order to mix the wastewater and seed sludge, which is essentially a small amount of sludge, air is first fed into large aeration tanks.

This process promotes the growth of bacteria that use oxygen as well as other small microorganisms, which eat the residual organic matter. Large particles produced as a result of this process, collect in the bottom of the enormous tanks. The enormous tanks allows the effluent to pass through for 3-6 hours.

4. Tertiary treatment

This stage, which prepares wastewater for re-use, is comparable to the one utilized by drinking water treatment facilities. Up to 99 percent of the pollutants in the wastewater can be eliminated at the tertiary treatment stage. Because, it involves specialised equipment, highly qualified equipment operators, chemicals, and a consistent energy source, this process is unfortunately somewhat expensive.

In this step, sodium hypochlorite is added, a substance also included in home bleach, to disinfect cleaned-up wastewater and get rid of any lingering pathogens. UV, ozone and RO Plants are also utilized in this step of wastewater treatment. As a result, the effluent water can be then discharged into nearby waterways.

5. Advanced treatment

To further separate the water from the solid material after primary and secondary treatment, the sludge is thickened, and put into digesters, which are tanks that keep a low-oxygen environment at a temperature of about 98°F. The sludge is broken down by organisms that flourish in an anaerobic environment, and a large portion of the material is transformed into biogas, also known as methane gas.

The wastewater resource recovery facilities can generate heat and energy from the biogas, emitted during sludge digestion. It can be supplied to the community as renewable natural gas once it has been cleansed.

Get one of the best quality wastewater treatment plants from Netsol Water Solutions!

Wastewater treatment is a crucial aspect of environmental preservation that needs to be promoted on a global scale. Netsol Water Solutions provides the top and high-quality wastewater treatment plants, at affordable prices, as well as per the requirements of the industry.

For any other support, inquiries, or product purchases, call on +91-9650608473 or email at enquiry@netsolwater.com