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PH Enviromental > Waste Water > Flashcards

Waste Water Flashcards

1
Q

What is the Goal of Waste Water treatment?

A

improve the quality of wastewater to the point it can be discharged into a waterway without seriously disrupting the aquatic environment or causing human health problems in the form of waterborne disease

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2
Q

What is the Composition of Domestic Wastewater?

A
  • Primarily a combination of human feces, urine and “graywater”
  • water from various industries and businesses may also enter the system
  • people excrete 100-500 grams wet weight of feces and 1 to 1.3 liters of urine per person per day
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3
Q

What is “graywater” ?

A

water from washing, bathing and meal preparation

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4
Q

What is Domestic Raw Sewage?

A

In developing countries, on average, 90 to 95% of all domestic sewage and 75% of all industrial waste are discharged into a surface water’s without any treatment

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5
Q

What are Wastewater Pollutants?

A

Oxygen Demanding Substances:

  • organic matter and ammonia are broken down by bacteria if sufficient oxygen is present
  • however, this uses up precious oxygen needed to support aquatic life
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6
Q

What are some Sources of Waterwaste Pollutants?

A

human and animal waste, foo processing, paper mills

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7
Q

Name 2 types of Waterwaste Pollutants?

A

Pathogens and Nutrients

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8
Q

What are Pathogens?

A
  • bacteria, viruses, protozoa

- sources: human and animal waste

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9
Q

What are Nutrients?

A
  • carbon, phosphorous, nitrogen
  • excess nutrients overstimulates the growth of water plants, excessive growth blocks sunlight, depletes dissolved oxygen
  • sources: fertilizers
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10
Q

What are Toxic Chemicals?

A

Organic and inorganic:

  • detergents, cleaners, pesticides, metals
  • bacteria, viruses, protozoa
    sources: human and animal waste
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11
Q

Explain the Biological Components of Wastewater.

A
  • ingesting 1-10 norovirus can make you sick
  • a single 500 ml diarrhea stool can contain over 1 billion noroviruses (7 million per mL)
    - many ill individuals have 10-20 diarrheal stools per day
    - 20x10^9 = 2x10^10 20 billion virions from one sick individual in one day
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12
Q

Name 4 Chemical Components of Wastewater.

A
  1. Household and Industrial Chemicals
  2. Prescription Drugs
  3. Antibiotics
  4. Hormones
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13
Q

Name examples of Household and Industrial Chemicals.

A

detergents, plasticizers, flame retardants, insecticides, disinfectants, antimicrobials

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14
Q

Name examples of Prescription Drugs.

A

analgesic, antihypertensive, antidepressant, anti diabetic agent, heart-related

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15
Q

Name examples of Antibiotics.

A

tetracyclines, fluoroquinolones

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16
Q

Name examples of Hormones.

A

estradiols, testosterones, progesterone

17
Q

Explain Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD).

A
  • measurement of the amount of oxygen used by microorganism during the decomposition of organic material in a waste water sample
  • used as a measure of readily decomposable organic content of a wastewater
  • a major objective of wastewater treatment is the reduction of BOD
18
Q

What are Nutrients?

A
  • large amounts of nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorous are in sewage, industrial waste, and from fertilized land
  • Excessive nutrients, primarily phosphorous and nitrogen, can lead to excessive algal growth. Uncontrolled algal growth blocks sunlight and consumes dissolved oxygen.
19
Q

Name 4 Modern Wastewater Treatments.

A
  1. Preliminary Treatment
  2. Primary Treatment
  3. Secondary Treatment
  4. Tertiary Treatment
20
Q

What is Preliminary Treatment?

A
  • a physical process that involves the separation of large debris
  • preliminary stage aims to remove large materials ( wood, rocks, bottles, and even dead animals), which can be composted or shipped to landfills
  • screen or mesh
21
Q

What is Primary Treatment?

A

sedimentation to remove suspended particles

22
Q

What is Secondary Treatment?

A
  • a biological oxidation process that is carried out by microorganisms
  • secondary processing promotes microbial digestion of organic material that remain the sewage
  • up to 90% of organic material can be removed
23
Q

What is Tertiary Treatment?

A
  • a physiochemical process that removes turbidity caused by the presence of nutrients (e.g., nitrogen and phosphorous), dissolved organic matter, metals or pathogens
  • tertiary (high-level) processing is directed at removal of remaining solids and microorganisms from the liquid portion of sewage
  • various methods exist for high-level processing including filtration through sand and charcoal filters and deactivation of microorganisms (disinfection) by using chlorine or UV radiation
24
Q

What are the U.S. Sewage requirements?

A
  • most jurisdiction in the U.S. require that wastewater receives at least secondary treatment.
  • wart that has received only primary treatment is no t recommended for any use and generally needs secondary or tertiary treatment for common purposes such as landscape irrigation
25
Q

What are the Treatments of Wastewater Sludge?

A
  • Primary Anaerobic Digestion- Heat to 37 C, anaerobic acidophilic bacteria breakdown the organic materials into H2S and volatile acids.
  • Sludge Dewatering- increases solid content from 3% to 20% in belt press. “Filter cake” disposed of in landfill.
  • land applied as fertilizer
  • incinerated
26
Q

Explain Wastewater Infrastructure in the U.S.

A
  • there are approximately 19,500 sewer systems nationwide
  • these systems contain 500,000 miles of sewer lines designed to handle an average daily flow of roughly 36 billion gallons of raw sewage.
27
Q

What is Combined Sewer Overflows?

A
  • Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) contain not only storm water but also untreated human and industrial waste, toxic materials and debris.
  • can overflow during periods of heavy rain or snowmelt
28
Q

What are Sanitary Sewer Overflows?

A
  • Sanitary sewer system collect and transport sewage to a publicly owned treatment works
  • Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs):
    • leaking of raw sewage from wastewater pipeline or pumping stations prior to reaching a treatment facility
    • causes: severe weather, improper system operation and maintenance, and vandalism
29
Q

What does EPA have to say about Sanitary Sewer Overflows?

A

EPA estimates there are >40,000 SSOs each year. The untreated sewage from these overflows can contaminate our waters, causing serious water quality problems. Can also back up into basements, causing property damage and threatening public health.

30
Q

State the Magnitude of the Problem.

A

Sanitary sewer over flows (SSOs):

  • average of 143 breaks per 1,000 miles of sewer line (500,000 miles)= 71,500 SSOs each year.
  • EPA estimates that annually there are at least 400,000 basement backups
    - The cost of cleaning up a basement sewage spill has been estimated at between $700 and $4,000 (EPA 1999)
    - 280 million to 1.6 billion dollars per year
  • much of the nation’s sewage collection infrastructure is between 30 and 100 years old, placing them at increased risk for leaks, blockages and malfunctions due to deterioration
31
Q

Explain U.S. EPA National Water Quality Inventory (2004).

A
  • In 2002, 45% of rivers/ systems, 47% of lakes, and 32% of estuaries were too polluted to support fishing and swimming.
  • In 2004, 44% of rivers/streams, 64% lakes, 30% estuaries and bays were too polluted to support fishing and swimming.
32
Q

What is the Clean Water Act?

A
  • originally enacted in 1948
  • totally revised by amendments in 1972
  • goal of the ac is make all waters fishable and swimmable
33
Q

What are 2 major parts of the Clean Water Act?

A
  1. regulatory provisions that impose progressively more stringent requirements on industries and cities in order to meet the statutory goal of zero discharge of pollutants
  2. provisions that authorize federal financial assistance for municipal wastewater treatment construciton
34
Q

What are the Key Elements of Clean WAter Act?

A
  • regulates discharge of pollutants into U.S. waters
  • gave EPA authority to set Water Quality Standards
  • Conduct monitoring
  • made it unlawful to discharge any pollutants into water without a permit
35
Q

What are things you can do to reduce water pollution?

A
  • be aware that many chemicals commonly used around home are toxic. Select less-toxic alternatives whenever possible.
  • buy the chemicals only in the amount you expect to use, and apply them only as directed. More is not better.
  • take unwanted household chemicals to hazardous- waste collection centers; do not pour them down the drain.
  • never pour unwanted chemicals on the ground. Soil cannot purify most chemicals, and they could eventually contaminate runoff.
  • use low-phosphate or phosphate- free detergents
  • don’t wast your car in the driveway. Rather wash on the grass or go to a commercial carwash which treats the water before discharging.

PH Enviromental (10 decks)

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