Week 6: Treatment Technologies Flashcards
List all the SW treatment processes.
(Most important shown in bold)
- Sedimentation
- Flotation
- Filtration
- Adsorption and ion exchange
- Flocculation or Precipitation
- Microbial degradation and conversion
- Bioaccumulation/uptake
- Inactivation
- UV degradation
- Volatilisation
- Chemical degradation/transformation
What pollutants might we remove by sedimentation?
- Suspended solids
- Metals
- Pathogens
- Anything bound to solids
What factors influence sedimentation?
- Velocity
- Energy
- Turbulence
- Particle Size
- Density
What might we remove by flotation?
- Hydrocarbons
- Plastics and microplastics
What factors influence flotation (reverse process of sedimentation)?
- Buoyancy (particle size and density)
- Velocity
- Energy
- Turbulence
What might we remove by filtration?
- Sediment/solids
- Some pathogens
What factors influence filtration?
- Size of filter pores/diameter of polllutants
- Depth of filter
- Angle of filter
- Fluid velocity
- Shape of particles
What might we remove by adsorption (binding to surface) + ion exchange?
- Metals
- Dissolved organics
- Phosphate
- Nitrogen species
What factors influence adsorption + ion exchange?
- Adsorbent material
- Chemical functional groups
- pH
- Contact time
What might we remove by flocculation & precipitation?
- Metals
- Colloidal particles (clays, organics)
- Phosphate
What factors influence flocculation and precipitation?
- pH
- Salinity
- Mixing
What might we move by microbial degradation?
- Organics
- Nitrogen
- Phosphate
- Metals
What factors influence microbial defgradation?
- pH
- Temperature
- Concentration
- Light
What might we remove by bioaccumulation/uptake?
- Nitrogen
- Phosphate
- Metals
- Organics
What factors influence bioaccumulation/uptake?
- Temperature
- Light
- Growth stage
- pH
What might we remove by inactivation?
- Pathogens
What factors influence inactivation?
- Time
- Light (UV)
- Temperature (colder is more effective)
What might we remove by UV degradation?
- Certain organic compounds
- Microplastics
- Pathogens
- Hydrocarbons may transform
What factors influence UV degradation?
- Sunlight
- Temperature
- pH
- Mixing/depth
What might we remove by volatilisation?
- Volatile organic carbon
- Ammonia
What factors influence volatilisation?
- Temperature
- Concentration
- pH
- Mixing depth
What might we remove with chemical degradation?
- Organic compounds
- Nitrogen species
What factors influence chemical degradation?
- Temperature
- Concetration
- pH
- Other chemicals
- Time (it is a slow process)
What are some pretreatment systems?
- Macro (or gross) pollutant traps
- Propietary sediment devices
- Swales
What are some soakage systems?
- Swales (soakage)
- Infiltration chambers
- Rain garden/biofilter/soakage basin
- Permeable pavement
What are some detention-type systems?
- Detention basins (wet ponds or dry basins)
- Retention basins (dry basins)
- Household rain tanks
What are some constructed wetland systems?
- Surface flow wetlands
- Subsurface flow wetlands
What are some building integrated systems?
- Green roofs
- Living walls
What are some proprietary filters?
Package designs usually combining sedimentation and filtration
- Jellyfish
- Storminater
- …
What are some considerations for selecting a treatment device?
- Cost
- Amenity
- Cultural and social alignment
- Target pollutant removal
- Robustness
- Size/land area/excavation
- Maintenance
- Flow
- Topography
- WT, bedrock, other constraints
Describe Te Taiao (Mana Whenua alignment).
The environment that surroudns us, comprising whenua, wai, ahurangi (climate across time) and koiora (all living communities - people, plants, animals).
Describe Kaitiakitanga (Mana Whenua alignment).
Guardianship and protection of the natural environment by mana whenua based on the Maori world view.
Describe Mauri tu (Mana Whenua alignment).
Protection and awareness of the life force within all matter. The connection between spiritual, physical and temporal realms.
What are the 3 levels of a treatment system?
Primary
Secondary
Tertiary
Outline the processes, pollutants and examples of primary treatment.
Processes:
- Hydraulic, physical processes resulting in screening and rapid sedimentation
Pollutants:
- Litter, coarse sediments
Examples:
- Catch pit inserts, filter strips, litter traps, sediment ponds
Outline the processes, pollutants and examples of secondary treatment.
Processes:
- Filtration resulting in fine particle and sediment removal.
Pollutants:
- Fine sediment and attached pollutants.
Examples:
- Swales, infiltration trenches, pervious pavement, bioretention devices.
Outline the processes, pollutants and examples of tertiary treatment.
Processes:
- Biological, chemical, thermal processes.
- Provide removal through enhanced sedimentation, biological uptake, adsorption to sediments, UV inactivation.
Pollutants:
- Nutrients, dissolved heavy metals, temperature, pathogens.
Examples:
- Bioretention devices, wetlands
Descibe macro pollutant traps.
Debris collection upstream of other treatment devices to collect:
- plastic waste
- rocks
- sticks/branches
- leaves/organic debris.
Physical treatment processes:
- straining
- sedimentation
- flotation
Gross Pollutant Traps (GPT), sumps and propriety sedimentation devices have good removal capability for …
- Sediment
- Oil and grease
What are swales?
Broad channels to slow water runoff and direct it towards further treatment devices. Typically vegetated to improve filtration of sediment and other pollutants, and slow water movement.
How do swales align with Mana Whenua?
- They are suitable for native grasses
- Vegetated swales with minimal maintenance (avoids machine mowing)
- Natural filtering of sediment is in line with principles of Taiao and kaitiakitanga
What are the advantages of swales?
- Simple construction and well-understood maintenance
- Can help to separate road traffic and pedestrians
- With suitable subsoil, can provide area for infiltration
- Use of rocks as check-dams can provide additional (minor) storage
What are the disadvantages of swales?
- Can pose danger to traffic pulling off road
- Occupies a signficant corridor of land
- Not suitable on steep slopes exceeding 8% or on geotechnically unstable ground
- Not suitable for extreme event management or volume control