Effluent treatment industries has a lengthy process that includes four levels for water treatment. After these four level purification water becomes safe for environment. Water is an essential part of manufacturing industry processes and domestic use. Water is used as a coolant, solvent or in many other chemical based reactions in companies. After the manufacturing process is completed, wastewater is produced as a byproduct. This wastewater is then called effluent. It contains both toxic and non-toxic materials. Effluent cannot just be disposed to the environment because of the harmful material it contains.

Therefore, an effluent treatment plant comes into play. This is simply a procedure put in place to purify industrial wastewater in order to recycle it or dispose of it safely. Different companies have different wastewater composition and require slightly different effluent treatment plants.

Designing of Effluent Treatment Plant

As discussed above, each E.T.P has a different composition of wastewater which means that each E.T.P PLANT will have slightly different designs of E.T.P depending on the following
characteristics of wastewater.

1. Physical Parameters of the Wastewater:
a) Colour
b) The temperature of wastewater
c) Turbidity
d) Physical properties of wastewater include

2. Chemical Parameters
a) Inorganic substances present
b) Total dissolved solids
c) Hardness of water
d) Wastewater alkalinity
e) Nutrients available
f) Metals
g) Organic matter
h) Fluorides-
i) Dissolved oxygen and nitrogen
j) Chlorides
k) Pesticides and other agricultural chemicals

3. Biological Parameters

This is the presence of microbial pathogens in the wastewater. Consists of microscopic flora and fauna. Some species of microbial organisms can survive in wastewater. These pathogens can transmit dangerous diseases such as typhoid, cholera and dysentery.

a) Viruses- Wastewater may contain dangerous waterborne viruses such as yellow jaundice virus and the polio virus.
b) Bacteria- Can be harmful bacteria or safe to the environment.
c) Protozoa- Complex in their metabolic activity than most microbial organisms.

An ETP is therefore designed to remove the physical, chemical and biological materials present in the effluent. Depending on the level of treatment the wastewater requires, an ETP is divided into four different levels each designed to remove a certain type of material in the effluent.
There are four levels in wastewater treatment each level designed in a way that by the time the process is complete, the water to be disposed to the environment is as friendly as possible. These levels are

1. Preliminary level: Removal of physical waste present in the effluent. This level involves physical processes such as
sedimentation, filtration, aeration, flow equalization, clarification and screening.

2. Primary level: Removal of large solids and organic matter. It involves both physical and chemical processes. The same physical
processes mentioned in the first level are utilized. The chemical process involves the addition of certain chemicals to improve the quality of the wastewater. This chemical processes include chemical coagulation, pH control by addition of HCl or sodium carbonate, chemical precipitation, flocculation and dissolved air flotation.

3. Secondary level: Removal of biodegradable organic materials and suspended matter. This level uses biological and chemical
processes. The chemical processes are similar to level 2.
Biological processes involved are the suspended-growth process and the attached-growth/fixed-film process. The two biological processes can be used together or either one can be chosen.

4. Tertiary level: Removal of suspended and dissolved materials using the physical, chemical and biological process utilized together.

Effluent treatment plants are a critical part of the manufacturing industries and other wastewater treatment plants. They keep the environment safe from hazardous materials through strict treatment protocols.

What We Do x