Effective Processes to Treat Wastewater

Olivia Smith, Utilities Tech Outlook | Thursday, February 25, 2021

One of the key methods for physical wastewater treatment is sedimentation, which is a method for suspending insoluble/heavy particles from wastewater. Once the insoluble substance is settled down at the bottom, the clear water can be isolated.

Fremont, CA: Today’s modern lifestyle allows people the luxury of using a range of products to make our lives simpler and more comfortable, but it comes at a price. A typical by-product of our current lifestyle is wastewater, which can be either in the form of water flowing down the shower or runoff from wet roads. This wastewater is not appropriate for human use or use.

Fortunately, we can make wastewater potable and accessible by using wastewater treatment systems that process and treat wastewater by eliminating pollutants such as sewage and chemicals.

Physical water treatment, biological water treatment, chemical treatment and sludge treatment are four common methods to treat wastewater. Let us learn more about these processes in depth.

Physical Treatment of Water

Physical techniques are used at this point to clean up the wastewater. Processes such as screening, sedimentation and skimming are used to remove solids. There are no chemicals involved in this process.

One of the key methods for physical wastewater treatment is sedimentation, which is a method for suspending insoluble/heavy particles from wastewater. Once the insoluble substance is settled down at the bottom, the clear water can be isolated.

Aeration is another important method for physical water treatment. This method consists of pumping air through the water to supply it with oxygen. Filtration, the third process, is used for flushing out all pollutants. One may use special types of filters to move the wastewater and isolate the pollutants and insoluble particles in the wastewater. The sand filter is the most widely used filter. The fat contained on the surface of some wastewater can also be easily extracted by this process.

Biological Treatment of Water

This uses a range of biological processes to break down the organic matter found in wastewater, such as soap, human waste, oil and fruit. Microorganisms metabolize organic matter in wastewater during biological treatment. It can be subdivided into three categories:

• Aerobic Processes: Bacteria decomposes organic matter and transforms it to carbon dioxide that can be utilized by plants. Oxygen is used for this process.

• Anaerobic Processes: fermentation is used here to ferment waste at a particular temperature. Oxygen is not used in anaerobic systems.