1. Introduction to Wastewater Treatment
Mark O. Liner, P.E.
Naturally Wallace Consulting

2. Wastewater Engineering
If I gave you a jar of this and said ….get it clean. What would you do?

3. How to go from A to B to C?
Treatment of Natural Gas Condensate

4. Reverse Engineering Glass of water and add:
Sand
Sugar
Salt
Oil
How do you make this water clean?

5. Design Steps Decision: Wastewater Treatment is Needed Basis of Design
Process Selection
Preliminary Design
Final Design

6. First Step: Basis of Design
Most important step of the project !!!
Foundation for all decisions
Dictates project $$$s
Changing the Basis of Design halfway thru the project is like changing ….

7. Basis of Design Data Flow Influent Characterization
Effluent Requirements
Miscellaneous Considerations

8. Flow – Measurement
Weirs
Flumes
Meters
Beware of chunks

9. Flow - Domestic
Usually predictable

10. Flow - Industrial
Usually unpredictable
Engineers want predictable

11. Flow - Equalization Hold and discharge Treat as it comes Treatment
Equalization best money spent
Gets you to steady state
Treatment
Equalization
Treat as it comes
Equalization
Treatment

12. Flow – Design Numbers Minimum and maximum hourly flow
For pipe/channel sizing
Average daily flow
For mass balance, chemical usage, and sludge production

13. Characterization - Analytes
Nitrogen
Phosphorus pH
Alkalinity
Metals
Bacteria/Algae
Solids
Total (TS)
Dissolved (TDS)
Suspended (TSS)
Organics
Biodegradable (BOD)
Chemically Oxidized (COD)
Volatile (VOC)
Oils (O&G, TPH)

14. Characterization - Table
Average plus one standard deviattion

15. Effluent Requirements
Typically set by government
Depends on disposal method
River
Groundwater
Land
Moving target ???
It pays to discuss and negotiate

16. Miscellaneous Site Constraints Climate Money Time Land Availability
Capital Costs
Operating Costs
Time
Start date
Project Life

17. Design Steps Decision: Wastewater Treatment is Needed Basis of Design
Process Selection
Preliminary Design
Final Design

18. Second Step: Process Selection
Given a Basis of Design, what is the best way to go from A to B to C???
Experience is crucial in this step
Engineer/Vendor dance

19. Process Selection

20. Process Selection Proof of Concept
Coffin Butte Landfill, Oregon
Pumped flow from leachate barrel, Masterflex peristaltic
Standpipe, unglued grease slip fit to elbow
Collection header same as underdrain
Distribution header same as underdrain
Inexpensive poly tank
44-gal, AES BT44
Recirc
Inexpensive poly tank
44-gal, AES BT44 bh
Masterflex peristaltic
Tank 1 bh
Tank 2 tu tu
Tank 3 To
drain tu bh
Tank 4 bh tu tu tu tu tu bh bh tu tu bh
Blocks tu tu tu tu
BOD Removal - passive
Nitrification /
Anammox – FBA
(aerated)
Nitrification /
Anammox - FBA
(aerated)
Graduated poly tank
55-gal with lid, AES T55
Denitrification /
metals removal

21. Process Selection – Pilot Plant

22. Process Selection – Primary Treatment
The lowly septic tank – the “greenest” wastewater treatment technology
No electricity…

23. System Selection – Primary Treatment
Solids removal
Screening
Grit Removal
Sedimentation
Floatation
Dissolved Air Floatation
Oil/Water Separator
Removing sand

24. System Selection – Biological Treatment
Soluble wastewater can not be removed as a solid
So, we have bacteria eat it and remove them
The trick is to create an environment for them to live and STAY

25. System Selection – Secondary Treatment

26. System Selection – Biological Treatment
Design Considerations
Aerobic and anaerobic bacteria
Periodic sludge removal
Solids separation to keep bacteria from flowing downstream
Nutrient requirements (industrial
Limits
30 mg/L Biochemical Oxygen Demand
30 mg/L Total Suspended Solids

27. System Selection – Tertiary Treatment
Filtration
Membrane
Sand
Carbon
Chemical Addition
pH Adjustment
Disinfection
Ultraviolet
Chemical

28. Design Steps Decision: Wastewater Treatment is Needed Basis of Design
Process Selection
Preliminary Design
Final Design

29. Preliminary Design Drawing set to build consensus Process Schematic
Site Plan
Hydraulics

30. Process Schematic

31. Site Plan

32. Hydraulic Profile

33. Design Steps Decision: Wastewater Treatment is Needed Basis of Design
Process Selection
Preliminary Design
Final Design

34. Final Design Selection and sizing of minor equipment Pumps and piping
Tanks
Instrumentation
Aeration Equipment
Concrete
Electrical

35. Coordination of All Disciplines

36. Final Design Communicate what is to be built to contractor
Basis of cost estimate for Owner and cost quote from contractor
Represents details from all disciplines

37. Thank You

38. Mark O. Liner, P.E. Naturally Wallace Consulting
Lagoon Technology
Mark O. Liner, P.E.
Naturally Wallace Consulting

39. Lagoon ??? More lagoon systems in the USA than any other system
Easy to build and maintain
Very little is written about them
Not much to say!!!

40. Types of Lagoons Anaerobic Facultative Polishing Partial Mix
Complete Mix
High Performance
Batch Reactor
Equalization/Storage
Evaporation/Cooling

41. Lagoon Applications Covered Agricultural Contaminated Stormwater
Lagoons are everywhere. Small towns, pig farms, paper mills, airports. Seems like everyone has one. Call it a pit, a pond,
Contaminated Stormwater
Mine Water Treatment
Advanced Domestic Wastewater

42. What is it??? Constructed basin Lined Water level control
Sludge Lagoon in Slovenia

43. What are they good for? What are lagoons good for? Solids Management
Removal and Storage
Oxidation of Organics (BOD)
Naturally
Mechanically
Hydraulic Equalization
Smooth out the peaks

44. How do you design??? Function related to design Water depth
Surface area
Detention time
Anaerobic Lagoon (6.0 meter deep)
Facultative Lagoon (1.5 meter deep)

45. Solids Removal What are solids? Sedimentation rate Organics (bacteria)
Inorganics (silt and sand)
Algae
Sedimentation rate
Wind/Turbulence
Type of solids
Concentration of solids

46. Settling Time

47. Sludge Accumulation
Settled solids undergo digestion and compaction over time
Rule of Thumb: 0.5 m3/m3/d sludge accumulation for domestic wastewater

48. Sludge Accumulation Plot

51. Algae Employed in facultative lagoons
Diurnal cycle cause fluctuations in
Dissolved oxygen pH
Solids
Measured by Chlorophyll Alpha test

52. Organics Removal
Simplified model assumes steady state complete-mix reactor
Equation:

53. Government Design

56. Advanced Design Linvil Rich Current Advanced Design Methods L. Rich
Grady and Daigger
Metcalf & Eddy
Performance Modeling by Biomass Growth
not BOD removal
Same Modeling Techniques That Are Used For Designing Conventional Sewage Plants
Linvil Rich

57. Theoretical Relationship

58. Anaerobic Lagoons Deep > 3 meter deep Covered Loading
Grease cap
Floating cover
Loading
0.04 – 0.30 kg-BOD/m3/d
Detention Time
1-50 Days

59. Aerobic Lagoons Taking oxygen in gas phase to water in liquid phase
Passive = ambient transfer
Active = mechanical
Floating Aerators
Blower and Diffusers

60. Aeration by Diffusers

61. How much oxygen?
Calculate mass of oxygen required for bacterial degradation AND digestion
Correct for field conditions

62. Mixing Lagoons have low solids Low energy/volume Large volumes!!!
1-2 W/m3 = rule of thumb

63. Short Circuiting

64. Short Circuiting

65. Civil Design
Site Soils and Water
Seal

66. Soils Testing for Lagoons
Minimum Requirements
Four borings per 0.5 acres
Depth to 10’ below design floor
One boring to 25’
Borings located at deepest excavation
Borings at borrow pits for nature and consistency
Vertical Separation
4’ between pond seal and maximum groundwater level
2’ separation permitted for synthetic liners

67. Lagoon Seals Percolation less than 1/16” per day at 6’ water depth
Soil seals shall be clay or include bentonite
Minimum thickness of 4”
Synthetic Seals
Greater than 30 mil thickness
Anchored at berm and vented
Empirical testing required to document compliance

68. Liner Systems Clay and Bentonite Soil Synthetic Clay Geomembrane
Asphalt/Concrete

69. Installation of Synthetic Liner

70. Boot Installation

71. Seam Testing

72. Water Balance Testing
Seepage rate must be less than 500 gallons per acre per day

73. Lagoon Equipment
Aeration
Covers
Baffles
Proprietary

74. Aeration Equipment
Floating Mechanical
Submerged Diffusers

75. Covers
Covers
Conserve heat
Control odors
Prevent algae

76. Baffles

77. Proprietary Systems Parkson – BioLac EDI – ATLAS Lemna – BTP
Nelson Environmental
EDI’s ATLAS
Internal Clarifier

78. Berm Failure

79. Berm Failure

80. Berm Inspection

81. Floating Liner

82. Liner vent

83. Whale of a Liner

84. Thank You