Sewage treatment

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of

removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff (effluents) and
domestic. It includes physical, chemical and biological processes to remove physical,
chemical and biological contaminants. Its objective is to produce a waste stream (or
treated effluent) and a solid waste or sludge suitable for discharge or reuse back into the
environment. This material is often inadvertently contaminated with many toxic organic and
inorganic compounds.

Sewage is created by residences, institutions, hospitals and commercial and industrial

establishments. It can be treated close to where it is created (in septic
tanks, biofilters or aerobic treatment systems), or collected and transported via a network of
pipes and pump stations to a municipal treatment plant (see sewerage and pipes and
infrastructure). Sewage collection and treatment is typically subject to local, state and
federal regulations and standards. Industrial sources of wastewater often require specialized
treatment processes (see Industrial wastewater treatment).

The sewage treatment involves three stages, called primary, secondary and tertiary
treatment. First, the solids are separated from the wastewater stream. Then dissolved
biological matter is progressively converted into a solid mass by using indigenous, water-
borne micro-organisms. Finally, the biological solids are neutralized then disposed of or re-
used, and the treated water may be disinfected chemically or physically (for example by
lagoons and micro-filtration). The final effluent can be discharged into
a stream, river, bay, lagoon or wetland, or it can be used for the irrigation of a golf course,
green way or park. If it is sufficiently clean, it can also be used for groundwater recharge or
agricultural purposes.

Contents
[hide]

• 1 Description

○ 1.1 Primary treatment

 1.1.1 Removal of large objects from influent sewage

 1.1.2 Sedimentation
○ 1.2 Secondary treatment
  1.2.1 Activated sludge

 1.2.2 Surface-aerated basins

 1.2.3 Fluidized bed reactors

 1.2.4 Filter beds (oxidizing beds)

 1.2.5 Biological aerated filters

 1.2.6 Membrane bioreactors

 1.2.7 Secondary sedimentation

 1.2.8 Rotating biological contactors

○ 1.3 Tertiary treatment

 1.3.1 Filtration

 1.3.2 Lagooning

 1.3.3 Constructed wetlands

 1.3.4 Nutrient removal

 1.3.4.1 Nitrogen removal

 1.3.4.2 Phosphorus removal

○ 1.4 Disinfection

• 2 Package plants and batch reactors

• 3 Sludge treatment and disposal

○ 3.1 Anaerobic digestion

○ 3.2 Aerobic digestion

○ 3.3 Composting

○ 3.4 Sludge disposal

• 4 Treatment in the receiving environment

• 5 Sewage treatment in developing countries

○ 5.1 Benefits of wastewater treatment compared to benefits of sewage collection in

developing countries
• 6 See also

• 7 References
 • 8 External links
[edit]Description

Raw influent (sewage) includes household waste liquid

from toilets, baths, showers, kitchens, sinks, and so forth that is disposed of via sewers. In
many areas, sewage also includes liquid waste from industry and commerce. The draining of
household waste into greywater and blackwater is becoming more common in the
developed world, with greywater being permitted to be used for watering plants or recycled
for flushing toilets. A lot of sewage also includes some surface water from roofs or hard-
standing areas. Municipal wastewater therefore includes residential, commercial, and
industrial liquid waste discharges, and may include stormwater runoff. Sewage systems
capable of handling stormwater are known as combined systems orcombined sewers. Such
systems are usually avoided since they complicate and thereby reduce the efficiency of
sewage treatment plants owing to their seasonality. The variability in flow also leads to often
larger than necessary, and subsequently more expensive, treatment facilities. In addition,
heavy storms that contribute more flows than the treatment plant can handle may
overwhelm the sewage treatment system, causing a spill or overflow (called a combined
sewer overflow, or CSO, in the United States). It is preferable to have a separate storm
drainsystem for stormwater in areas that are developed with sewer systems.

As rainfall runs over the surface of roofs and the ground, it may pick up various
contaminants including soil particles and other sediment, heavy metals, organic
compounds, animal waste, and oil and grease. Some jurisdictions require stormwater to
receive some level of treatment before being discharged directly into waterways. Examples
of treatment processes used for stormwater include sedimentation basins, wetlands, buried
concrete vaults with various kinds of filters, and vortex separators (to remove coarse solids).

The site where the raw wastewater is processed before it is discharged back to the
environment is called a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The order and types of
mechanical, chemical and biological systems that comprise the wastewater treatment plant
are typically the same for most developed countries:

 Mechanical treatment

 Influx (Influent)

 Removal of large objects

 Removal of sand and grit

  Pre-precipitation

 Biological treatment

 Oxidation bed (oxidizing bed) or aeration system

 Post precipitation

 Chemical treatment this step is usually combined with settling and other processes to
remove solids, such as filtration. The combination is referred to in the U.S. as physical
chemical treatment.

Primary treatment removes the materials that can be easily collected from the raw
wastewater and disposed of. The typical materials that are removed during primary
treatment include fats, oils, and greases (also referred to as FOG), sand, gravels and rocks
(also referred to as grit), larger settleable solids and floating materials (such as rags and
flushed feminine hygiene products). This step is done entirely with machinery.
Process Flow Diagram for a typical large-scale treatment plant

[edit]Primary treatment
[edit]Removal of large objects from influent sewage

In primary treatment, the influent sewage water is strained to remove all large objects that
are deposited in the sewer system, such as rags, sticks, tampons, cans, fruit, etc. This is
most commonly done with a manual or automated mechanically raked bar screen. The
raking action of a mechanical bar screen is typically paced according to the accumulation on
the bar screens and/or flow rate. The bar screen is used because large solids can damage or
clog the equipment used later in the sewage treatment plant. The solids are collected in a
dumpster and later disposed in a landfill.

Primary treatment also typically includes a sand or grit channel or chamber where the
velocity of the incoming wastewater is carefully controlled to allow sand grit and stones to
settle, while keeping the majority of the suspended organic material in the water column.
This equipment is called a degritter or sand catcher. Sand, grit, and stones need to be
removed early in the process to avoid damage to pumps and other equipment in the
remaining treatment stages. Sometimes there is a sand washer (grit classifier) followed by a
conveyor that transports the sand to a container for disposal. The contents from the sand
catcher may be fed into the incinerator in a sludge processing plant, but in many cases, the
sand and grit is sent to a landfill.

Empty sedimentation tank at the treatment plant in Merchtem

[edit]Sedimentation

Many plants have a sedimentation stage where the sewage is allowed to pass slowly through
large tanks, commonly called "primary clarifiers" or "primary sedimentation tanks". The
tanks are large enough that sludge can settle and floating material such as grease and oils
can rise to the surface and be skimmed off. The main purpose of the primary clarification
stage is to produce both a generally homogeneous liquid capable of being treated
biologically and a sludge that can be separately treated or processed. Primary settling tanks
are usually equipped with mechanically driven scrapers that continually drive the collected
sludge towards a hopper in the base of the tank from where it can be pumped to further
sludge treatment stages.

[edit]Secondary treatment
Secondary treatment is designed to substantially degrade the biological content of the
sewage such as are derived from human waste, food waste, soaps and detergent. The
majority of municipal plants treat the settled sewage liquor using aerobic biological
processes. For this to be effective, the biota require both oxygen and a substrate on which
to live. There are a number of ways in which this is done. In all these methods,
the bacteria and protozoa consume biodegradable soluble organic contaminants
(e.g.sugars, fats, organic short-chain carbon molecules, etc.) and bind much of the less
soluble fractions into floc. Secondary treatment systems are classified as fixed film or
suspended growth. Fixed-film treatment process including trickling filter and rotating
biological contactors where the biomass grows on media and the sewage passes over its
surface. In suspended growth systems—such as activated sludge—the biomass is well
mixed with the sewage and can be operated in a smaller space than fixed-film systems that
treat the same amount of water. However, fixed-film systems are more able to cope with
drastic changes in the amount of biological material and can provide higher removal rates
for organic material and suspended solids than suspended growth systems.

Roughing filters are intended to treat particularly strong or variable organic loads, typically
industrial, to allow them to then be treated by conventional secondary treatment processes.
Characteristics include typically tall, circular filters filled with open synthetic filter media to
which wastewater is applied at a relatively high rate. They are designed to allow high
hydraulic loading and a high flow-through of air. On larger installations, air is forced through
the media using blowers. The resultant wastewater is usually within the normal range for
conventional treatment processes.
A generalized, schematic diagram of an activated sludge process.

[edit]Activated sludge

Main article: Activated sludge

In general, activated sludge plants encompass a variety of mechanisms and processes

that use dissolved oxygen to promote the growth of biological floc that substantially
removes organic material.

The process traps particulate material and can, under ideal conditions,
convert ammonia to nitrite and nitrate and ultimately tonitrogen gas, (see
also denitrification).

[edit]Surface-aerated basins

A Typical Surface-Aerated Basin (using motor-driven floating aerators)

Most biological oxidation processes for treating industrial wastewaters have in common
the use of oxygen (or air) and microbial action. Surface-aerated basins achieve 80 to
90% removal of Biochemical Oxygen Demand with retention times of 1 to 10 days.[1]The
basins may range in depth from 1.5 to 5.0 metres and use motor-driven aerators
floating on the surface of the wastewater.[1] - In an aerated basin system, the aerators
provide two functions: they transfer air into the basins required by the biological
oxidation reactions, and they provide the mixing required for dispersing the air and for
contacting the reactants (that is, oxygen, wastewater and microbes). Typically, the
floating surface aerators are rated to deliver the amount of air equivalent to 1.8 to 2.7
kg O2/kW·h. However, they do not provide as good mixing as is normally achieved in
activated sludge systems and therefore aerated basins do not achieve the same
performance level as activated sludge units.[1]

Biological oxidation processes are sensitive to temperature and, between 0 °C and 40

°C, the rate of biological reactions increase with temperature. Most surface aerated
vessels operate at between 4 °C and 32 °C.[1]
[edit]Fluidized bed reactors

The carbon absorption following biological treatment is particularly effective in reducing

both the BOD and COD to low levels. A fluidized bed reactor is a combination of the
most common stirred tank packed bed, continuous flow reactors. It is very important to
chemical engineering because of its excellent heat and mass transfer characteristics. In
a fluidized bed reactor, the substrate is passed upward through the immobilized
enzyme bed at a high velocity to lift the particles. However the velocity must not be so
high that the enzymes are swept away from the reactor entirely. This causes low
mixing; these type of reactors are highly suitable for the exothermic reactions. It is
most often applied in immobilized enzyme catalysis
[edit]Filter beds (oxidizing beds)

Main article: Trickling filter

In older plants and plants receiving more variable loads, trickling filter beds are
used where the settled sewage liquor is spread onto the surface of a deep bed
made up of coke (carbonized coal), limestone chips or specially fabricated plastic
media. Such media must have high surface areas to support the biofilms that form.
The liquor is distributed through perforated rotating arms radiating from a central
pivot. The distributed liquor trickles through this bed and is collected in drains at
the base. These drains also provide a source of air which percolates up through the
bed, keeping it aerobic. Biological films of bacteria, protozoa and fungi form on the
media’s surfaces and eat or otherwise reduce the organic content. This biofilm is
grazed by insect larvae and worms which help maintain an optimal thickness.
Overloading of beds increases the thickness of the film leading to clogging of the
filter media and ponding on the surface.
[edit]Biological aerated filters

Biological Aerated (or Anoxic) Filter (BAF) or Biofilters combine filtration with
biological carbon reduction, nitrification or denitrification. BAF usually includes a
reactor filled with a filtermedia. The media is either in suspension or supported by
a gravel layer at the foot of the filter. The dual purpose of this media is to support
highly active biomass that is attached to it and to filter suspended solids. Carbon
reduction and ammonia conversion occurs in aerobic mode and sometime
achieved in a single reactor while nitrate conversion occurs in anoxic mode. BAF is
operated either in upflow or downflow configuration depending on design specified
by manufacturer.

Secondary Sedimentation tank at a rural treatment plant

[edit]Membrane bioreactors

Membrane bioreactors (MBR) combines activated sludge treatment with a

membrane liquid-solid separation process. The membrane component uses low
pressure microfiltration or ultra filtration membranes and eliminates the need for
clarification and tertiary filtration. The membranes are typically immersed in the
aeration tank (however, some applications utilize a separate membrane tank). One
of the key benefits of a membrane bioreactor system is that it effectively
overcomes the limitations associated with poor settling of sludge in
conventional activated sludge (CAS) processes. The technology permits bioreactor
 operation with considerably higher mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS)
concentration than CAS systems, which are limited by sludge settling. The process
is typically operated at MLSS in the range of 8,000–12,000 mg/L, while CAS are
operated in the range of 2,000–3,000 mg/L. The elevated biomass concentration in
the membrane bioreactor process allows for very effective removal of both soluble
and particulate biodegradable materials at higher loading rates. Thus increased
Sludge Retention Times (SRTs)—usually exceeding 15 days—ensure complete
nitrification even in extremely cold weather.

The cost of building and operating a MBR is usually higher than conventional
wastewater treatment, however, as the technology has become increasingly
popular and has gained wider acceptance throughout the industry, the life-cycle
costs have been steadily decreasing. The small footprint of MBR systems, and the
high quality effluent produced, makes them particularly useful for water reuse
applications.
[edit]Secondary sedimentation

The final step in the secondary treatment stage is to settle out the biological floc or
filter material and produce sewage water containing very low levels of organic
material and suspended matter.
[edit]Rotating biological contactors

Main article: Rotating biological contactor

Schematic diagram of a typical rotating biological contactor (RBC). The treated

effluent clarifier/settler is not included in the diagram.

Rotating biological contactors (RBCs) are mechanical secondary treatment

systems, which are robust and capable of withstanding surges in organic load.
RBCs were first installed in Germany in 1960 and have since been developed
and refined into a reliable operating unit. The rotating disks support the
growth of bacteria and micro-organisms present in the sewage, which
breakdown and stabilise organic pollutants. To be successful, micro-organisms
need both oxygen to live and food to grow. Oxygen is obtained from the
atmosphere as the disks rotate. As the micro-organisms grow, they build up
on the media until they are sloughed off due to shear forces provided by the
rotating discs in the sewage. Effluent from the RBC is then passed through
final clarifiers where the micro-organisms in suspension settle as a sludge.
The sludge is withdrawn from the clarifier for further treatment.

A functionally similar biological filtering system has become popular as part of

home aquarium filtration and purification. The aquarium water is drawn up
out of the tank and then cascaded over a freely spinning corrugated fiber-
mesh wheel before passing through a media filter and back into the aquarium.
The spinning mesh wheel develops abiofilm coating of microorganisms that
feed on the suspended wastes in the aquarium water and are also exposed to
the atmosphere as the wheel rotates. This is especially good at removing
waste urea and ammonia urinated into the aquarium water by the fish and
other animals.

[edit]Tertiary treatment
The purpose of tertiary treatment is to provide a final treatment stage to raise
the effluent quality before it is discharged to the receiving environment (sea,
river, lake, ground, etc.). More than one tertiary treatment process may be
used at any treatment plant. If disinfection is practiced, it is always the final
process. It is also called "effluent polishing".
[edit]Filtration

Sand filtration removes much of the residual suspended matter. Filtration

over activated carbon removes residual toxins.

[edit]Lagooning
 A sewage treatment plant and lagoon in Everett, Washington.

Lagooning provides settlement and further biological improvement through

storage in large man-made ponds or lagoons. These lagoons are highly
aerobic and colonization by native macrophytes, especially reeds, is often
encouraged. Small filter feeding invertebrates such as Daphnia and species
ofRotifera greatly assist in treatment by removing fine particulates.

[edit]Constructed wetlands

Constructed wetlands include engineered reedbeds and a range of similar

methodologies, all of which provide a high degree of aerobic biological
improvement and can often be used instead of secondary treatment for small
communities, also see phytoremediation. One example is a small reedbed
used to clean the drainage from the elephants' enclosure at Chester
Zoo in England.

[edit]Nutrient removal

Wastewater may contain high levels of the

nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus. Excessive release to the environment can
lead to a build up of nutrients, called eutrophication, which can in turn
encourage the overgrowth of weeds, algae, and cyanobacteria (blue-green
algae). This may cause an algal bloom, a rapid growth in the population of
algae. The algae numbers are unsustainable and eventually most of them die.
The decomposition of the algae by bacteria uses up so much of oxygen in the
water that most or all of the animals die, which creates more organic matter
for the bacteria to decompose. In addition to causing deoxygenation, some
algal species produce toxins that contaminate drinking watersupplies.
Different treatment processes are required to remove nitrogen and
phosphorus.

[edit]Nitrogen removal
The removal of nitrogen is effected through the biological oxidation of
nitrogen from ammonia (nitrification) to nitrate, followed by denitrification,
the reduction of nitrate to nitrogen gas. Nitrogen gas is released to the
atmosphere and thus removed from the water.

Nitrification itself is a two-step aerobic process, each step facilitated by a

different type of bacteria. The oxidation of ammonia (NH3) to nitrite (NO2−) is
most often facilitated byNitrosomonas spp. (nitroso referring to the formation
of a nitroso functional group). Nitrite oxidation to nitrate (NO3−), though
traditionally believed to be facilitated by Nitrobacter spp. (nitro referring the
formation of a nitro functional group), is now known to be facilitated in the
environment almost exclusively by Nitrospira spp.

Denitrification requires anoxic conditions to encourage the appropriate

biological communities to form. It is facilitated by a wide diversity of bacteria.
Sand filters, lagooning and reed beds can all be used to reduce nitrogen, but
the activated sludge process (if designed well) can do the job the most easily.
Since denitrification is the reduction of nitrate to dinitrogen gas, anelectron
donor is needed. This can be, depending on the wastewater, organic matter
(from faeces), sulfide, or an added donor like methanol.

Sometimes the conversion of toxic ammonia to nitrate alone is referred to as

tertiary treatment.

[edit]Phosphorus removal

Phosphorus removal is important as it is a limiting nutrient for algae growth in

many fresh water systems (for negative effects of algae see Nitrogen
removal). It is also particularly important for water reuse systems where high
phosphorus concentrations may lead to fouling of downstream equipment
such as reverse osmosis.

Phosphorus can be removed biologically in a process called enhanced

biological phosphorus removal. In this process, specific bacteria, called
polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs), are selectively enriched and
accumulate large quantities of phosphorus within their cells (up to 20% of
their mass). When the biomass enriched in these bacteria is separated from
the treated water, these biosolids have a high fertilizer value.
Phosphorus removal can also be achieved by chemical precipitation, usually
with salts of iron (e.g. ferric chloride), aluminum (e.g. alum), or lime. This
may lead to excessive sludge productions as hydroxides precipitates and the
added chemicals can be expensive. Despite this, chemical phosphorus
removal requires significantly smaller equipment footprint than biological
removal, is easier to operate and is often more reliable than biological
phosphorus removal.

Once removed, phosphorus, in the form of a phosphate rich sludge, may be

land filled or, if in suitable condition, resold for use in fertilizer.

[edit]Disinfection

The purpose of disinfection in the treatment of wastewater is to substantially

reduce the number of microorganisms in the water to be discharged back into
the environment. The effectiveness of disinfection depends on the quality of
the water being treated (e.g., cloudiness, pH, etc.), the type of disinfection
being used, the disinfectant dosage (concentration and time), and other
environmental variables. Cloudy water will be treated less successfully since
solid matter can shield organisms, especially from ultraviolet light or if
contact times are low. Generally, short contact times, low doses and high
flows all militate against effective disinfection. Common methods of
disinfection include ozone, chlorine, or ultraviolet light. Chloramine, which is
used for drinking water, is not used in wastewater treatment because of its
persistence.

Chlorination remains the most common form of wastewater disinfection

in North America due to its low cost and long-term history of effectiveness.
One disadvantage is that chlorination of residual organic material can
generate chlorinated-organic compounds that may be carcinogenic or harmful
to the environment. Residual chlorine or chloramines may also be capable of
chlorinating organic material in the natural aquatic environment. Further,
because residual chlorine is toxic to aquatic species, the treated effluent must
also be chemically dechlorinated, adding to the complexity and cost of
treatment.

Ultraviolet (UV) light can be used instead of chlorine, iodine, or other

chemicals. Because no chemicals are used, the treated water has no adverse
effect on organisms that later consume it, as may be the case with other
methods. UV radiation causes damage to the genetic structure of
bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens, making them incapable of
reproduction. The key disadvantages of UV disinfection are the need for
frequent lamp maintenance and replacement and the need for a highly
treated effluent to ensure that the target microorganisms are not shielded
from the UV radiation (i.e., any solids present in the treated effluent may
protect microorganisms from the UV light). In the United Kingdom, light is
becoming the most common means of disinfection because of the concerns
about the impacts of chlorine in chlorinating residual organics in the
wastewater and in chlorinating organics in the receiving
water.Edmonton, Alberta, Canada also uses UV light for its water treatment.

Ozone O3 is generated by passing oxygen O2 through a high voltage potential

resulting in a third oxygen atom becoming attached and forming O3. Ozone is
very unstable and reactive and oxidizes most organic material it comes in
contact with, thereby destroying many pathogenic microorganisms. Ozone is
considered to be safer than chlorine because, unlike chlorine which has to be
stored on site (highly poisonous in the event of an accidental release), ozone
is generated onsite as needed. Ozonation also produces fewer disinfection by-
products than chlorination. A disadvantage of ozone disinfection is the high
cost of the ozone generation equipment and the requirements for special
operators.

[edit]Package plants and batch reactors

In order to use less space, treat difficult waste, deal with intermittent flow or
achieve higher environmental standards, a number of designs of hybrid
treatment plants have been produced. Such plants often combine all or at
least two stages of the three main treatment stages into one combined stage.
In the UK, where a large number of sewage treatment plants serve small
populations, package plants are a viable alternative to building discrete
structures for each process stage.

One type of system that combines secondary treatment and settlement is

the sequencing batch reactor (SBR). Typically, activated sludge is mixed with
raw incoming sewage and mixed and aerated. The resultant mixture is then
allowed to settle producing a high quality effluent. The settled sludge is run
off and re-aerated before a proportion is returned to the head of the works.
 SBR plants are now being deployed in many parts of the world including North
Liberty, Iowa, and Llanasa, North Wales.

The disadvantage of such processes is that precise control of timing, mixing

and aeration is required. This precision is usually achieved by computer
controls linked to many sensors in the plant. Such a complex, fragile system is
unsuited to places where such controls may be unreliable, or poorly
maintained, or where the power supply may be intermittent.

Package plants may be referred to as high charged or low charged. This refers
to the way the biological load is processed. In high charged systems, the
biological stage is presented with a high organic load and the combined floc
and organic material is then oxygenated for a few hours before being charged
again with a new load. In the low charged system the biological stage contains
a low organic load and is combined with floculate for a relatively long time.

[edit]Sludge treatment and disposal

Main article: Sewage sludge treatment

The sludges accumulated in a wastewater treatment process must be

treated and disposed of in a safe and effective manner. The purpose of
digestion is to reduce the amount of organic matter and the number of
disease-causing microorganisms present in the solids. The most common
treatment options include anaerobic digestion, aerobic digestion,
and composting.

choice of a wastewater solid treatment method depends on the amount

of solids generated and other site-specific conditions. However, in
general, composting is most often applied to smaller-scale applications
followed by aerobic digestion and then lastly anaerobic digestion for the
larger-scale municipal applications.
[edit]Anaerobic digestion

Main article: Anaerobic digestion

Anaerobic digestion is a bacterial process that is carried out in the

absence of oxygen. The process can either
be thermophilic digestion, in which sludge is fermented in tanks at a
temperature of 55°C, or mesophilic, at a temperature of around
36°C. Though allowing shorter retention time (and thus smaller
tanks), thermophilic digestion is more expensive in terms of energy
consumption for heating the sludge.

One major feature of anaerobic digestion is the production of biogas,

which can be used in generators for electricity production and/or in
boilers for heating purposes.
[edit]Aerobic digestion

Aerobic digestion is a bacterial process occurring in the presence of

oxygen. Under aerobic conditions, bacteria rapidly consume organic
matter and convert it into carbon dioxide. The operating costs are
characteristically much greater for aerobic digestion because of the
energy costs needed to add oxygen to the process.
[edit]Composting

Composting is also an aerobic process that involves mixing the

sludge with sources of carbon such as sawdust, straw or wood chips.
In the presence of oxygen, bacteria digest both the wastewater
solids and the added carbon source and, in doing so, produce a large
amount of heat.

[edit]Sludge disposal
When a liquid sludge is produced, further treatment may be required
to make it suitable for final disposal. Typically, sludges are thickened
(dewatered) to reduce the volumes transported off-site for disposal.
There is no process which completely eliminates the need to dispose
of biosolids. There is, however, an additional step some cities are
taking to superheat the wastewater sludge and convert it into small
pelletized granules that are high in nitrogen and other organic
materials. In NYC, for example, several sewage treatment plants
have dewatering facilities that use large centrifuges along with the
addition of chemicals such as polymer to further remove liquid from
the sludge. The removed fluid, called centrate, is typically
reintroduced into the wastewater process. The product which is left
is called "cake" and that is picked up by companies which turn it into
fertilizer pellets. This product is then sold to local farmers and turf
farms as a soil amendment or fertilizer, reducing the amount of
space required to dispose of sludge in landfills[1].
[edit]Treatment in the receiving environment

The outlet of a wastewater treating plant flows into a small river

Many processes in a wastewater treatment plant are designed to

mimic the natural treatment processes that occur in the
environment, whether that environment is a natural water body or
the ground. If not overloaded, bacteria in the environment will
consume organic contaminants, although this will reduce the levels
of oxygen in the water and may significantly change the
overall ecology of the receiving water. Native bacterial populations
feed on the organic contaminants, and the numbers of disease-
causing microorganisms are reduced by natural environmental
conditions such as predation exposure to ultraviolet radiation, for
example. Consequently, in cases where the receiving environment
provides a high level of dilution, a high degree of wastewater
treatment may not be required. However, recent evidence has
demonstrated that very low levels of certain contaminants in
wastewater, including hormones (from animal husbandry and
residue from human hormonal contraception methods) and synthetic
materials such as phthalates that mimic hormones in their action,
can have an unpredictable adverse impact on the natural biota and
potentially on humans if the water is re-used for drinking water[2]. In
the US and EU, uncontrolled discharges of wastewater to the
environment are not permitted under law, and strict water quality
requirements are to be met. A significant threat in the coming
decades will be the increasing uncontrolled discharges of
wastewater within rapidly developing countries.

[edit]Sewage treatment in developing countries

There are few reliable figures on the share of the wastewater
collected in sewers that is being treated in the world. In many
developing countries the bulk of domestic and industrial wastewater
is discharged without any treatment or after primary treatment only.
In Latin America about 15% of collected wastewater passes through
treatment plants (with varying levels of actual treatment).
In Venezuela, a below average country in South America with
respect to wastewater treatment, 97 percent of the
country’s sewage is discharged raw into the environment[2].

In a relatively developed Middle Eastern country such

as Iran, Tehran's majority of population has totally untreated sewage
injected to the city’s groundwater.[3] Israel has also aggressively
pursued the use of treated sewer water for irrigation. In 2008,
agriculture in Israel consumed 500 million cubic metres of potable
water and an equal amount of treated sewer water. The country
plans to provide a further 200 million cubic metres of recycled sewer
water and build more desalination plants to supply even more
water.[4]

Most of sub-Saharan Africa is without wastewater treatment.

This section does not cite any references or sources.

Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable
sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (August
2008)

Water utilities in developing countries are chronically underfunded

because of low water tariffs, the inexistence of sanitation tariffs in
many cases, low billing efficiency (i.e. many users that are billed do
not pay) and poor operational efficiency (i.e. there are overly high
levels of staff, there are high physical losses, and many users have
illegal connections and are thus not being billed). In addition,
wastewater treatment typically is the process within the utility that
receives the least attention, partly because enforcement of
environmental standards is poor.[citation needed] As a result of all these
factors, operation and maintenance of many wastewater treatment
plants is poor. This is evidenced by the frequent breakdown of
equipment, shutdown of electrically operated equipment due to
power outages or to reduce costs, and sedimentation due to lack of
sludge removal.

Developing countries as diverse as Egypt, Algeria, China or Colombia

have invested substantial sums in wastewater treatment without
achieving a significant impact in terms of environmental
improvement.[citation needed] Even if wastewater treatment plants are
properly operating, it can be argued that the environmental impact
is limited in cases where the assimilative capacity of the receiving
waters (ocean with strong currents or large rivers) is high, as it is
often the case.[citation needed]

[edit]Benefits
of wastewater treatment
compared to benefits of sewage collection in
developing countries
Waterborne diseases that are prevalent in developing countries,
such as typhus and cholera, are caused primarily by poor hygiene
practices and the absence of improved
householdsanitation facilities. The public health impact of the
discharge of untreated wastewater is comparatively much lower.
Hygiene promotion, on-site sanitation and low-cost sanitation thus
are likely to have a much greater impact on public health than
wastewater treatment.