Waste water treatment is a process of altering contaminated water to its original state of purity by utilizing methods and equipment. Waste water comes from activities like washing, rinsing, bathing, draining and can flow from household drainage systems, creeks, rainfall runoffs, etc.
The process of treatment is composed of three vital steps: preliminary stage treatment, primary stage treatment, and secondary stage treatment. Except for sewer pipelines, the whole system is equipped in a treatment facility.
General types of waste water treatment process and technology
Generally, two types of treatment procedures are used by professionals and treatment facilities. These systems are helpful in allowing waste water to be sanitized and possibly reused again. The first one is called the biological treatment system, while the second involves physical or chemical treatment system.
The former utilizes numerous tanks to process incoming waste water. In its initial procedure, particles are removed and then taken to a basin with bio-ingredients that will make particles left from the initial procedure to float or sink. The third stage of the process will send this water to another tank that will get rid of remaining particles and harmful elements.
On the other hand, the latter uses chemical treatment facilities that will process industrial waste water. This type employs physical reactors as well as chemical-based ingredients to alter contaminated water.
Waste water flows from residential structures, commercial buildings, and other architectural constructions via underground pipelines to treatment facilities. Other than the two systems above, specific technologies are used by these facilities based on the level of water contamination. Treatment technologies are applied primarily to make water reusable and safe for human consumption.
Facilities utilize a so-called ‘aerobic treatment’ that involves bacteria that will help in making water decontamination work. Organisms are dependent in oxygen, therefore those micro-organisms producing carbon dioxide are destroyed and wastes are removed.
Different waste water treatment equipment and tools
Sets of equipment and tools are housed in treatment facilities. These are designed to make smooth process of filtering particles possible. The first tool is the ‘bar screen’ designed to remove large pieces of waste found in water. When water flows from different locations, matters or objects of various sizes are also carried throughout pipes. These pass through filters and separate objects from the flowing water.
This initial level tool does not use any advance technology, but make effective solution to diminish matters that may affect the primary stage of treatment. Matters are either removed manually or through large machines.
After the first stage, the second equipment is utilized. The ‘settling tank’ performs the primary stage of decontamination. Filtered water flows to this tank and will make smaller solid particles to sink at the bottom and make oil, grease and other smears to float. After that the secondary level of water refinement uses another set of tank to repeat the same process used in the primary stage.
Some treatment facilities employ several tanks to make water purification more reliable. Waste water treatment is important to make waste water reusable because without this process, water resources will no longer be enough for people’s consumption.
