Automation technology is transforming wastewater treatment processes, improving efficiency while addressing environmental concerns in primary and secondary treatment.
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Clean Water Through Smart Technology: Automation in Wastewater Treatment
Automation is increasingly becoming a key component of today’s industries, especially in wastewater treatment facilities. As in most industries, wastewater treatment consists of multiple stages. The output from one stage serves as the input for the following stages.
Some of the automated processes in wastewater facilities include aeration tanks, pumping stations, environmental emissions, grit chambers, and biogas systems. Below is a detailed look into how automation is affecting wastewater treatment.
What Is Wastewater Treatment?
Wastewater treatment refers to the process followed when converting sewage into water that can be released back into the environment. Sometimes this does not even have to result from sewage but can also conclude from erosion that is happening to the environment. However, this would have to occur in more wet areas and where erosion runoff meets sewage and other wastewater. Data from the US Environment Protection Agency shows that wastewater treatment is the leading form of controlling environmental pollution.
Its purpose is to remove as many suspended solids as possible before discharging the effluent back into the environment. Releasing it before treatment can cause harm to fish populations, lead to oxygen depletion, and possible restrictions on recreational water use. This is a main concern as in many parts of the world, environments are suffering not only from wastewater but other ecological pollution as well.
How Automation Technology Is Affecting Wastewater Treatment
There are two central stages of sewage treatment: primary and secondary. The first stage involves letting the solids settle before proceeding with their removal from the wastewater. Biological processes are introduced in the second stage to help purify the effluent further to where it is almost pure again.
Primary Treatment
Primary treatment allows for the removal of all material that can readily settle or float out via gravity. Some of the physical processes performed here include screening, comminution, grit removal, and sedimentation. It is basically the straining of harmful debris in the liquid.
All wastewater entering a treatment facility must first go through a screen. The screen helps remove all floating objects, including sticks and rags, which can easily clog the discharge pipes. After the screening, the wastewater passes through a grit chamber, where stones and sand are removed. As in the first stage it is a strainer, here it is more of a sifter like looking for a gem in dirt.
The screening and gritting processes alone are not enough to purify the wastewater. Even after going through both phases, this water will still contain organic and inorganic matter, which is why secondary treatment is necessary.
Secondary Treatment
Secondary treatment helps in removing all the soluble organic matter that was left behind after the first treatment. It also aids with the removal of suspended solids, usually via biological processes.
Their removal helps in protecting the dissolved oxygen balance of the lakes, rivers, or streams located downstream. The secondary treatment stage can remove up to 85% of the soluble organic matter present in wastewater, according to the US EPA.
Wastewater treatment facilities primarily use two techniques in secondary treatment: a trickling filter and an activated sludge process. Once the discharge leaves the sedimentation tank in the first phase, it gets pumped into a secondary treatment using either of these processes.
Most facilities prefer using the activated sludge process as it can hasten the work of the bacteria. From the settling tank, the facility then pumps the wastewater into an aeration tank where the bacteria work on the organic matter, resulting in harmless byproducts.
This is where the sludge gets activated with tiny organisms and billions of bacteria. The treatment facility can use it again after returning it to the aeration tank, where it mixes with fresh air and new sewage.
As it leaves the aeration tank, this partially treated sewage gets pumped into a waiting sedimentation tank where excess bacteria are removed. The wastewater in the sedimentation tank must be disinfected using chlorine before discharge.
Disinfection marks the completion of the secondary treatment phase. Please note that some states have made dechlorination – the removal of excess chlorine – a mandatory step before the discharge of effluents into surface water.
How Wastewater Treatment Is Impacting the Environment Today
Industrial pollution is the first thing that comes to mind whenever the subject of environmental pollution comes up. However, this isn’t the only source of concern, as emissions from water treatment facilities are also to blame, according to the Water Research Centre.
While wastewater treatment facilities are able to remove many contaminants, there are cases where concentrations remain high enough to affect the environment adversely. Examples of these include:
• Nutrient pollution: High concentrations of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous can lead to excess plant growth and the eutrophication of the receiving water bodies.
• Toxicity Impacts: Wastewater discharge from treatment facilities represents an increasing threat to terrestrial life due to the presence of ammonia and other toxic substances.
• Floating Debris: The screening that takes place in the primary treatment phase helps weed out large debris. But this doesn’t always happen, especially when sewage inflow surpasses treatment capacity.
Conclusion
Automation has significantly impacted the processes of wastewater treatment facilities, helping ensure that inflows never surpass treatment capacity. And as new treatment technologies continue to emerge, you may want to consider automating some or all of your processes.
For waste treatment facility owners, EMG Automation technology is the answer you have been looking for for your wastewater treatment facility. It offers many advantages for your drainage processes, including guaranteeing fast opening and closing of drainage valves.