Report: Industrial visit of Bahria Town water treatment plant

Group members: Arooj Fatima Hiba Mujeeb Imtisal-e-Noor

Contents
Abstract: .......................................................................................................................................... 5 History and Background: ................................................................................................................ 5 Introduction: .................................................................................................................................... 6 An overview of waste water analysis: ............................................................................................ 7 Statistics ...................................................................................................................................... 7 Components: ............................................................................................................................... 8 Micro organisms ..................................................................................................................... 8 Biodegradable organic materials: ........................................................................................... 8 Other organic materials: .......................................................................................................... 8 Nutrients:................................................................................................................................. 8 Metals:..................................................................................................................................... 9 Other inorganic materials:....................................................................................................... 9 Thermal effects: ...................................................................................................................... 9 Odor and taste: ........................................................................................................................ 9 Radio activity .......................................................................................................................... 9 Municipal waste water: ................................................................................................................... 9 An overview of Water Treatment: ................................................................................................ 10 Why We Need to Treat Wastewater: ........................................................................................ 10

Processes for the water treatment: ................................................................................................ 11 Physical impurities: ............................................................................................................... 11 Chemical impurities: ............................................................................................................. 11 Process for removal of physical impurities:.............................................................................. 11 Processes for removal of chemical impurities: ......................................................................... 12 Ion Exchange Process: .......................................................................................................... 12 Zeolite Process: ..................................................................................................................... 13 Lime Process: ........................................................................................................................ 14 Biological process: ................................................................................................................ 14 Biochemical waste water treatment .............................................................................................. 15 Purpose:..................................................................................................................................... 15 Principle: ................................................................................................................................... 15 Advantages:............................................................................................................................... 16 Selection criteria: ...................................................................................................................... 16 Classification of biochemical treatment: .................................................................................. 17 Aerobic treatment: ................................................................................................................ 17 Advantages:........................................................................................................................... 18 Disadvantages: ...................................................................................................................... 18 Anaerobic treatment: ................................................................................................................. 18 Advantages:........................................................................................................................... 19

Disadvantages: ...................................................................................................................... 19 Anoxic treatment:.................................................................................................................. 20 Bahria Town Water Treatment Plant:-.......................................................................................... 20 Basic Raw Material: Sewage .................................................................................................... 21 Flow Chart: ................................................................................................................................... 22 Sewage treatment: ..................................................................................................................... 23 Preliminary Treatment .............................................................................................................. 23 Grit chamber: ............................................................................................................................ 23 Primary Treatment: ................................................................................................................... 23 Secondary Treatment: ............................................................................................................... 24 Steps in secondary treatment: ................................................................................................... 25 Biological reactors: ............................................................................................................... 25 Plastic Media:........................................................................................................................ 27 Trickling filter: ...................................................................................................................... 27 Sludges: ................................................................................................................................. 29 Coliform bacteria: ................................................................................................................. 31 Composting: .......................................................................................................................... 31 Industrial Practices and Discussion: ............................................................................................. 32 Conclusion: ................................................................................................................................... 32 Acknowledgements: ...................................................................................................................... 32

References: .................................................................................................................................... 32

Abstract:
This is a report of the industrial visit of water treatment plant Bahria Town by our group. The plant visited was a small scale plant treating mainly municipal waste water. The process employed is a three-step method consisting of physical settling and sieves as a first step, then biological treatment (through the use of bacteria) and the last step is a three layered trickling filter. The water obtained as a result is fit for watering plants and is in fact beneficial for their growth owing to the useful minerals present therein. The unit is very energy efficient and operational cost rather low because the main technique employs natural methods. The environmental impacts are great as it prevents polluting of rivers and also beneficial for human health because no harmful refuses.

History and Background:

People had been treating water as early as 2000 BC in ancient Greece and India. Then the main focus was removing turbidity through sand filtration, boiling and straining. Around 1500 BC, it was the Egyptians who revealed the method of coagulation. Now in 500 BC, Hippocrates discovered the therapeutic powers of water. He invented the practice of sieving water, and obtained the first bag filter, which was called the Hippocratic sleeve. The main purpose of the bag was to trap sediments that caused bad tastes or odors.

In the 1700s the first water filters for household use were applied. These were made of wool, sponge and charcoal. In 1804 the first actual municipal water treatment plant designed by Robert Thom, was manufactured in Scotland. The water treatment was based on slow sand filtration, and horse and cart distributed the water. Some three years later, the first water pipes were installed. Around the 1890s large scale sand filters were made in USA for the public and the process was sped up. But as time progresses the issue became the industrial waste rather than the water borne diseases. Hence regulations were made for drinking water ensuring that it was safe enough. Chlorination was used at one point and is still used today. However the latest technique involves membrane technology and biological treatment methods. The plant that we visited utilized a bio-chemical method for treatment and its design was based on the design of a similar plant in Bahria Town Karachi. The plant is a small scale venture and is going to treat mostly municipal waste water.

Introduction:
This is a report of the industrial visit of water treatment plant Bahria Town by our group. The visit was conducted on the 14th of April 2012. It was a small scale plant and its main function was to treat municipal waste water. It was a fairly new unit however a similar system is successfully being operated in Karachi for the last few years and the results have been exceptional. It consisted of several stages of filtration and then utilized biochemical methods for purification. The treated water is suitable for use in plantation. It is a highly energy efficient and economical plant. The plant has a capacity of treating 16000 gallons per day of waste water.

The construction comprised of three main parts: primary treatment tanks, biological reactor and trickling filter. Some of the portion was underground especially the first part which was the settling unit. The unit did not take up a lot of space and the outlet was at a river. Pure treated water is let out in the river until there is a need for it. This energy efficient concept of utilizing bacteria is rather unique in Pakistan and Bahria town has taken a good initiative by implementing it. Other housing schemes should follow suit since this is a positive step in saving our environment from harmful waste.

An overview of waste water analysis:

Waste water flow changes from time to time. For any waste water plant construction, following two things must be known: Volume of waste water Variation of waste water

Designing of treatment plant depends on the waste water to be treated and for this purpose certain measurements should be made otherwise estimation is carried out. In order to serve the purpose development is taken into account i.e. prognoses is made. A prognosis is estimation of volumes of waste water for future upto 20 years for expanding and building of the treatment plant. It is based on population growth and increased industrial production

Statistics:

By statistically processing the data more we can get a more detailed picture of variations in the waste water. Specific tables show a sample of water with required parameters and using those it is determined what treatment will be required and whether or not this water will be safe for use or not.

Components:
Domestic or municipal waste water is divided into following components excluding essential industrial effects. Micro organisms: Of special interest pathogenic bacteria, viruses and worm eggs. Environmental effect is prominent while eating and bathing shellfish. Biodegradable organic materials: Of special interest depletion of oxygen in rivers and lakes. Affects the aquatic lives. Other organic materials: Of special interest detergents, pesticides, fats, oils, greases, coloring, solvent, phenol, cyanides. Toxic effect, aesthetic inconveniences and bio accumulation. Nutrients: Of special interest nitrogen phosphorus and ammonia. Eutrophication, oxygen depletion, toxic effect.

Metals: Of special interest Mercury, lead, copper, chromium, nickel. Toxic effect and bio accumulation. Other inorganic materials: Acids e.g., hydrogen sulfide and bases Corrosion and toxic effect Thermal effects: Hot water Changes living conditions for flora and fauna Odor and taste: Hydrogen sulfide Aesthetic inconveniencies and toxic effects. Radio activity Toxic effect and accumulation.

Municipal waste water:

Composition of domestic waste water varies significantly with place and time. Waste water composition from houses is a result of installations, habits of the inhabitants and standard of living which keeps on changing. Concentrated waste water represents low consumption whereas diluted waste water shows high consumption. The variation in water composition is due to the following main reasons.

 Infiltration Exfiltration Consumption

An overview of Water Treatment:

Water treatment is a method of making water suitable for its utilization or returning to its natural state. Therefore, water treatment is required before and after its application. The requisite treatment is based upon the application. For instance, management of grey water (from bath, dish and wash water) varies from the black water (from flush toilets). Various types of procedures are employed in order to attain the preferred treatment. These include physical methods like settling and filtration and chemical processes such as disinfection and coagulation. Biological methods are also exploited for this function and a few instances include aerated lagoon, activated sludge or slow sand filters.

Why We Need to Treat Wastewater:

The requirement of high-quality drinking water, treated municipal, agricultural and industrial water has increased with the development of the world. In addition to water that we want to recycle, wastewater contains pathogens (disease organisms), nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, solids, chemicals from cleaners and disinfectants and even hazardous substances. Given all of the components of wastewater, it seems fairly obvious that we need to treat wastewater not only to recycle the water and nutrients but also to protect human and environmental health. In order to clean up or treat wastewater for recycling, it is

important to understand what wastewater contains, what problems it may cause, and what it takes to clean it.

Processes for the water treatment:

Water treatment processes mainly depend upon the type of impurities it contains. In order to get water treated we should be aware of the impurities it has. Water has two basic kinds of impurities Physical impurities Chemical impurities

Physical impurities: All the suspended particles in the water visible to us come under the physical impurities. In general anything in the physical state other than water is an impurity. Physical impurities can be removed by simple processes like settling or percolation, filtration, screening and sedimentation. Chemical impurities: Chemical impurities are of two types which are: total dissolved solids and dissolved gases. For removal of chemical impurities special types of chemical reagents is used depending upon the type of treatment process which is being applied.

Process for removal of physical impurities:

Physical impurities in water are removed by a simple and efficient process known as reverse osmosis. In this process water is treated by removing impurities by their movement against the concentration gradient. It is a membrane technology which applies pressure greater than osmotic pressure on solution side which allows the solute to retain on that side while allowing pure solvent that is treated water on the other side of the membrane.

Processes for removal of chemical impurities:

Following processes are used for removal of chemical impurities present in water. Ion Exchange Process Zeolite Process Lime Process Soda Ash Process

Ion Exchange Process: It is most widely used and easily applicable. It refers to the process used for decontamination of water. In this process impure water consisting of variety of ions is passes through ionic resins mainly sodium and hydrogen resins which are cationic resins and anionic resins such as weakly basic and highly basic resins for specific sample. These resins replace the undesirable ions in water on passing through ion exchange bed. For example calcium and magnesium ions which are dissolved in water and impart hardness to it are removed and replaced by sodium ions on passing through sodium resin. Ion exchange process can be divided into following categories: Softening Dealkalization Demineralization It has an advantage of regeneration of ionic resin when saturated. It is in this way an economical process. It has following uses: It is used to stop corrosion To change one metal into another

 For water treatment Zeolite Process: Zeolites are naturally occurring hydrated aluminosilicates. Natural zeolites have been discovered since 200 years ago. Around 35 types of zeolites are in use for treatment of waste water. They have approximate formula of (Al2O3.2SiO2.NaO.6H2O) or (Na2Ze). These belong to the family of naturally occurring volcanic minerals with unique physical and chemical properties. They consist of an open, three-dimensional cage-like structure and a vast network of open channels extending throughout. Loosely bound, positively charged atoms called cations, are attached at the junctures of the negatively charged aluminosilicate lattice structure.

Structure of zeolite When zeolites are treated with calcium and magnesium containing waters an equilibrium is established between dissolved ions in water and zeolites. Impurities are absorbed in zeolite beds and in this way are being continuously removed. After sometime when zeolite beds are completely exhausted and contain large amount of calcium and magnesium ions then they are regenerated by treating them with concentrated brine solution. It has following advantages: Removes both type of harnesses i-e, permanent and temporary

 Sludge is not produced Low cost for bed regeneration as it automatically reacts with brine. Lime Process: Lime is simply added and specific settling time is given for purification. When lime is added to waste water, the pH is elevated and the equilibrium of carbonate species in the water is shifted. Carbon dioxide (CO2) that is dissolved is converted in to bicarbonate (HCO3-) and then carbonate (CO3-2). This action is the reason for precipitation of calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is insoluble in water and hence settles down and is thus removed. Also, magnesium can be precipitated as magnesium hydroxide in a double displacement reaction. There are two types of Lime process: Cold Process Hot process
Cold Process Hardness up to 35ppm can be removed Lime used in cold form Used for municipal water treatment A lot of sludge is produced Hot process Hardness up to 7-10ppm can be removed Hot lime at 100C is used Used for industrial waste water treatment Less sludge produced

Biological process: It is a standard process for municipal waste water treatment. Many bacterial products have been manufactured by General Environmental Science (GES) to have improvement in biological waste water treatment.

In this process contaminants present in the waste water are removed by using microorganisms and this process is effective and widespread.

Biochemical waste water treatment

Here is a brief note on the different techniques developed for treatment of waste water through biological means.

Purpose:
The main purpose of biological treatment is reduction in BOD i.e, Biological Oxygen Demand. For this process bacteria (cells) are contacted with waste water which feed on the organic materials present in large amounts in raw water therefore, reducing its BOD content. When waste water is entered into the treatment plant its BOD content is higher than 200 mg/L. After going through the process of primary settling it reduces to approximately 150mg/L and enters the biological component of the system. On leaving the biological component its BOD should not be more than 20 to 30 mg/L. so that when it is diluted with some water source its BOD must be less than 2 to 3 mg/L. Thus the reduction in BOD through biological treatment is 6 fold.

Principle:
Bacteria feed on the organic material in impure water. Organic matter in waste water is converted into cellular mass due to metabolism process of bacterial cells. This mass is in this way removed from the solution and precipitates are formed due to the given residence time in the settling tank. It can also be collected on solid surfaces or vegetation in the system as a slime.the resulting water is now much clearer than before.

In any biological operation oxygen serves as a key component because bacterial cells need oxygen also in addition to the organic material. In the absence of oxygen following abnormalities may occur,

Degradation of the biological waste is slowed down. Retention time of water in the system is prolonged. Lager flow rates of water. Occupation of more space.

Advantages:
Flexibility in the properties of micro organisms cells plays a significant role in making the biochemical treatment of water more useful. Cells have the characteristic to adapt varying conditions of environment depending on the amount and composition of organic content. Process is carried out at ambient temperature, heating or cooling is not required. Low energy consumption. Capable of operating at temperatures varying with seasons.

Selection criteria:
Keeping in view the fact that biochemical process has its own pros and corns, following factors must be kept in mind for selection purpose. Toxicity control BOD removal COD removal

Production of sludge Disposal of sludge Performance in varying weathers Performance in varying temperatures Recoveries for abnormalities in flowing conditions Expandability Addition of ammonia Energy consumption Installation flexibility Space requirements

Classification of biochemical treatment:

Biological treatment can be divided into three basic categories Aerobic Anaerobic Anoxic

Aerobic treatment: Aerobic treatment principally utilizes the oxygen amount by microorganisms (aerobes). It can be in free or dissolved form. This principle works in degradation of biological waste and other contaminants such as ammonia, water, carbon dioxide and sludge. Some of the pretreatment is applied generally which includes oil removal. The process of biodegradation of organic matter is prominently increased due to the fact that oxygen amount available in the system acts as electron acceptor for microbial cells which leads to the accelerated throughputs capacity of the plant.

Advantages: Advantages of aerobic treatment are appended as follows 1- When the treatment plant is properly loaded odor will be minimum. 2- Removal of large amount of BOD. 3- Good quality effluent is obtained. 4- Less factory space. 5- Capable of handling high rates. 6- Amount of pathogens in agricultural waste is minimized. 7- Fully established technique. 8- Short start up procedure. 9- No post treatment is necessary. Disadvantages: 1- Energy consumption is sometimes high. 2- Aerobes cant efficiently degrade all types of organics. 3- Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) is increased. 4- Large amount of sludge buildups. 5- Storage capacity is decreased. 6- High operational cost. 7- Larger reactor volume is required.

Anaerobic treatment:
Anaerobic digestion is a complicated biochemical process being carried out in series of satges.In absence of oxygen, anaerobic treatment converts organic pollutants into carbon dioxide, biogas

and methane which can be further utilized as energy sources such as in electricity generation, sanitary washing through steam, and refrigeration in gas fired absorption chillers and in boilers for heat generation. In some ways it is an ideal process for treatment of impure water. Due to its vast range of advantages it has been employed to treat municipal waste water and is majorly responsible for waste stabilization during the process. Anaerobic digestion is the most common (mesophilic) treatment of domestic sewage in septic tanks, which normally retain the sewage from one day to two days, reducing the BOD by about 35 to 40 percent. Advantages: 1- No aeration is required. 2- Less sludge production. 3- High degree of waste stabilization. 4- Less requirement of nutrition. 5- Useful byproducts are obtained. 6- Low operational cost. 7- Less reactor volume is needed. Disadvantages: 1- Not fully developed technique. 2- Environmental unfriendly. 3- Applicable to structured solids. 4- Long start up procedure. 5- Post treatment is necessary.

Anoxic treatment: It is referred to as denitrification process. In this process reactive nitrogen compounds are transformed into nonreactive nitrogenous compounds. Anoxic processes carried out in batch reactors are being applied on sewer networks. Nitrogen is hazardous to environment especially in causing stress to aquatic lives by increasing the growth of numerous algae. Moreover low oxygen zone referred to as hypoxia is created. Generally, it comprises of two main steps: primary step and secondary one. In primary step bacteria which feed on nitrogen are introduced while in secondary neutrally buoyant media are introduced to consume the nitrogen present in the system to be treated. Carbon component found in waste water is used by bacteria as its energy source. Nitrates are reduced into nitrides and consequently evolving nitrogen gas which can be vented as it is a non reactive gas.

Bahria Town Water Treatment Plant:The plant is basically employs a three-step process utilizing natural conditions for the growth of such useful bacteria that help in cleansing the water. The feed is mainly that of domestic waste water (municipal waste) which contains TDS and TSS. The water is first passed through filters and sieves to remove the bigger suspended solids then passed through filter for further purification. After that it is taken to a biological reactor where the main treatment is carried out. The reactor comprises of a packing of plastic media. The output of the biological reactor is sent to the trickle filter which is the last main step. From here the water is let into the river unless it is required for usage.

Basic Raw Material: Sewage

Sewage is the wastewater let out by houses, companies and industries in a population. It is 99.94 percent water, with only 0.06 percent of the wastewater dissolved and suspended solid material. The cloudiness of sewage is due to suspended particles which in untreated sewage ranges from 100 to 350 mg/l. A standard of the strength of the wastewater is biochemical oxygen demand, or BOD. The BOD measures the amount of oxygen microorganisms require in five days to break down sewage. Untreated sewage has a BOD ranging from 100 mg/l to 300 mg/l. Pathogens or disease-causing organisms are present in sewage.

Flow Chart:

Grit Chamber

Preliminary treatment

Septic Tank/ Pre-settling Basin

Primary treatment

Biological Reactor

Trickling Filter
Core Sand

Secondary treatment

Charcoal
Pea Gravel

Sewage treatment:
Sewage treatment is a multi-step procedure to restore wastewater before it reenters a body of water, is applied to the land or is recycled. The aim is to decrease or eradicate organic matter, solids, nutrients, disease-causing organisms and further pollutants from wastewater. Every receiving body of water has limits to the quantity of pollutants it can accept without degradation. Hence, each sewage treatment plant should hold a permit listing the allowable levels of BOD5, suspended solids, Coliform bacteria and other pollutants.

Preliminary Treatment:
Preliminary treatment to screen out, crush up, or separate debris is the first step in wastewater treatment. Sticks, rags, large food particles, sand, gravel, toys, etc., are removed at this phase to protect the pumping and other equipment in the treatment plant. Treatment equipment such as bar screens and grit chambers are used as the wastewater first enters a treatment plant. The attained trash is usually disposed of in a land fill.

Grit chamber:
Preliminary treatment may consist of a sand or grit channel or chamber, where the speed of the incoming sewage is adjusted to permit the settlement of sand, grit, stones, and broken glass. These bits are removed because they may harm pumps and other equipment. For small sanitary sewer systems, the grit chambers may not be required, but grit elimination is wanted at larger plants.

Primary Treatment:
Primary treatment is the second stage in treatment and parts suspended solids and greases from wastewater. Waste-water is contained in a quiet tank for a number of hours allowing the particles

to settle to the base and the greases to float to the top. The solids taken off the bottom and skimmed off the top receive further treatment as sludge. The clarified wastewater flows on to the next stage of wastewater treatment. Clarifiers and septic tanks are usually used to provide primary treatment. In the primary sedimentation stage, sewage flows through large tanks, commonly known as "presettling basins", "primary sedimentation tanks" or "primary clarifiers". The tanks are used to settle sludge while grease and oils rise to the surface and are skimmed off. Primary settling tanks are usually outfitted with mechanically driven scrapers that continually drive the collected sludge towards a hopper in the base of the tank where it is pumped to sludge treatment facilities. Grease and oil from the floating material can sometimes be recovered for saponification. The dimensions of the tank should be designed so that there is removal of a great percentage of the floatables and sludge. A classic sedimentation tank may remove from 50 to 70 percent of suspended solids and from 30 to 35 percent of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) from the sewage.

Secondary Treatment:
Secondary treatment is a biological treatment process to eradicate dissolved organic matter from wastewater. Sewage microorganisms are cultured and added to the wastewater. The microorganisms soak up organic matter from sewage as their food supply. Three approaches are used to carry out secondary treatment; fixed film, suspended film and lagoon systems. Secondary treatment is planned to considerably debase the biological content of the sewage which is derived from human waste, food waste, soaps and detergent. Most of municipal plants treat the settled sewage liquor by means of aerobic biological processes. To be useful, the

biota requires both oxygen and food to live. The bacteria and protozoa eat biodegradable soluble organic contaminants (e.g, sugars, fats, organic short-chain carbon molecules, etc.) and bind much of the less soluble fractions into floc.

Steps in secondary treatment:

Biological reactors: In this step microorganisms are developed on substrates such as rocks, sand or plastic. The wastewater is spread over the substrate, permitting the wastewater to flow past the film of microorganisms fixed to the substrate. As organic matter and nutrients are absorbed from the wastewater, the layer of microorganisms develops and condenses. Biological Filter or Biofilters merge filtration with biological carbon reduction, nitrification or denitrification. Biological filter typically consisst of a reactor filled with a filter media. 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. Bio filter is operated either in up flow or down flow configuration. The bacteria and micro organisms undergo aerobic digestion in the biological reactor since there is a presence of oxygen. There is a certain BOD (biological oxygen demand) due to this reason. The microorganisms consume the waste material and hence the cleaning of water occurs. Below is the picture of the biological reactor present at the water treatment plant that we visited.

Plastic Media: The plastic media is the main component upon which the microorganisms reside and is the basic unit of biological reactor. In the plant we visited the reactor consisted of around 4000 plastic media. They are constructed in such a manner that sufficient air reaches them and the flow is also regulated.

Trickling filter: Trickling filter is made up of a fixed bed of rocks, coke, gravel, slag, ceramic or plastic media over which sewage or other waste water waste runs downward and causes a film of slime bio layer to grow, covering the bed of media. Aerobic environment is maintained by splashing, diffusion, and either by forced air flowing through the bed or natural convection of air if the filter medium is porous.

The filter media is usually chosen to give a very high surface area to volume ratio. Typical filter materials are often porous and have considerable internal surface area in addition to the external surface of the medium. Passage of the wastewater over the media furnishes dissolved air, the oxygen which the slime layer requires for the biochemical oxidation of the organic compounds and releases carbon dioxide gas, water and other oxidized are end products. As the biofilm layer thickens, it eventually sloughs off into the treated sludge and subsequently forms part of the secondary sludge. The treatment of sewage or other wastewater with trickling filters is among the oldest and most well characterized treatment technologies. Configurations and components of trickling filter: All sewage trickling filter systems share the same fundamental components: A septic tank for fermentation and primary settling of solids. A filter medium upon which beneficial biomass, biofilm are promoted and developed. A container which houses the filter medium. A distribution system for applying wastewater to be treated to the filter medium.

Systems can be configured for single-pass use where the treated water is applied to the trickling filter once before being disposed of, or for multi-pass use where a portion of the treated water is cycled back to the septic tank and re-treated via a closed loop. Multi-pass systems result in higher treatment quality and assist in removing Total Nitrogen (TN) levels by promoting nitrification in the aerobic media bed and denitrification in the anaerobic septic tank. Trickling filters differ primarily in the type of filter media used to house the microbial colonies. Types of media most commonly used include plastic matrix material, open-cell foam, recycled tires, clinker, gravel, sand and geotextiles Ideal filter medium optimizes surface area for

microbial attachment, wastewater retention time, allows air flow, resists plugging and does not degrade. Some residential systems require forced aeration units which will increase maintenance and operational costs.

Sludges: 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 digesion, aerobic digestion and composting. Sludge treatment depends on the amount of solids generated and other site-specific conditions. Composting is most often applied to small-scale plants with aerobic digestion for midsized operations and anaerobic digestion for the larger-scale operations.

Primary sludges: Primary sludges are materials that settle out during primary treatment, often have a strong odor and require treatment prior to disposal. When fresh sewage or wastewater is added to a settling tank approximately 50% of the suspended solid matter will settle out in an hour and a half. This collection of solids is known as raw sludge or primary solids and is said to be "fresh" before anaerobic processes become active. The sludge will decompose in a short time once anaerobic bacteria take over, and must be removed from the sedimentation tank before this happens. Secondary sludges: Secondary sludges are the extra microorganisms from the biological treatment processes. The goals of sludge treatment are to stabilize the sludge and reduce odors, remove some of the water and reduce volume, decompose some of the organic matter and reduce volume, kill disease causing organisms and disinfect the sludge. Untreated sludge is about 97 percent water. Settling the sludge and decanting off the separated liquid removes some of the water and reduces the sludge volume. Settling can result in sludge with about 96 to 92 percent water. More water can be removed from sludge by using sand drying beds, vacuum filters, filter presses, and centrifuges resulting in sludge with between 80 to 50 percent water. This dried sludge is called a sludge cake. Aerobic and anaerobic digestion is used to decompose organic matter to reduce volume. Digestion also stabilizes the sludge to reduce odors. Caustic chemicals can be added to sludge or it may be heat treated to kill disease-causing organisms. Following treatment, liquid and cake sludge are usually spread on fields, returning organic matter and nutrients to the soil.

Wastewater treatment processes require careful management to ensure the protection of the water body that receives the discharge. Trained and certified treatment plant operators measure and monitor the incoming sewage, the treatment process and the final effluent. Sludge disposal: When a liquid sludge is produced, further treatment may be required to make it suitable for final disposal. Typically, sludge are thickened (dewatered) to reduce the volumes transported off-site for disposal. There is no process which completely eliminates the need to dispose of bio solids. There is, however, an additional step some cities are taking to superheat sludge and convert it into small pelletized granules that are high in nitrogen and other organic materials. The product which is left is called "cake". This product can be used in local farms as a soil amendment or fertilizer. Coliform bacteria: Coliform bacteria are used as an indicator of disease-causing organisms. Sewage also contains nutrients (such as ammonia and phosphorus), minerals, and metals. Ammonia can range from 12 to 50 mg/l and phosphorus can range from 6 to 20 mg/l in untreated sewage. 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.

Industrial Practices and Discussion:

The plant that we visited had a building cost of 5.1 million rupees but the operational cost was rather low due to the fact that very little fuel was being used and natural conditions were being made use of. A similar plant has been working in Karachi which has yielded excellent results for the company and has achieved the desired BOD.

Conclusion:
We obtained a good understanding of the underlying processes in wastewater treatment and also understood how important it is for our environment. The plant design was economical and modern.

Acknowledgements:
We would like to acknowledge the staff at Bahria Town Water treatment plant who were kind enough to conduct this visit for us, especially Engineer Kamran Minhaas who gave us valuable guidelines and insight which helped in our project. Also we would like to mention our lecturer Dr. Noman-ul-Haq and our lab teacher Mam Zeb Jahan who were most co-operative during the project.

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