MICROBES IN

WASTE WATER
TREATMENT
 Where does the water When you flush the toilet
from the washer go? where does the contents go?

By gravity flow, the waste is on its way to your local

wastewater treatment plant!
Sewer Systems on history
Since roman times.
 WASTEWATER!!!
Domestic /Municipal waste water

Industrial waste water

Urban runoff

Agricultural runoff
COMPOSITION OF WASTE WATER

Most wastewater from a building is sanitary

wastewater which includes

human waste,
cleaning solutions,
oil and grease from cooking,
food particles, and
soil from cleaning clothes and floors

(include fat,protein,carbohydrates,nitrates,ammonia etc..)

Commercial
establishments
may also
discharge metals,
acids and bases,
and small particles
of plastic, glass,
stone, etc….
Consequence is…
 WASTE WATER MANAGEMENT

REUSE RECYCLE DISCHARGE

•
•Some relatively clean
• Wastewater can be treated
wastewater • Wastewater is transported
(on-site or off-site) and
can be reused without to an (onsite or off-site)
reused for nondrinking
treatment treatment facility, treated,
purposes
• Gray water is and discharged into a water
•Closed-loop treatment
wastewater generated body
systems are often
by washing, laundry, and • These treated water can
used to capture, treat, and
bathing be discharged and reused,
reuse wastewater on-site
(not from toilets) which can be used for
•Wastewater reclamation
•50-80% of domestic watering in gardens or
involves treating the
wastewater other washing purposes
wastewater and using it for a
•Reused for irrigation or
different purpose
flushing toilets
 Ground Water:
a clean source of drinking water?
The need for wastewater treatment plants

Goal of wastewater treatment:

– Protect health
– Preserve natural resources
– Prevent ecological damage

The WWTP removes energy-rich

organic matter before discharge into
the environment.
– And uses technology to
prevent/lower the occurrence of
water borne diseases.
 Sewage Treatment

Primary treatment:
Non-biological treatment
Removes solids
Waste has high nutrient
load (e.g. C, N, S, and P)

Secondary treatment:
 Decreases dissolved
organic carbon (DOC)
 Uses biological treatment
Aerobic and anaerobic
secondary treatment
WASTE WATER TREATMENT PLANT
 Septic Tanks (Rural Areas)
Collection in large tank
– Settling of sludge
– Anaerobic degradation

Outlet to drainage field

– Aerobic oxidization of
organic material

Potential Problems:
Improper aeration
Improper drainage
Presence of pathogens
Toxic conditions
 Aerobic secondary waste
treatment: Trickle filter

Trickling filter is a bed of

crushed rocks—the 1ºtreated sewage
is trickled over it. Lots of surfaces for
microorganisms to attach to.
Complete mineralization of
waste to CO2, ammonia, nitrate,
sulfate, and phosphate
Same process occurring in a
fish aquarium.
 AEROBIC SECONDARY WASTE
TREATMENTS: ACTIVATED SLUDGE

Air bubbled through waste

water.
Bacteria form large flocs.
– Zoogloea ramigera is one
Of the key species that
forms a slime and is the
base of the floc.
After the flocs form they
are allowed to settle out
Filamentous bacteria can
cause sludge bulking
problems--sludge thickens
 Aerobic Activated sludge

Much of the organic material binds to the floc and is eventually

taken up by the microbial biofilm.

95% of the BOD is reduced during this stage.

MICROBIOLOGY OF ANOXIC SECONDARY TREATMENT

 Thisis used for breaking down

solid waste.
 Done in an anoxic sludge digester.
 Solids are complex polymers
e.g. cellulose and fiber.
– Microbes secret lipases,
proteases, amylases, etc.
 Fermentation is the major
metabolism in this treatment
 Lots of methane is produced
by methanogenic archaea.
The methane is collected and
used to generate electricity.
ANOXIC SECONDARY WASTE
TREATMENT

To the landfill
 Important microbes in the
sewage treatment plant
Nitrifying bacteria
– Aerobes
– Convert nitrogenous
waste into nitrate
Denitrifying bacteria
– Anaerobes
– Convert nitrate to N2
Methanogens
– Generate methane from
acetate
– Or use H2 and CO2 to
make methane
– Mostly archaea
 NITRIFYING BACTERIA
Ammonia is converted into nitrate :
NH4+ + 2O2  NO3- + H2O + 2H+
Ammonia has a high BOD because NH3 oxidation
requires oxygen.
Two groups of microbes are involved:
– Ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB)
– Nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB)
AOB oxidize NH3 to NO2 in two steps:
– Ammonia monooxygenase (AMO)
– Hydroxylamine oxidoreductase (HAO)
NOB oxidize NO2 to NO3
– Uses the Nor enzyme complex
Both AOB and NOB respire oxygen
 Ammonia Oxidizing Bacteria
(AOB):
(A,B) Nitrsomonas; (C,D) Nitrosolobus
Nitrite Oxidizing Bacteria (NOB):
(E, F) Nitrospira; (G, H) Ntirococcus
 BACTERIA

Most bacteria are white water feeding type

Some prefer gently flowing water better

SWIMMING CILIATES

CRAWLING CILIATES

STALKED CILIATES
AMEOBAS

FLAGELLATES

ROTIFERS

Most common
Feed bacteria ,algae, or
even microbes

WATER BEARS

BRISTTLE WORMS
 RECENT TRENDS………..
SOLAR DETOXIFICATION
After primary treatment it mixed with titanium dioxide
which can then be pumped to the solar flat plate

DEPLOYABLE AQUEOUS AEROBIC BIOREACTOR[DAAB]

An autonomous system and can be monitored , diagnosed,
and controlled via the internet
 REFERENCES
BIOTECHNOLOGY EXPANDING HORIZONS
-B.D.SINGH
A TEXTBOOK OF MICROBIOLOGY
-R.C DUBEY & D.K MAHESHWARI
MICROBIOLOGY :FUNDAMENTALS &
APPLICATIONS
-S.S.PUROHIT
THANK YOU…….