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February 2005
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On-site Wastewater Treatment Systems – Technical issues
UNESCO-IHE, MUI Department, Elisabeth v. Münch, PhD
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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On-site Wastewater Treatment Systems – Technical issues
UNESCO-IHE, MUI Department, Elisabeth v. Münch, PhD
1. DEFINITION OF TERMS
On-site Treatment
The term on-site treatment is usually used to refer to “small” wastewater treatment plants with
local effluent disposal (most often subsurface disposal). It usually involves a very basic
sewerage system to convey wastewater to the treatment process. The treated effluent pipes are
usually very short, because the aim is to locate the treatment process and the disposal site in
close proximity to each other.
The International Water Association Specialist Group on Small WWTP has defined a small
wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) as being one for less than 2000 person equivalents (pe)
or a daily flow of 200 m3/d. In comparison, the Norwegian classification system calls a
treatment plant “small” if it treats the effluent of 35-500 persons. Indeed, there is no clear-cut
definition of what size exactly is “small” for WWTPs.
WWTPs that have the capacity to treat effluent from < 35 persons (i.e. scattered dwellings of
< 7 houses) are called mini-treatment plants (or on-site plants) in Norway. These plants are
only used in cases where soil infiltration cannot be used due to impermeable soils.
Mini-treatment plants normally treat all the wastewater from the house (grey as well as black
water), and they normally use pre-treatment in a septic tank followed by a unit based on
biological or chemical processes or combinations of the two.
Decentralised WWTPs will normally (but not always) receive a more concentrated
wastewater than centralised plants, and flow and variations in composition are greater.
Generally speaking, the smaller the system, the larger the variations in flow and composition
will be.
The conditions present in a biological treatment system are commonly classed into the
following three categories:
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On-site Wastewater Treatment Systems – Technical issues
UNESCO-IHE, MUI Department, Elisabeth v. Münch, PhD
An aerobic state is characterised by the presence of oxygen (may or may not contain
nitrate).
An anaerobic state is characterised by the absence of oxygen or nitrate.
An anoxic state is characterised by the absence of oxygen, but presence of nitrate.
This latter distinction between anaerobic and anoxic is only important for discussing
biological nutrient removal concepts.
Person equivalent or p.e. (the amount of wastewater discharged per person; usually taken to
mean 200 L/d/person and 60 g BOD/d/person).
BOD: BOD stands for “biological oxygen demand” and is a measure for the strength of the
wastewater with regard to organic matter. It is expressed as mg/l or kg/d.
Table 1 below summarises the characteristics of so-called “normal”, “difficult” and “adverse”
site conditions. The type of site condition is an important factor in choosing the effluent
disposal method.
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On-site Wastewater Treatment Systems – Technical issues
UNESCO-IHE, MUI Department, Elisabeth v. Münch, PhD
The following broad definition for acceptable performance of any on-site soil system is
proposed: “Acceptable on-site disposal and treatment of domestic liquid waste implies
complete infiltration in the seepage system at all times, followed by transformations during
soil percolation to the effect that neither the ground water aquifer nor surface waters are
contaminated at any time to a degree that is unacceptable in terms of human health or
environmental quality”.
The wastewater treatment processes used for decentralised wastewater systems are in
principle the same as used for larger centralised wastewater systems, i.e. physical, chemical
and biological processes as well as combinations of these. Certain processes are better suited
for the small-scale application than others, and these are described in detail in this chapter. An
overview and comparison of the processes described below is provided at the end of this
chapter.
Anaerobic bacteria (organisms that live without oxygen) feed on the sludge, reducing its
volume. Soluble organic matter is released from the sludge into the effluent. Methane and
carbon dioxide are also produced and vented from the tank through the house vent. Only
about 40% of the sludge volume is reduced in this manner, however, and the accumulated
solids must be pumped from the tank once very 2 to 3 years. Septic sludge (so-called
“septage”) has to be treated and disposed by one of several available methods (see Section
3.7.2).
If solids are not pumped out, the tank will fill, re-suspend the accumulated solids, and wash
them into the absorption fields where they quickly clog the soil pores. The liquid effluent
from the septic tank is discharged to a distribution box and then to a drainfield.
Effluent coming from the septic tank is not of a high quality nor is it consistent, but this is not
necessary if a suitable soil type and area is used for final subsurface disposal. The tank does
remove up to 60% of the BOD and 70% of the suspended solids. Indicator microorganisms,
which are microorganisms that indicate the possible presence of disease-causing bacteria, are
not reduced to low levels.
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On-site Wastewater Treatment Systems – Technical issues
UNESCO-IHE, MUI Department, Elisabeth v. Münch, PhD
Modern conventionally designed septic systems are composed of four basic components:
Building sewer
Septic tank
Distribution box
Drainfield (or leach field)
Typically, septic tanks are made of concrete or fiberglass, although other materials such as
steel, redwood and polyethylene have been used. Regardless of the material of construction, a
septic tank must be watertight and structurally sound. The size of the septic tank system is
critical in terms of its performance. Several tanks, often arranged in series, are applied for
schools, summer camps, parks and motels.
The UASB reactor has the potential to produce higher quality effluent than septic tanks, and
can do so in a smaller reactor volume. Whilst it is a well-established process for large-scale
industrial effluent treatment processes, its application to on-site domestic sewage is still
relatively new.
3.2. Ponds
Wastewater can be treated in ponds, which are also referred to as lagoons or waste
stabilisation ponds. These are shallow, man-made (earthen and/or lined) basins, which can be
provided with or without mechanical aerators or covers (for anaerobic ponds). They provide
BOD and pathogen removal, and can also provide nutrient removal. The stabilised sludge has
to be removed periodically. The approach to pond design has been largely empirical; it is
nowadays commonly based on volumetric and organic loading rates, hydraulic retention times
and temperature.
Ponds require a relatively large land area, which is a disadvantage if space is limited or
expensive. Their main advantage is that they are easy to maintain and operate. Ponds are
usually classified as follows:
Anaerobic ponds – usually 3-5 m deep; solids settling and anaerobic digestion occurs
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On-site Wastewater Treatment Systems – Technical issues
UNESCO-IHE, MUI Department, Elisabeth v. Münch, PhD
Facultative ponds – 1 to 2.5 m deep; aerobic treatment in the top layer and anaerobic
degradation in the deeper layers (if mechanical aeration is provided, this type of pond
could be turned into an entirely aerobic pond)
Maturation ponds – 1 to 1.5 m deep, entirely aerobic; active algal biomass is maintained
throughout entire depth; pathogen removal; can be filled with floating macrophytes (e.g.
duck weed, water hyacinth)
A typical pond treatment system consists of three ponds in series, where the first pond is
anaerobic, the second facultative and the third a maturation pond.
When properly designed and operated, a filter bed can operate for several years before
maintenance is required. When that time comes, the filter bed can be restored within a few
hours.
The typical sand filter is a concrete or PVC-lined box filled with a specific sand material. A
network of small-diameter pipes is placed in a gravel-filled bed on top of the sand. Septic tank
effluent is pumped under low pressure through the pipes in controlled doses to insure uniform
distribution (Qasim, 1999).
The effluent leaves the pipes, trickles downward through the gravel, and is treated as it filters
through the sand. A gravel under-drain collects and moves the treated wastewater to discharge
(pumped or gravity). The accumulation of solids occurs in a 50 to 80 mm layer that must be
removed periodically. The total filter area required for an intermittent sand filter is determined
by dividing the average flowrate by the design hydraulic loading rate. One spare filter should
be added to ensure continuous operation because it may take several days for a cleaning event
to be completed.
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On-site Wastewater Treatment Systems – Technical issues
UNESCO-IHE, MUI Department, Elisabeth v. Münch, PhD
Four process elements are common for all activated sludge systems (for a detailed description
of this system the reader is referred to Tchobanoglous et al. (2003)):
A flocculent, aerated slurry of microorganisms (which is called “mixed liquor suspended
solids” or MLSS) is utilised in a bioreactor to remove soluble and particulate organic
matter from the influent wastewater;
Quiescent settling is used to remove the MLSS from the process stream, producing an
effluent that is low in organic matter and suspended solids;
Settled solids are recycled as a concentrated slurry from the clarifier back to the bioreactor;
Excess MLSS (sludge or biosolids) is wasted from the bioreactor to control the solids
retention time to a desired value.
Air is provided to the bioreactor by mechanical surface aerators or diffused air aeration (using
blower and diffusers). In general, the inherent instability of the process means that it must be
controlled carefully – a much easier proposition in one central plant. Because the process
provides no physical barrier, poorly treated effluent is released immediately if problems,
accidents or equipment failures lead to a process breakdown. Once the process is disturbed it
can take hours and often days for it to re-establish itself.
There are many process variants to the basic activated sludge process, the main ones being
described briefly below.
After a short settling period, the clarified treated effluent is discharged via a specially
designed decanter. One design variant is that the decanter follows the liquid level down
enabling only the clear, treated effluent to be discharged, while the biomass continues to
settle. Once the treated effluent is discharged the reactor is available to treat a further batch of
wastewater. In this way, the process operates on a batch treatment principle, with the
operations being sequenced. Two or more SBRs are usually operated in parallel unless a
sewage storage tank is used.
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On-site Wastewater Treatment Systems – Technical issues
UNESCO-IHE, MUI Department, Elisabeth v. Münch, PhD
An oxidation ditch is a variation of the extended aeration process. It has a channel in the
shape of a race track. Mechanical aeration with rotors is usually used to supply oxygen and
maintain circulation.
The process employs flat sheet membrane panels housed in stainless steel (304 or 316) units
and aerated by a coarse bubble system below each unit. A series of these membranes are
submerged within an activated sludge treatment tank. The aeration necessary for treatment of
the liquors also generates an upward cross-flow over the membranes; essential to keep fouling
of the filtration surface to a minimum. An advantage of this design is that the membrane
panels are securely retained and do not touch or abrade each other whilst the units also act as
a flume to ensure effective tank mixing and even distribution of the biomass.
The membrane panels are manufactured with a pore size in the range of 0.1 to 0.4 μm which
in operation becomes covered by a dynamic layer of protein and cellular material. This further
enhances the effectiveness of this filtration performance by providing an effective pore size of
less than 0.01 μm, which is in the ultra filtration range.
The incoming wastewater requires screening (< 3 mm) and de-gritting prior to entering the
membrane bioreactor tank. The process requires no primary or secondary settlement stages
and no additional tertiary treatment or UV stages to achieve very high disinfection.
The MBR system does not require flocs to be formed to remove the solids by settlement and
therefore the biomass can operate at very high levels of MLSS, generally in the order of
12,000-18,000 mg/l, and as high as 22,000 mg/l. This high concentration enables a small tank
volume and a long sludge age to be utilised, which substantially reduces sludge production.
The hydraulic flow determines the required number of membrane units. Each membrane unit
may contain up to 400 flat sheet membrane panels housed within a rectangular box, together
with an integral aeration system in the bottom section of the unit.
Treated effluent is removed from the membrane units using gravity head (typically 1 – 1.2 m),
or a pumped suction operation can be utilised.
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On-site Wastewater Treatment Systems – Technical issues
UNESCO-IHE, MUI Department, Elisabeth v. Münch, PhD
With a high surface area to volume ratio, the media supports a biologically active film of
microorganisms, to treat the wastewater by using oxygen from the air provided. Manufactured
from lightweight vacuum-formed PVC sheets (for example), bonded together to form packs,
the media can easily be removed for maintenance.
When the oxygen-rich wastewater comes into contact with the biomass attached to the surface
of the media, organic pollutants are broken down by the biomass. The flow of air can be
controlled to optimise the levels of dissolved oxygen within the reactor, ensuring that the
process is energy efficient.
The process is based on the biofilm principle, and the core of the process are the biofilm
carrier elements made from polyethylene with a density slightly below that of water. These
are designed to provide a large protected surface for the bacteria culture.
The plastic "wheel" in the Kaldnes Moving Bed™ Process is the result of extensive research.
It has been described as "an apartment with three rooms and a kitchen, where bacteria can live
comfortably and tuck into hearty meals of water pollutants". (Kaldnes web site,
http://www.kmt.no/process.html)
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On-site Wastewater Treatment Systems – Technical issues
UNESCO-IHE, MUI Department, Elisabeth v. Münch, PhD
Compared to conventional activated sludge processes there is no sludge recycle in the MBBR
process, and the final clarification stage is considerably smaller.
Alternative processes also exist that use activated sludge together with freely moving media,
and these are sometimes referred to as “suspended carrier” processes.
Constructed wetland systems can significantly remove BOD, total suspended solids, nitrogen
and phosphorus, as well as metals, trace organics and pathogens. Mosquito control and plant
harvesting are the two main operational considerations associated with constructed wetlands
for wastewater treatment (Qasim, 1999).
Nitrogen removal is usually performed using the biological processes of nitrification and
denitrification. In large, centralised activated sludge plants, this process is realised using
biological nutrient removal (BNR). All BNR process configurations for nitrogen removal
have in common the use of an aerobic stage (for nitrification) and an anoxic stage (for
denitrification). These two stages can be incorporated into suspended growth or attached
growth process designs.
Phosphorus removal can also be achieved using a BNR process, and it requires the right
sequence of anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic conditions. Due to the process complexity and
inherent instability, it is not commonly used in small scale or on-site WWTPs. Instead,
chemical P removal using iron salt dosing is commonly used (e.g. in Norway).
Anaerobic treatment systems such as septic tanks or UASBs are, on their own, unable to
provide nutrient removal.
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On-site Wastewater Treatment Systems – Technical issues
UNESCO-IHE, MUI Department, Elisabeth v. Münch, PhD
In each case, a liquid fraction and a solids fraction will be the result of treatment. The liquid
fraction has to be treated further (e.g ponds, constructed wetlands). The solid fraction could
be used for beneficial reuse in agriculture. Where this is not possible, the treated sludge could
be disposed in landfills or burnt in incinerators (but this is unlikely to be an option for
decentralised systems).
For more details on faecal sludge management the reader is referred to the web site of the
Swiss organisation SANDEC (www.sandec.ch), who is very active in this field.
3.7.3. Odour
The potential for odour generation is an important consideration for decentralised wastewater
treatment because potential odour receptors (peoples’ noses!) might be much closer than in
the case of centralised WWTPs.
Odour can be minimised by proper wastewater treatment process design (e.g. ensuring that
the biological process is not overloaded) or with specialised odour treatment technology (such
as biofilters or activated carbon adsorption).
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On-site Wastewater Treatment Systems – Technical issues
UNESCO-IHE, MUI Department, Elisabeth v. Münch, PhD
1
Usually with chemical P removal.
2
Harvesting of plants required instead of sludge production
3
Includes space requirement for drainfield, depending on site conditions
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On-site Wastewater Treatment Systems – Technical issues
UNESCO-IHE, MUI Department, Elisabeth v. Münch, PhD
Characteristic Technology →
or parameter
↓ Septic tank UASB Ponds Constructed Anaerobic Conventional MBR RBC,
wetlands, land treatment + ASP, SBR, SAF,
application Sand filters Ext. aeration MBBR
simple complex complex
Process stability Quite robust Robust Very robust Robust Robust Can be Reasonably Reasonably robust
unstable robust
Capital cost Low Low Medium Medium High High Very high High
O&M cost Low Low Low Low Low to medium High Very high Medium
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On-site Wastewater Treatment Systems – Technical issues
UNESCO-IHE, MUI Department, Elisabeth v. Münch, PhD
The ecosan area is a rapidly developing field and it would go beyond the scope of this report to
go into too much detail here. A very good web site on this topic is the site by the German
organisation GTZ: http://www.gtz.de/ecosan/english/index.html
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On-site Wastewater Treatment Systems – Technical issues
UNESCO-IHE, MUI Department, Elisabeth v. Münch, PhD
Pollution control is big business. It is driven by regulations and public perception. Many vendors
are trying to sell equipment. You need carefully evaluate the many products and services offered.
The following approach to working with suppliers is recommended (Edwards, 1995):
Determine if their experience is relevant to your situation
Investigate their reputation in the business
Define your problem before you call them
Establish what you expect them to provide
Obtain a cost estimate for their services and equipment
Ask for design, installation, and training proposals in writing
Ask them to test their equipment in your business
Have necessary site work done before equipment arrives for installation
4
For further information, please refer to the lecture notes of van Duijl on Sewerage and Drainage.
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On-site Wastewater Treatment Systems – Technical issues
UNESCO-IHE, MUI Department, Elisabeth v. Münch, PhD
6. REFERENCES
Bouma (1979) Subsurface Applications of Sewage Effluent. In: Planning the Uses and
Management of Land; re-printed in EURO Summer School (2000)
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On-site Wastewater Treatment Systems – Technical issues
UNESCO-IHE, MUI Department, Elisabeth v. Münch, PhD
Edwards, J.D. (1995) Industrial Wastewater Treatment - A Guidebook. CRC Press, Inc., Boca
Raton, Florida, USA.
Lens, P., Zeeman, G., and Lettinga, G. (2001) Decentralised Sanitation and Reuse - Concepts,
Systems and Implementation. IWA Publishing, London. (based on EURO Summer
School (2000) DESAR Decentralised Sanitation and Reuse, WICC, June 18-23,
Wageningen University, Sub-department of Environmental Technology, The
Netherlands)
Tchobanoglous, G., Burton, F.L., and Stensel, H.D. (2003) Wastewater Engineering, Treatment
and Reuse. Metcalf & Eddy, Inc., McGraw-Hill (4th edition).
Water Science & Technology, 48, 11-12 (2003): Small Water and Wastewater Treatment
Systems V (Selected Proceedings of the 5th IWA International Specialised Conference on
Small Water and Wastewater Treatment Systems, held in Istanbul, Turkey, 24-26
September 2002)
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