Removal of Organic Matter by Physico-Chemical Mechanisms in Wastewater Treatment Plants

Abstract

Solids separation, adsorption onto participates and volatilization are the main physico-chemical mechanisms responsible for the removal of organic matter in wastewater treatment plants. In addition, solids separation as well as adsorption performance may be enhanced by chemical flocculation/precipitation with hydrolyzing metal salts. With the help of particle size distributions and other characteristics of the particulates at different treatment stages, more insight can be gained into the interactions between paniculate properties and solids separation performance. Significant removal of trace organics is achieved by adsorption onto paniculate surfaces and stripping in aeration tanks. Examples illustrate the adsorption of the relatively large quantities of substances contained in detergents and reveal the effect on water and sludge quality. Octanol/water partition coefficients of trace organics may be used together with oxygen transfer characteristics to determine the potential of volatilization into the air. The effect of flocculants on paniculate and dissolved organics removal in wastewater treatment is illustrated when Fe-salts are dosed to raw sewage, to the biological stage or to tertiary filters.