Is primary treatment sufficient to release clean water back into nature?
As it was proven, primary treatment isn’t sufficient to release clean water back into nature, as this stage only cleans the inorganic elements. The water is still filled with organic residues and lots of bacteria. This is why modern wastewater treatment facilities use a second treatment stage, which includes the following steps:
Who is Tobey from P2RX?
Tobey is the editor-in-chief at P2Rx™, his experience both in the field of journalism and a keen interest in the topic of pollution, a subject he previously covered in his career in multiple pieces, making him the expert of our team. What Tobey learned from his background is that researching each topic thoroughly is the only guarantee that an article will depict a truthful picture, a policy that he strictly follows. In his off time, he indulges in reading modern literature and binging on the latest TV shows.
Where Does All The Dirty Water Go?
- You do the dishes, wash your hands, and flush several times a day. All the dirty water is carried away in a minute. But where does it go? Sometimes, when a sewer system isn’t available, it will end up in a septic tank in the back of the yard. But if we are talking about a big city, it will be carried through the sewer system to a treatment base, also known as a wastewater treatment pl…
How Does A Wastewater Treatment Plant Work?
- Filtering wastewater is far from being a simple process, as it isn’t contaminated only with one type of pollutants. Thus, most municipal treatment facilities employ either 2-stage or 3-stage processes. While the treatment can vary from one plant to another, in the following paragraphs we will describe the process that is most often used.
Is This Method Reliable?
- In theory, it is. The system is performant and, as explained, all the water that goes through it will be released clean in a proportion of 99%. Then, how do you always hear about wastewater polluting our lakes and oceans? Are people or companies responsible for this? They can be. Among the main reasons natural waters get polluted is that wastewater doesn’t follow the path t…
Conclusion
- Wastewater treatment plants are the ones keeping our cities clean. They work continuously to remove debris and pollutants from the wastewater so the fish and other underwater creatures can multiply and continue to populate our lakes, seas, and oceans. Nonetheless, it seems that it isn’t sufficient to send our wastewater to the plant and sleep sound...
Pre-Treatment Phase
- http://www.instagram.com/p/CBuVtZ1DbHv/ The pre-treatment phase that occurs at a wastewater treatment plant is designed to get rid of the larger and easier to remove items from the water. These items can include everything from tree branches and cans to plastic bottles and rags. Some of the operations that can occur during this phase include collec...
Primary Treatment Phase
- http://www.instagram.com/p/B-WWIQHlkY8/ Once the pre-treatment phase concludes, the primary treatment phase can begin. The wastewater will be collected in sedimentation tanks and large basins at this point, which is done to allow contaminants to sink to the bottom of the water. Once the smaller particles in the water have settled, scrapers are used to collect the solids and send t…
Secondary Treatment Phase
- http://www.instagram.com/p/B_ZLcJVhNJD/ This is a very important phase of the wastewater treatment process that involves the agitation and aeration of the water within secondary basins. It’s at this point in the process that microorganisms are added to the water in order to break down any organic matterinto sludge that can be more readily discarded. Certain plants will grow a sub…
Sludge Treatment Phase
- http://www.instagram.com/p/B5CI6DapAH8/ The final phase of the wastewater treatment process is referred to as the sludge treatment phase. During the secondary treatment phase, the solids and organic matter that remain in the water are converted into sludge that can be treated and recycled. The sludge treatment phase involves the treatment of the remaining water as well as a…