The Different Stages of Waste Water Treatment
A resident of Santa Monica, California, Cary Meadow is the executive chairman and CEO of Patriot Environmental Services. Having acquired the firm in 2014, Cary Meadow oversees the company’s various environmental services including waste water treatment.
Waste water treatment involves treating waste water so that it can be disposed without causing substantial danger to human health and to the environment. Waste water treatment plants treat water in several stages. In the first stage, waste water goes through screening where large objects like cotton buds, plastics, rags, and bottle tops are removed. These can damage treatment equipment if allowed to go further. Next is the primary treatment where macrobiotic insoluble matter in the water is removed through sedimentation. The water is collected in large tanks, the solid matter floats to the top, and is removed by scrappers. It is largely a physical process.
The remaining water is channeled to secondary treatment where it is infused with oxygen and seed sludge to promote the growth of small organisms already in the water that feed on the remaining organic matter. Because of these biological processes, large particles form and settle at the bottom of the water from where they are removed.
The last stages involve chemically treating the waste water. At the tertiary level, soluble water constituents like nitrogen, phosphorus, heavy metals, and other dissolved solids are removed through advanced chemical treatment processes, similar to those used to clean drinking water. Afterward, the water is disinfected in chorine and sodium hypochlorite tanks to remove disease-causing microorganisms before being directed to storage.
Waste water treatment involves treating waste water so that it can be disposed without causing substantial danger to human health and to the environment. Waste water treatment plants treat water in several stages. In the first stage, waste water goes through screening where large objects like cotton buds, plastics, rags, and bottle tops are removed. These can damage treatment equipment if allowed to go further. Next is the primary treatment where macrobiotic insoluble matter in the water is removed through sedimentation. The water is collected in large tanks, the solid matter floats to the top, and is removed by scrappers. It is largely a physical process.
The remaining water is channeled to secondary treatment where it is infused with oxygen and seed sludge to promote the growth of small organisms already in the water that feed on the remaining organic matter. Because of these biological processes, large particles form and settle at the bottom of the water from where they are removed.
The last stages involve chemically treating the waste water. At the tertiary level, soluble water constituents like nitrogen, phosphorus, heavy metals, and other dissolved solids are removed through advanced chemical treatment processes, similar to those used to clean drinking water. Afterward, the water is disinfected in chorine and sodium hypochlorite tanks to remove disease-causing microorganisms before being directed to storage.
