Wastewater treatment plants are critical to sustaining human life. Wastewater contains toxins and other pollutants that need to be removed prior to human use and consumption. In any treatment system, water quality needs to be consistently monitored and checked to ensure the health of consumers.Within any treatment process cost, time, and energy efficiency are top of mind. How can you be sure you are running your wastewater treatment process most effectively?
Wastewater is treated within a sewage treatment plant using biological, chemical, and mechanical processes.
First the mechanical process: Large, heavy particles are caught during a screening and sedimentation process - sinking to the bottom of the chamber. All the lighter materials that are still in the wastewater rest within the primary settlement tank and form raw sludge. While the pretreated water is forwarded to the aeration tank the raw sludge is conveyed to the digesters.
The biological treatment of the wastewater takes place in the aeration tank.
The purpose of an aeration system is to introduce dissolved oxygen to the body of water. The dissolved oxygen helps to remove dissolved gasses and oxidize dissolved metals such as iron, hydrogen sulfide, and volatile organic chemicals (VOCs).
This takes place during an activated sludge process where oxygen and microorganisms are added to the water. These microbes grow by feeding on the organic material - allowing them to break down the finely divided organic contaminants. These microorganisms then form flocs and settle out during the treatment process within the settling tank.
It’s critical to keep these microorganisms healthy and thriving, therefore, adjusting and monitoring the pH levels is a top priority. Monitoring the pH levels is possible with help of the JUMO tecLine pH!
The sludge is then stabilized in the digester. Stabilization is the most advanced anaerobic degradation of compounds with the aid of bacteria. These bacteria convert the organic components of the anaerobically digested sludge into biogas.
There are two main types of aeration systems: diffused aerators and surface aerators. Diffused aerators release air from the bottom of a body of water, which can make the aeration more effective even in large ponds or lakes. Surface aerators push water from under the water's surface up into the atmosphere, then the droplets fall back into the water, mixing in oxygen.
Aeration is critical for wastewater treatment because it provides oxygen to the activated sludge process. This bacteria is responsible for treating and stabilizing the water through biodegradation. The supplied oxygen allows the bacteria to break down the organic matter containing carbon to form carbon dioxide and water.
Keeping these microorganisms at optimum levels is key to a well-functioning wastewater treatment plant. You’ll want to be sure you have visibility on all parts of the aeration process. This can be done with the JUMO LOGOSCREEN 601 and JUMO LOGOSCREEN 700 - allowing you to visualize plants and process states.
It’s critical that you control the oxygen supply to create optimum living conditions for the bacteria. An aeration system that has an ample and evenly distributed oxygen supply in an aeration tank is the key to top-performing, cost-effective wastewater treatment. Because ventilation is the single greatest energy user in a treatment facility, energy savings begin with the oxygen content within the aeration tank. Determining and continuously regulating the oxygen content is key.
JUMO - your partner in sensor and automation solutions - is here to help.
The JUMO tecLine is a wastewater pH probe. It acquires the pH value of water and aqueous-based media. The pH value is a critical chemical component of wastewater and therefore directly influences the water’s ability to be treated.
The JUMO CTI - 750 and CTI - 500 are used for measuring and controlling the conductivity or the concentration of the wastewater. The integrated temperature measurements allow for precise and quick temperature control.
The JUMO Aquis touch S is a modular, multichannel measuring device for liquid analysis in wastewater treatment and other water applications. This platform is intended for measuring, controlling, recording, and displaying the pH value/redox, electrolytic conductivity, high-purified water resistance, temperature, disinfection measurands (such as free chlorine, total chlorine, chlorine dioxide, ozone, hydrogen peroxide, and peracetic acid), and the totalized flow rate.
This paperless recorder visualizes plants and process states. It also records process data in a tamper-proof manner. The device can be adapted to different requirements through various connection configurations.
The JUMO LOGOSCREEN 700 paperless recorder is characterized by an intuitive, icon-based operation and visualization concept that makes operation easy. It is available in multiple versions for process data acquisition and can be adapted flexibly.
Wastewater treatment systems are a challenging, yet important, process no matter whether drinking water, swimming pool water, or wastewater is involved. JUMO is here to support you in the development of plants in these areas as well as in their modernization and automation. Together, we will find the right solution for your application.
