Waste Water Treatment

In the environment:

• Waste water from homes, industry and agriculture must be treated before being released into the environment.

• Here are some examples of pollutants which might be present in waste water:

  • human waste contains harmful bacteria and high levels of nitrogen compounds which can harm aquatic ecosystems
  • industrial waste water may contain harmful chemicals such as toxic metal compounds
  • agricultural waste water may contain fertilisers or pesticides which can disrupt sensitive ecosystems

• Sewage treatment involves the following steps:

1. screening and grit removal to remove large particles
2. sedimentation allows tiny particles to settle out from still water, which produces sewage sludge and effluent (the liquid which remains on top)
3. the sewage sludge is digested anaerobically by specific bacteria
4. the effluent is treated with aerobic bacteria to reduce the volume of solid waste