Any treatment plant, whether it is a sewage treatment plant (STP) or a highly particular effluent treatment plant or ETP, must meet the same fundamental characteristics in order to operate satisfactorily over an extended period of time.
Let’s look at some of the design considerations of sewage treatment plants.
What are the basic requirements of a sewage treatment plant?
The fundamental conditions for STP to maintain long-term performance are the same:
• The treatment plant should be properly engineered and designed.
• Proper Plant Operation and Maintenance.
The aforementioned aspects are interrelated and can only work together, to provide desired results; in many cases, one aspect of the plant cannot completely make up for or overcome gaps and flaws in the other.
What are the Factors to consider when designing a STP Plant?
When designing a treatment plant, various factors should be taken into account, including:
• The quantity and quality of the wastewater's characteristics;
• Existence of biological inhibitors/toxicants (in the case of a biological treatment plant);
• The manner in which wastewater is discharged (constant, intermittent, batch dump, peaking factors, seasonal fluctuations);
• Geographical and environmental aspects (Altitude, Temperature variations, rainfall, etc);
• Choosing the right technology, treatment units, procedures, etc.
Engineering Aspect of Sewage Treatment Plant
The layout of the facility must be accurate and optimal for engineering purposes.
• Optimal and appropriate hydraulic levels and level variations of different plant units;
• Appropriate mechanical equipment selection that takes into account, the design and engineering of the plant and factors like capacity, rating, etc.;
• Inter-unit plumbing in accordance with excellent engineering practice;
• Adequate electrical setup and wiring in line with best engineering practices;
• Equipment and units should be positioned correctly for ease of maintenance;
• Adequate lighting, ventilation, etc. for operator comfort, health, and cleanliness, as well as an inducement to stay at the facility for monitoring, etc.
Operation and Maintenance aspect of Sewage Treatment Plant
Under this heading, factors to think about include:
• Creating and keeping up with a standard operating procedure (SOP)
• Instruction of operators in SOP
• Creating and keeping up a preventive maintenance checklist, and program for mechanical equipment
• Experienced technicians and mechanics to carry out the program
• Creating and keeping a functional Log
• Regular monitoring, control, and validation of the aforementioned procedures and processes, by trained and experienced field personnel from the service provider's head office, or AMC contractor, etc.
Conclusion
For the sewage treatment plant to work properly, each and every treatment unit and treatment process must perform at its highest level of design efficiency. One or more additional units in the treatment train may suffer severely and negatively, as a result of a malfunction in any one of them, for example:
• A faulty, broken, or inoperable bar screen can harm the pumps in the treatment plant, causing downtime and treatment plant malfunction, i.e., error in engineering
• An inadequate equalization tank will force the operator to pump water, out at higher rates than intended, overloading the aeration tank and settling tank, and impairing the plant's performance, i.e., Design fault
• Poor aeration or mixing in the Equalization tank can cause solids to settle, which will frequently clog pumps and create septic conditions, leading to poor treatment effectiveness, i.e., Engg. Defect
• Choosing a submersible pump for raw sewage lift duty that has relatively narrow internal passageways, will result in frequent pump failure, i.e., Engg. Defect
Manufacturers of sewage treatment plants in India
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