Course Program
- Characterization of Wastewater:
Physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. Carbon cycle (BOD, COD) and nitrogen cycle. Population equivalent. Definition of dry weather and wet weather flows. General layout of the treatment cycle for urban discharges. Water line and sludge line. Plant location: urban planning, hydraulic, and environmental constraints. - Pumping Stations and Preliminary Treatments:
Centrifugal pumps and other types of pumps. Preliminary treatments: screening, sieving, grit and grease removal. Flow equalization. Gravity separation: sedimentation, coagulation-flocculation, natural flotation. Aeration systems: calculation and verification of oxygenation capacity. - Biological Treatments:
General principles. Bacterial growth, substrate removal, aerobic, anoxic, and anaerobic purification. Kinetic and stoichiometric constants and their experimental determination. - Design of Suspended Biomass Biological Processes for Biodegradable Organic Pollution Removal:
Cell residence time, sludge loading and volumetric loading, biomass calculation, biomass concentration and recirculation flows, sludge settleability, excess sludge production, oxygen demand. - Design of Suspended Biomass Processes for Nitrogen and Phosphorus Removal:
Nitrification and denitrification with suspended biomass. Autotrophic bacteria, role of cell residence time in nitrification. Nitrification kinetics, reactor design, calculation of oxygen demand. Denitrification (use of internal, external, and endogenous carbon); pre-denitrification processes: definition of mixed liquor and sludge recirculation; post-denitrification processes. - Chemical-Physical Processes for Nitrogen and Phosphorus Removal:
Chemical precipitation of phosphorus with pre-, post-, and co-precipitation processes. Biological phosphorus removal; role and growth conditions of phosphorus-accumulating bacteria. Removal efficiencies achievable with various alternatives. Selection criteria. - Design of Attached Biomass Biological Processes:
Innovative systems (e.g., MBBR, MBR, SBR, etc.). - Tertiary Treatments:
Sand and cloth filtration, adsorption on activated carbon, ozonation. Disinfection using chlorination, PAA (peracetic acid), UV radiation. Wastewater reuse for civil, agricultural, and industrial purposes. Quality requirements. - Sludge Line:
Calculation of sludge quantities. Chemical-physical and rheological properties of sludge. Objectives and general layout of the sludge treatment line. Design of biological sludge stabilization processes: aerobic processes with and without simultaneous thickening; calculation of reactor volume, oxygen demand, and quantities of stabilized sludge and supernatant. Mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic digestion. Digester volume, single-stage and two-stage processes; biogas production and utilization. Mass balance of sludge and supernatants and impacts on the water line. - Sludge Conditioning and Dewatering:
Filterability, compressibility, and their experimental determination. Drying beds, filtration (vacuum filters, chamber filter presses, belt filter presses), centrifugation. - Regulations on Water Pollution:
Quality objectives for water bodies. Restrictions in sensitive areas. Hazardous substances. Discharge limits into the environment and into sewer networks.
Contribution to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development:
- Goal 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and Goal 14 (Life Below Water): addressed through frontal lectures.
- Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being), Goal 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), and Goal 15 (Life on Land): covered through lectures, dedicated seminars, and technical visits.
- Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and Goal 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production): addressed through lectures.
