Do You Know How Your City's Wastewater Is Treated?
The company where I work consists of several chemical plants. But in addition to them, there are auxiliary units. One of them is treatment plant that treat wastewater from factories and the whole city.
Today I had to visit sewage treatment plant. We had some problems with sewage treatment, and this made me think of writing this post.
This is roughly what sewage treatment plant look like in any city. Sewage entering these structures is first filtered from sand and other mechanical impurities (diapers, bags, etc.). Then they are clarified in a special tank, and then there is "magic".
I will not go into chemical details, it's definitely not interesting to anyone. I will just say that our bodies mainly pollute the water with nitrogen compounds. It used to be a real problem, because the number of people was growing rapidly, sewage was discharged into rivers, where the water became unfit for consumption, and then completely poisonous.
Our saviors were unicellular living organisms - bacteria. There are different types of bacteria that consume different chemicals in the course of their lives. A specific type of bacteria is selected for each case. Without going into details, I will say that bacteria help to convert various nitrogen compounds (nitrates, nitrites) into nitrogen gas and remove it from the water. Wow, the problem is solved 😌
But then there are detergents, soaps, shampoos, toilet fresheners and more. Let me remind you that living bacteria purify water. Imagine, daddy-bacterium came home after a hard day's work and here he is served not delicious nitrites, but a variety of phosphorus compounds. Yes, detergents have a lot of phosphorus compounds, but in addition to them there is a whole bunch of chemicals.What will the dad-bacterium do? Of course 🤮
So we created additional problems for ourselves, which we then heroically solve. Usually these problems are solved by selecting another type of bacteria, changing the cleaning conditions, etc. But it is almost never possible to solve the problem completely.
Then people wake up ecological consciousness. They are beginning to protest against water pollution on the planet. But detergent manufacturers want to make money. They tell you, "Here's a phosphate-free detergent for you!" And we said, "Hurray, long live the detergent manufacturers!"
Unfortunately, phosphate-free detergents contain large amounts of aluminum and surfactants. And again, daddy-bacterium gets disgusting on his dinner table.
What can we do? Is there a way out of this situation? No! Man is a virus, he destroys the environment in which he lives. But every time you put detergent in the washing machine, remember that you can add a kilogram, or you can add 100 grams. The result of washing will be the same, and the next generation will be able to drink clean water.
Now that's what I call hitting my mark ;-)) You may have read elsewhere that this is exactly my job: sewage sludge treatment. However, I do not specialise in large plants like the one pictured, but in small biological and mineral sewage treatment plants (up to 30 population equivalents). And if the treatment is so small-scale and decentralised, the individual can very well influence how much he pollutes his wastewater or not. There are excellent alternatives to washing without detergents. People are becoming more and more aware of such problems.
In Berlin, by the way, a big problem for the local waterworks is the discharge of fire-fighting water, especially the microplastics it contains, through the sewage system. Drug residues are another unresolved issue...
Na das nenne ich jetzt 'mal passend in meine Kerbe gehauen ;-)) Du hast vielleicht an anderer Stelle schon gelesen, daß genau das mein Job ist: Klärschlammaufbereitung. Allerdings habe ich mich nicht auf große Anlagen wie die abgebildete spezialisiert, sondern auf biologische und mineralische Kleinklärwerke (bis zu 30 Einwohnerwerten). Und wenn die Aufbereitung so kleinteilig und dezentral erfolgt, kann der Einzelne sehr wohl Einfluß darauf nehmen, wie sehr er sein Abwasser belastet oder eben nicht. Es gibt hervorragende Alternativen, ganz ohne Waschmittel zu waschen. Die Menschen werden durchaus immer bewußter, was solche Probleme angeht.
In Berlin ist übrigens ein großes Problem der örtlichen Wasserwerke der Eintrag von Löschwasser, speziell des enthaltenen Mikroplastiks, durch die Kanalisation. Medikamentenrückstände sind ein anderes, ungelöstes Thema...
Yes, I am an attentive reader :) I remember well how you wrote that you traveled a lot thanks to your work and that you liked it. But then the coronavirus destroyed it all. I concluded that you have changed the scope of your activities, because recently you wrote that you conduct surveys for companies.
Honestly, I did not think that this post would be read by someone who is well versed in wastewater treatment. I would write it more professionally and in detail :) But then it would be long and uninteresting.
Yes, this ubiquitous microplastic. We have a big problem with the lies of packaging materials manufacturers and simple human ignorance. Manufacturers of packages in the pursuit of advertising and profits have assured people that they produce environmentally friendly products, because they are biodegradable. In fact, they add an additive to ordinary plastic that gets between the plastic molecules. It decomposes really quickly, but all the plastic remains, and it is immediately conveniently broken down into microparticles.
I never thought that the amount of drugs was so significant that they could be found in sewage.
You are great!
Yes, as far as drug residues are concerned, there are various problems. Improper disposal of residues down the toilet is the least of them. So many medicines - prescription and free - are not completely broken down by the body and components are simply excreted again. Especially in the case of hormonal contraceptives, preparations against menopausal complaints and similarly composed preparations for a better skin appearance, it is precisely the - generally overdosed - hormone component that gets into the wastewater via daily excretion and is virtually impossible to filter. In some rivers and lakes, which (after clarification) serve as water reserves, it is regularly necessary to introduce male fish and frogs, because the natural offspring only turn out female due to the excess of female hormones in the water...
Du bist großartig!
Ja, was die Medikamentenrückstände angeht, gibt es diverse Probleme. Unsachgemäße Entsorgung von Restbeständen über die Toilette ist das geringste davon. So viele - verschreibungspflichtige und freie - Medikamente werden vom Körper nicht vollständig abgebaut und Bestandteile einfach wieder ausgeschieden. Besonders bei hormonellen Verhütungsmitteln, Präparaten gegen Beschwerden in den Wechseljahren und ähnlich zusammengesetzten Mitteln für ein besseres Hautbild gelangt gerade der - generell überdosierte - Hormonanteil über tägliche Ausscheidungen ins Abwasser und ist so gut wie nicht filterbar. In manchen Flüssen und Seen, die (nach erfolgter Klärung) als Wasserreservat dienen, gibt es regelmäßig die Notwendigkeit, männliche Fische und Frösche einzubringen, weil der natürliche Nachwuchs durch den Überschuß weiblicher Hormone im Wasser nur noch weiblich ausfällt...
Thank you very much for revealing completely unknown information to me. Now I'm looking for information on whether we have something similar.
This is indeed a very interesting matter that you describe there - something that far too few think about, since wastewater disposal is taken for granted in our latitudes.
A few years ago, I visited a sewage treatment plant with students. We were very well guided, everything was explained very clearly. Highly interesting - I think I definitely absorbed more knowledge than my students... 😂 That's the beauty of the teaching profession: as soon as you prepare a topic, you learn a lot of new things yourself.
I was positively surprised by the smell on site. Of course it smelled special, but not - as I had expected - like a stinking cesspool.
Yes! We live in a very small village where everyone (okay, sometimes up to four houses together) still has their own backyard sewage system. We have three small chambers for wastewater treatment (there are flower pots on the lids...), from the last chamber almost clean water flows into one of the three treatment ponds in the village.
The sewage sludge from our chamber system is pumped out every two years. It goes to a treatment plant and is then partly used as fertilizer. Is probably quite clean... ;-)
I thought you only work on the farm :-) It turns out you are a teacher. I wonder what subject you teach students?
Usually we do not smell. But if the weather is cloudy and not too windy, then sometimes there is a bad smell. We hardly notice it, because there is a pig farm nearby, which has many fields around. According to their technology, from time to time they fertilize these fields with pork urea. This is a regional fragrant holiday :-)
Our treatment plants were built during the Soviet occupation. Therefore, it is natural that the villages, which are located 50 m from the treatment facilities, are not equipped with sewerage. But the factories and the city 8 km away have normal sewerage.
Over the last three decades, we have taken many steps toward civilization. But people are people and some in the villages have drained the water directly into the river. I assure you, everything is perfectly arranged for you. In our country, most people solve the problem of sewage by installing septic tanks, from which wastewater is then pumped out with the help of an aspiration machine and taken to treatment plants.
Hihi, I am a special education teacher in vocational education. That's where you actually teach everything. I studied German, which is also my main subject.
At the moment I'm not working at school, for personal reasons.
That sounds like sewage disposal, which has been banned in our country for decades. But you are definitely on a good way - no wonder with engineers like you... ;-)
I did not think that anyone in Germany did not know German :-)
You have a great profession, teachers shape future people. My wife is a primary school teacher. But she never worked at the school. She worked with preschoolers, children from 2 to 6 years. In my opinion, this is a very difficult job that requires a lot of patience.
Haha, you think too well of me :-) I only managed to come up with something exceptional once. I proposed a solution that would allow the company to stop consuming natural gas and save millions of dollars every month. No one understood my proposal and even laughed at it. Six months later, I was surprised to learn that my proposal was implemented, but now it was authored by the Deputy General Director. He was present at the meeting when I submitted this proposal :-)
In general, I am responsible for technical progress in the company, but 99.9% of my proposals are not accepted, because to implement them you need to invest money :-)
So Ukrainian Ukrainian teachers don't have to study before being unleashed on humanity?!... 😜
Linguistics and literature is not born in your cradle... 😉
Ouch. The actions of your Deputy General Director remind me of some very bad tricks of the career horny. Sad. But with enough self-confidence, you know it's your success. And some employees will know that too!
In fact, in my opinion, the Ukrainian language is very complex. I never managed to get an excellent grade from this course :-) There is a rule in the Ukrainian language, and then by all means at least thirty exceptions from it.
Thank you for your time for comment :-)
Water is the main issue in city. We really need to save the water
Дуже цікаво!) Ніколи цією темою не цікавився)
Фотка з прев'ю наче з інопланетними майданчиками для посадки кораблів 😅👍
Оце у вас уява, я б до такого не здогадався :-)
😄😄 просто ті дивні круглі конструкції на землі нагадали мені про круги на полях, які пов'язують з чимось з іншого світу))
Thank you for contributing to #LearnWithSteem theme. This post has been upvoted by @daytona475 using @steemcurator09 account. We encourage you to keep publishing quality and original content in the Steemit ecosystem to earn support for your content.
Regards,
Team #Sevengers
Thanks, until today I did not know that there is an account SC09 :)
Morning @o1eh I learnt something new today so thank you! Chemistry was my least favourite subject in school which my mum, a doctor found very disappointing. I like the way you explained the whole process so it makes sense to people of all ages. I love the thumbnail bird's eye view photograph.
Thank you for visiting my post. I'm glad you liked it :-)
Isnt this a great lecture worth sharing..? 😊 . Thank you so much sir for this enlightenment on sewage treatment and other important information under this.
Unfortunately i don't think we have this in all the places here in my zone.
I think some big establish places have it.
Excuse my curiosity, is there enough water in your country? We know about Africa as a hot continent, where there are many arid places. Are there any such problems in your area?
Oh Yeah, we have them a lot. For instance, In Nigeria, the Northern part is a Perfect Example of Such.
Africa Also has some Cold Areas.
But where I live in Nigeria is known to be a Mid cold Area. We have Water, as a matter of fact, We have a big River that is linked up with the Atlantic Ocean.
Thank you, I don't know much about Nigeria. But I remember well the successful performances of the Nigerian national football team at the World Cups, and we can also watch documentaries about the beautiful nature in your national parks. Sometimes we hear about gun attacks on your settlements. But your culture, history and current standard of living are little known to us. But fortunately there is the Internet. I will definitely fill this gap :-)
Thank you so much, Sir, I am glad you know that extent about my Country, you are saying the truth.
yeah, it happens in some parts.
Yeah, there is, We spend more on this as well.
Congratulations, your post has been upvoted by @scilwa, which is a curating account for @R2cornell's Discord Community. We can also be found on our hive community & peakd as well as on my Discord Server
Felicitaciones, su publication ha sido votado por @scilwa. También puedo ser encontrado en nuestra comunidad de colmena y Peakd así como en mi servidor de discordia
Very interesting your post I have realized that we use many chemical products that affect us ant our whole environment, I guess we are slowly poisoning ourselves by using many things a long our life, my regards