Effluent Treatment Plant
An effluent treatment plant (ETP) is a facility designed to treat industrial wastewater before it is discharged into the environment. The treatment process may involve physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove pollutants and make the water safe for release.
Benefits of The Effluent Treatment Plant
A large amount of water is used in the textile industry. As a result, this produces a large volume of wastewater, otherwise known as effluent, which needs treating before releasing back into the environment. The dyeing and finishing process causes wastewater that contains pollutants.
To protect the environment and communities, the ETP (Effluent Treatment Plant) is designed to treat effluent (wastewater) and remove any harmful pollutants. The ‘clean’ water can then be safely released into the environment.
What is the Effluent Treatment Plant type?
The contaminated water is passed through the ETP which removes pollutants and the quality of water is restored, allowing for release to the environment without causing any harm or risk to local communities. It involves different phases of treatment containing physical, chemical, and biological treatment to ensure all toxic chemicals are eliminated and can achieve the clean water standard required by its treatment process. There are several steps of the treatment process before the water can be reutilised and reused.
Screening
To remove physical and coarse materials in the effluent, it is passed through the screening equipment. The material that has been removed is then washed, pressed, and disposed of.
Grit removal
The screened wastewater is then pumped through the grit chamber to remove heavy by fine material such as sand and gravel.
Primary Settling
Large circular tanks called clarifiers carry out the material that will settle to the bottom of the tank. The settled material is called sludge, which is pumped to the bottom and the effluent exits the tank by the top. Floating debris such as grease that is found on the surface is skimmed off and sent with the sludge. Chemical treatments are also added at this stage to remove inorganic forms of phosphorus.
Aeration Tank
The effluent receives most of its treatment at this stage through biological deterioration. The pollutants in the effluent are absorbed by micro-organisms and converted into cell tissue, water, and nitrogen.
Secondary Settling
At this step, the effluent is now over 90% treated. Again, as per step 3, large circular tanks are used but this time called secondary clarifiers, which allow the treated effluent to separate from the biology treatment that was used in the aeration tanks. The biology sludge is pumped continuously to the bottom and returned to the aeration tanks in step 4.
Filtration
Polyester media is used at this step to filter the clarified effluent. The material captured by the filters is backwashed and returned to the head of the ETP for treatment.
Disinfection
After filtration, an ultraviolet disinfectant is used to ensure the treated effluent is free of all bacteria. This treatment kills any remaining bacteria to levels inside the government discharge permit.
8: Oxygen Uptake
At the final step, the treated water, which is now in a sustained high-quality state, is ventilated to bring the dissolved oxygen back up to standard level. Once this has taken place, the treated water passes through the effluent channel where it’s released back into the environment for safe reutilisation.
An Effluent Treatment Plant
What are the benefits of ETP? Outcome of clean, reusable water, Before the acknowledgement of this advanced technology, people weren’t aware that polluted and contaminated water can be recycled and reused. The water goes through several treatment methods to remove any impurities from the water to generate safe and clean water.
Saves our planet
The numerous processes remove any harmful chemicals from the water with the aim to treat it and make it ready to reuse. Therefore, when the treated water enters the ground, it will leave no damaging effect on the planet.
Saves water
The treatment plant recycles the used contaminated water ensuring less water wastage which is certainly a bonus for the planet. Factories and communities can recycle the water by using it for their own beneficial needs.