UNIVERSITY OF MAURITIUS

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

PAPER NO

EXAMINATION

DATE

Second Semester 2006/07

BECE/06S/8

BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering

Thursday
17 May 2007

Level 4

SERIES

SPECIAL PAPER

TIME

May 2007

Wastewater Engineering
[CIVE 4016(5)]

9:30 - 11:30 Hours

This paper contains FIVE (5) Questions.

Candidates are required to answer ANY FOUR (4)Questions

Question 1

(a)

Discuss the role of primary treatment in the treatment of domestic

wastewater.
[8 marks]

(b)

Two or more rectangular sedimentation tanks are to be provided for the

primary treatment of sewage at a rate of 3000m3/d. The detention period is to
be 2 hours and the overflow rate is not to exceed 30m3/m2/d. The maximum
permissible horizontal flow through velocity is to be 0.30m/min. What
should be the dimensions of the tanks?
[12 marks]

(c )

Explain the effect on the operation of primary sedimentation tank as a result

of the failure of the grit removal system.
[5 marks]

Question 2

An extended aeration activated sludge process is used to treat wastewater from a

small housing estate. The following information is available:
Number of housing units
Number of persons/household
Domestic water consumption
Loading factors

:
:
:
:
:

300
5
200 L/c/d
90g BOD5/c/d
80g SS/c/d

:
:

18h
3000mg/L

:
:
:

20mg/L
30mg/L
0.5kgMLSS/KgBOD removed.

Aeration Unit
Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT)
Mixed Liquor Suspended Solid (MLSS)
Treated Effluent
BOD5
SS of treated effluent
Sludge wasted

(Continued next page)

Page 1 of 4

Question 2(Continued)
Calculate
(i)

the BOD5 and the SS of the raw sewage.

[5 marks]

(ii)

The BOD5 and the SS%, removal efficiency of the plant.

[4 marks]

(iii)

Volume of aeration tank.

[4 marks]

(iv)

F/M ratio

[4 marks]

(v)

Sludge age in days

[4 marks]

(vi)

Air requirements assuming 4% transfer efficiency and that 24L of air contains
(32 x 0.21)g of O2.
[4 marks]

Question 3

(a)

Wastewater is treated in a conventional continuous flow stirred tank reactor

with sludge recycle and wasting from the mixed liquor at steady state. Plot
the effluent substrate and MLSS concentration as functions of the sludge age,
c, if the influent BOD5 is 250mg/L. Use:
Y = 0.4 (mg/mg of BOD5)

Kd = 0.05 d-1

Xe =20mg/L

m = 4d-1

Ks = 120 mg/L

Se = Ks (1+Kd c)
c(m Kd) 1

HRT = 8h
Comment on your results and discuss the aeration requirements.
[15 marks]
(b)

Describe the effect of bulking on the activated sludge process described

above.
[10 marks]

Page 2 of 4

Question 4

(a)

Briefly describe the physical and biological characteristics of the various types
of stabilization ponds which might be used for sewage treatment in tropical
countries.
[12 marks]

(b)

An agro-industrial wastewater has been found to have the following average

characteristics:
Flow rate

1000 mg/L

Suspended Solids

650 mg/L

BOD5

1800 mg/L

pH

5.5

Assuming that nutrient concentrating are not limiting, estimate the

performance characteristics and calculate likely pond dimensions for a series
of stabilisation layers treating this wastewater in a tropical country. The serial
effluent BOD5 should not exceed 75 mg/L.
Facultative pond BOD5 removal, r , may be estimated from surface loading,
5 in kg BOD5/ha/d using the following equation:
r

0.725 s + 10.75

(s > 400 kg/ha/d)

[13 marks]

Page 3 of 4

Question 5
Given the following setting data for a biological sludge from an activated sludge
pilot plant, estimate the maximum concentration of the aerator mixed liquor
biological suspended solids that can be maintained if the sedimentation tank
application rate has been fixed at 25 m3/m2.d and the sludge recycle rate Qr is equal
to 40%. Assume that the solids wasting rate Qr is negligible in the pilot plant study.
MLSS X

Initial Settling

(mg/L)

Velocity, m/h

2000

4.27

3000

3.51

4000

2.77

5000

2.13

6000

1.28

7000

0.91

8000

0.67

9000

0.49

10000

0.37

15000

0.15

20000

0.07

30000

0.027
[25 marks]
END OF QUESTION PAPER

sg/

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