Functions Of A Sewage Treatment Plant

The Sewage Water Treatment Plant, often called as the Domestic Waste Water Treatment Plant, is used to clean the Waste Water and take out the Sewage from the water which gets mixed into it as a result of various domestic as well as commercial practices. There exist some very major misconceptions about the Sewage Treatment Plants with the primary one being that they purify the water. On the other hand, it is also widely believed that the Sewage Treatment Plants clear the water of all the impurities, which is again a misconception. In reality, the Sewage Treatment Plants make the water clean enough to be used for activities such as irrigation. They do not make the water fit for human consumption. Added to that, they do not clear the water of any particularly dirty sources such the water coming out of the nuclear reactors and heavy water cannot be treated in the Sewage Treatment Plants.

The modern-day Sewage Treatment Plants carry out the process of purification in three different steps. In the following section, each one of those steps is be discussed in detail.

Primary

The first step involves taking out of the visible and major impurities. In this step, the various fats and oils present in the water are skimmed and the visible impurities, rubbish and waste materials are raked out. Added to these two, another process that can be carried out in the primary step of purification is that the various pieces of rock, sand and grit are strained.

Secondary
The secondary step of Sewage Water Treatment focuses on the removal of the various harmful micro-organisms. The technological methodologies of achieving this particular result may vastly differ but the end result is always the same.

Tertiary
The tertiary or the final stage of purification is centered on the objective of making the water as clean as possible before it is used for various other purposes apart from drinking. Focus is laid on the removal of excess phosphorus or nitrogen compounds. Then, the water is disinfected using the UV or chlorination processes.

On an additional note, the various impurities that are filtered out during the purification process are dealt with separately using various kinds of bacterial decomposition as well as composting process. These Sewage Plants, either domestic or commercial, play an important role in maintaining a clean water supply and management of waste materials as well.